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POTUS Tells Michigan Things Will Get Tougher As He Introduces New Plan for Community Colleges
July 14, 2009 5:38 PM
ABC News' Jake Tapper and Sunlen Miller report:
WARREN, MICHIGAN -- Calling the recession a “transformative moment” President Obama today came to the state with the highest unemployment rate in the country and warned that many more jobs will be lost in the coming months. The president argued that his administration is trying to re-build an economy better prepared for the 21st century, introducing a $12 billion investment in two-year colleges to better prepare for a world where associates’ degrees will be in greater demand, and calling it a historic step for community colleges not seen since the passage of the original GI Bill and the work of President Truman's Commission on Higher Education.
“What we face is far more than a passing crisis,” the president told residents of Michigan, where the jobless rate is approaching 15%. “It's not the time to shrink from the challenges we face and put off tough decisions. That's what Washington has done for decades. And it's exactly what I ran for president, to change that mindset.”
President Obama told the thousands gathered at Macomb Community College that he understands how they’ve been especially hard hit by this crisis.
“The statistics are daunting,” the president said. “In the whole country now, the unemployment rate is approaching 10 percent. And here in Michigan, it's about 5 points higher. And, you know, new jobs reports are going to be coming out, and we're going to see continuing job loss, even as the economy is beginning to stabilize. Now, that's not just abstractions. Those just aren't numbers on a page…Those are extraordinary hardships, tough times, for families and individuals who've worked hard all their lives and have done the right things all their lives.”
Obama said that his administration has a job to do – to get the economy back on track, and challenged those who complain about the economic mess without helping.
“I love these folks who helped get us in this mess and then suddenly say, ‘Well, this is Obama's economy,’” the president ad-libbed. “That's fine. Give it to me. My job is to solve problems, not to stand on the sidelines and carp and gripe. So I welcome the job. I want the responsibility.”
In his first visit to Michigan since the campaign, the President used a car-friendly example of his problem solving for the local crowd, saying that his unpopular move to help bailout GM and Chrysler from collapse earlier this year was at first questioned – a move he defended today as the “right thing to do.”
“Today, after a painful period of soul-searching and sacrifice, both GM and Chrysler have emerged from bankruptcy,” Mr. Obama said. “Remember: folks said there was no way they could do it. They've gotten it done already, in record time, far faster than anybody thought possible.”
Arguing that jobs requiring at least an associates’ degree will grow twice as fast as those for high school graduates in the coming years, the president outlined a new program for post-high school education called the American Gradation Initiative to train workers for new jobs. The Initiative will reform and fund community colleges through offering competitive grants, investing $10 billion in loans to renovate and rebuild colleges, and building a virtual infrastructure by offering more on-line classes.
“By 2020, this nation will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world,” he pledged. “We used to have that. We're going to have it again”
The President promised that the plan will not add to the deficit. It will be paid for, he says, though money saved by ending wasteful subsidies provided to banks and lenders from student loans.
As he said in the past, the economic foundation cannot be repaired without the reform of the health care system and he warned that the debate currently being battled out on Capitol Hill cannot be won by those resistant to his efforts.
“There's going to be a major debate over the next three weeks,” Obama said referencing the August recess deadline, “And don't be fooled by folks trying to scare you, saying we can't change the health care system. We have no choice but to change the health care system, because, right now, it's broken for too many Americans.”
The president, who earlier in the day said his “expectation is, is that we will probably continue to see unemployment tick up for several months,” concluded by saying that “the road to recovery, the road to prosperity, is going to be hard…And it's going to take time. There are going to be false starts and there are going to be setbacks. But I am confident that we can meet the challenges we face, because that's what we've always done. That's what America does. We hit some challenges, we fuss and argue about it, and then we go ahead and go about the business of solving our problems.”
-Jake Tapper at the White House and Sunlen Miller in Michigan with the President
July 14, 2009 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (72)
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The Stimulus Plan is not working. It is not designed to stimulate this economy, it is designed to forward a liberal agenda - it will never stimulate the economy directly.
