President Obama spoke before workers (and bosses) at K Neal International Trucks, Inc., in Hyattsville, Maryland, this morning. In his remarks, he once again set a stark choice for America: we can move forward or we can return to the Republican policies of the past.
An economy that was shrinking at a scary rate when I was sworn in as President has now been growing for three consecutive quarters. We were losing 750,000 jobs a month during the winter of last year. We've now added jobs for six out of the last seven months.
snip
We can't go backwards. What we can't do is go back -- now that we're starting to climb out of this hole that was dug for us, we can't go back to the very same policies that failed us in the last decade; the same policies that led us into that hole.
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO EMPLOYEES OF K. NEAL INTERNATIONAL TRUCKS, INC.
That frames the choice this November in ways I think even George Lakoff would like. Remember his comments that the Republicans drove us into the ditch and now they want to drive the care again?
OBAMA: After they drove the car into the ditch, made it as difficult as possible for us to pull it back, now they want the keys back. No! You can’t drive! We don’t want to have to go back into the ditch. We just got the car out.
"You would have thought at a time of historic crisis that Republican leaders would have been more willing to help us find a way out of this mess," Obama added. "Particularly since they created the mess."
Obama: Rs Drove Us Into a Ditch. "Now They Want The Keys Back." And They Can't Have Them.
It's the same thing said another way. It needs to be repeated by all Democrats over and over and over again through November.
The choice is stark. The President and the Democrats in Congress do not offer perfect policies, and should be criticized where appropriate for timidity with jobs bills and the stimulus, but the direction is far, far better than what the Republicans have in store for us all.
Yes, I know some folks are tired of speeches and want more action. I am convinced that future change depends on the words we use. I am convinced that we must repeatedly show that the Reagan world view that dominated Republican ideology created the economic problems of the last few years. The President is doing this and is offering an alternative. He also is aware there is much more to be done:
Now, I want to emphasize that most of these jobs this month that we're seeing in the statistics represent workers who've been hired to complete the 2010 census. So these are temporary jobs that are only going to last until the fall, and that may be reflected in future jobs reports. But even if you put those temporary jobs aside, there's no doubt that we saw another month of private sector job growth. And that is obviously critical because when businesses are hiring again, people start spending again. That, in turn, gives businesses more and more incentive to grow.
Now, this doesn't mean that the recession is over for the millions of Americans who are still out of work, or the millions more who are still struggling to make ends meet. No words, no statistics, can take away the pain and the anxiety that a family feels because of this downturn. That can only be relieved with a steady paycheck and the security that a steady job brings.
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO EMPLOYEES OF K. NEAL INTERNATIONAL TRUCKS, INC.
But there is a new direction:
What these numbers do mean, though, is that we're moving in the right direction. The economic policies that we put in place are working. An economy that was shrinking at a scary rate when I was sworn in as President has now been growing for three consecutive quarters. We were losing 750,000 jobs a month during the winter of last year. We've now added jobs for six out of the last seven months.
The taxpayer money it cost to shore up the financial sector and the auto industry is being repaid. I know it was unpopular, but it was the right thing to do. And both GM and Chrysler -- (applause) -- both GM and Chrysler are adding shifts and operating at a profit, which nobody would have imagined just a year ago.
The question now is, how do we keep this momentum going? How do we keep adding jobs, raising incomes? How do we keep growing not just our economy but growing our middle class?
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO EMPLOYEES OF K. NEAL INTERNATIONAL TRUCKS, INC.
President Obama offers some short term answers, which include extending unemployment insurance and providing aid to states.
I believe it's absolutely critical that we extend unemployment insurance for several more months, so that Americans who've been laid off through no fault of their own get the support they need to provide for their families and they can maintain their health insurance until they're rehired. And we should provide further support so that states are not cutting back on jobs and vital services, as well as incentives to create clean energy jobs.
You can read his short term solutions here:
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO EMPLOYEES OF K. NEAL INTERNATIONAL TRUCKS, INC.
It's the long-term that is most important, though:
But in the long run, we need to invest in the technologies and innovation that will lead to the jobs and the industries of tomorrow.
snip
If we keep on making investments in research and development, in technology and clean energy, products and industries that we haven't even imagined yet can find a home right here in the United States of America. And if we provide our citizens with the education and training they need to do these jobs, we're again going to see rising incomes and a growing middle class. That's what we can do to make this economy stronger, rebuild it even stronger than it was before.
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO EMPLOYEES OF K. NEAL INTERNATIONAL TRUCKS, INC.
That's industrial policy and we need it.
And, as the title of this diary says, we can't go back to the failed policies of yesterday:
Now, let me tell you what we can't do. We can't go backwards. What we can't do is go back -- now that we're starting to climb out of this hole that was dug for us, we can't go back to the very same policies that failed us in the last decade; the same policies that led us into that hole.
Think about it. We've already tried scaling back our investments in clean energy and education and innovation so that we could give tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans and the biggest corporations, and that didn't work. We already tried putting industry insiders in charge of oversight -- didn't work. We already tried stripping away rules and regulations that kept Wall Street banks and oil companies in bounds. We let them play by their own rules instead, and it didn't work.
So we already know where these ideas led us. And we're going to have a choice as a nation moving forward. We're going to be able to return, if we want, to the failed economic policies of the past; policies that gave us record deficits and declining incomes and sluggish job growth even before the recession; policies that led, in fact, to us almost going into a depression. We can take that road again. Or we can decide we want to move forward. We can keep building a stronger economy. We can keep pursuing the policies that have started to create jobs again; policies that invest in companies like K Neal; policies that invest in companies like Navistar; policies that invest in our people and in our future.
So I don't know about you, I don't want to go backwards. I want to move forward. (Applause.) And I believe that the American people want to move forward as well. This economy hasn't returned to prosperity yet, but we're heading in the right direction. There are going to be some ups and downs. There are going to be some months where people start worrying that maybe we're not out of the hole yet. But if we remain determined, if we stick to it, if we stay the course of investing in our people and businesses like K Neal that are the heart and soul of America, then I'm absolutely positive we can succeed.
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO EMPLOYEES OF K. NEAL INTERNATIONAL TRUCKS, INC.
I don't want to go backward either. The Democrats in Congress and this President may get it wrong sometimes and there are no guarantees of success in building a fairer, more decent, and more prosperous nation. But I have seen over and over since 1981 where Republican policies take us, and I don't want to go there again.
In November in many places, it is a real choice. The past or a potential future. As a self-identifying leftist, I believe a coalition with the center-left is necessary to defeat the reactionary right. A left-center coalition (and all points between) can turn this nation around. That does not mean giving up agitation or issue activism. It does mean working electorally as much as possible to elect Democrats in November. As the President said,
So I don't know about you, I don't want to go backwards. I want to move forward.