So what is it going to take to convince the world that the "Emperor has no clothes?" 10% unemployment? 13%, 14% 15%? 20%
The President has a dog in this race. It was his plan (that Polosi and Reid wrote) and he sold it - pure and simple. He blamed Bush the whole time (naturally) but he owns this recovery.
Guess what, folks? The economy is not recovering and since we have all had some time to both read the Bill and see the results there is little evidence that it will directly impact the health of the economy in the short or long term.
Regardless of what many of the members of this forum thought of Bush he would have never let this mess get to this level. He made many mistakes but he never took his eye off the ball - so, you folks up there in Michigan and PA and Indiana, Ohio and New Jersey that are at the sharp end of the pencil in the unemployment in this country - take a look, open your eyes and you might notice that 'the Emperor has no clothes."
Posted by: Lone Star Rules | Jul 16, 2009 7:52:20 AM
Concerning the POTUS shorthand-- did you guys never watch "West Wing"? The very first scene of the first episode was my introduction to the term POTUS-- Rob Lowe's character has to explain the acronym to the chick he had sex with who saw a message on his phone/beeper/I forget what. POTUS is not a put-down, but was once a sort of insider jargon that has gone mainstream.
Posted by: moderate | Jul 15, 2009 10:32:52 PM
I like POTUS, TOTUS and SCOTUS. It is cool and edgy, like Barry (*before* he wore the mom jeans at the All-Star game).
The only one I have a hard time pronouncing is VPOTUS, so I call him "Joey B."
Posted by: Danilo | Jul 15, 2009 10:20:04 AM
The neophyte's honeymoon is over and
we are beginning to see an "ugly duck-
ing" before us. The problem for Obama
is that there is no "magnificent swan"
in the offing. Just a duckling that
will turn out to be just a duck....
probably lame to boot.
Posted by: Trajan | Jul 15, 2009 1:31:56 AM
I agree with Joe, Jake Tapper should simply use President Obama or the President - it's not that difficult.
"POTUS" is shoddy.
Posted by: danita | Jul 15, 2009 1:14:35 AM
POTUS is annoying. Don't do that. You're not edgy, you're lame.
Posted by: Joe | Jul 14, 2009 11:47:22 PM
I can't help but wonder in a year or two or three if Obama and libs will still blame Bush for this mess. Probably,they surely can't fix this economy by throwing money at it. Real incentives to business and investors have a chance of working. The Obama stragety has no chance.
Posted by: Manitu | Jul 14, 2009 11:47:11 PM
I WAS VERY MUCH OPPOSED TO THE BUSH BAILOUT/STIMULUS PACKAGE AND EVEN MORE SO THE OBAMA PACKAGE. THEY ARE A COMPLETE WASTE OF THE PUBLIC MONEY AND A DETRIMENT TO REAL RECOVERY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH. ECONOMIC GROWTH CAN ONLY TAKE PLACE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR MAKE WORK PROGRAMS AND JOBS ARE A FARCE AS WE ARE FINDING OUT NOW. AS A SENIOR I AM VERY MUCH AFRAID THAT THE OBAMA SPENDING WILL CAUSE NOT ONLY THE ECONOMY TO COMPLETELY TANK, BUT WILL TAKE DOWN SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE WITH IT. THE "OBAMA DEPRESSION" IS UPON US. LIBERAL ARTS MAJORS RUNNING A CAPITALIST SOCIETY - WONDERFUL!!
Posted by: Jimbo | Jul 14, 2009 11:23:33 PM
Posted by: danita | Jul 14, 2009 11:13:45 PM
Nice, truth be told!
Posted by: DShirley | Jul 14, 2009 11:20:28 PM
"President Bush announced an Administration effort to increase home ownership rates among African Americans and Hispanics by 5.5 million by 2010.
"The plan would provide down payment assistance to 40,000 minority homebuyers.
"Bush's plan would be closely tied to some $440 million in minority loan programs offered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. President Bush commended Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's efforts . . . "
Putting the mortgage crisis in place
Posted by: danita | Jul 14, 2009 11:13:45 PM
Posted by: Jimbo | Jul 14, 2009 10:44:32 PM-
OMG, another conservative living in the "TWILIGHT ZONE"!!
Posted by: DShirley | Jul 14, 2009 10:51:24 PM
Posted by: Jimbo | Jul 14, 2009 8:55:12 PM-
It sucks when amateur conservatives like yourself post nonsense!
1- CIT "HAS" received $2.3B already from the stimulus. So what did they do with it!! Businesses are laying off not hiring!!
2- They will get more gov't money if they sell off some of the $32B in assets they have to improve their liquidity..why should the tax payer fork out more money when they are SITTING ON ASSETS!!
Get real!!
Posted by: DShirley | Jul 14, 2009 10:49:03 PM
THINGS "WERE" BOOMING FOR THE FIRST SIX YEARS OF THE BUSH ADM. FULL EMPLOYMENT, STEADY GROWTH OF THE GNP - AND THAT WAS WITH 911 AND THE WAR ON TERROR. WHEN THE DEMS TOOK OVER CONGRESS IN 06 THINGS STARTED TO SLIDE. BUSH WARNED THE BARNEY FRANKS A NUMBER OF TIMES BEGINNING IN 01 ABOUT THE REAL POSSIBILITY OF A HOUSING MARKET COLLAPSE (Ref.NYTimes, BUT FRANKS REBUFFED BUSH, STATING NO PROBLEM. MANY OF US CONSERVATIVES NOW FEEL THAT BUSH SHOULD HAVE GONE DIRECTLY TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ABOUT THE DANGER TO THE HOUSING MARKET, WHICH HE DID NOT DO,ALTHOUGH IN FAIRNESS HE WAS TOTALLY ABSORBED WITH THE TERROR PROBLEM.
Posted by: Jimbo | Jul 14, 2009 10:44:32 PM
Y'all vilifying the evil rich people... you DO realize that if you redistribute the wealth through taxes and penalties, there won't be any rich left to pay the higher tax rates. You'll all have to carry a heavier tax load to make up for it. Good luck with that...
Posted by: Traffic Cop Timmy | Jul 14, 2009 10:08:23 PM
Jimbo:" Reagan lowered taxes across the board and things "boomed.""
Taxes on the rich are lower than under Reagan due to the much lower capital gains tax. A large portion of income for the rich is capital gains (according to publicly released data from the IRS).
Bush lowered taxes all through his tenure, so I suppose things are booming now according to your simplistic analysis, right?
Posted by: jhw539 | Jul 14, 2009 10:01:32 PM
"In a bid to boost minority homeownership, President Bush will ask Congress for authority to eliminate the down-payment requirement for Federal Housing Administration loans." 1/20/2004
Posted by: danita | Jul 14, 2009 9:50:27 PM
GEE, I WONDER WHY COUNTRIES IN EUROPE ARE FLEEING FROM OBAMA TYPE SOCIALIST PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN DISASTERS? YOU WOULD THINK THE RATIONAL AND INTELLIGENT PEOPLE OVER HERE WOULD PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT IS GOING ON OVER THERE. DUH!!
Posted by: Jimbo | Jul 14, 2009 9:34:27 PM
"In 2004, President George W. Bush campaigned on lower barriers to homeownership as part of the domestic agenda for his second term. The Republican Party platform that year singled out the down payment as the "most significant barrier to homeownership."
wall street journal
Posted by: danita | Jul 14, 2009 9:06:20 PM
==========
From the same article:
"Government policies have promoted homeownership for decades, from Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, which paved the way for the 30-year mortgage, to postwar policies that explicitly ensconced it as a federal goal."
But this is off topic for this thread, so I'll leave it at that.
Posted by: Jen | Jul 14, 2009 9:32:43 PM
jhw539 - Capital gains tax is the majority of income for the rich? How can a tax be income? Reagan lowered taxes across the board and things "boomed." Businesses in the US pay the second highest corporate taxes in the world (next to Japan). So let's squeeze them a little more - wonderful.
Posted by: Jimbo | Jul 14, 2009 9:23:59 PM
Posted by: danita | Jul 14, 2009 9:12:16 PM-
Way to go danita....love it when the TRUTH is told....conservatives ought to be cringing in their boots about now!!
Posted by: DShirley | Jul 14, 2009 9:18:29 PM
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