America, Obama and the Recession

Speakers: James Matthews; Professor Iwan Morgan; Carl Mortished
Chair: Alan Miller

President Barack Obama inherited an American economy in severe trouble. Immediately upon entering the White House, Obama introduced the most wide-reaching state-led counter-crisis measures since the New Deal of the 1930s. The Obama administrations New New Deal includes bank bailouts, the largest peacetime economic stimulus package, a toxic asset plan, government takeover of General Motors and new financial regulations.

Obama has said that getting the economy back on its feet is his number one priority, and its likely that his handling of economic affairs will be a major factor in determining whether his presidency is considered a success. Many praised the new American president for taking bold action and showing dynamic leadership. Polls have showed that Obamas personal popularity has remained high, but as the recession has dragged on and unemployment has continued to rise, a growing number have begun to question the effectiveness of his policies. Has Obama gone too far in increasing government spending, or not far enough? Are the resulting huge US government deficits a temporary phenomenon, or will they cause a fiscal crisis in the near future? Does his governments ownership of car companies and banks provide just short-term restructuring assistance, or do such moves herald a greater direct role for the state in the economy?

This session will seek to cut through the superficial assessments about Obamas popularity and examine to what extent his administrations initiatives can not only address the immediate downturn, but lay a foundation for longer-term economic growth.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• battle
• 2009
• ideas
• institute
• debate
• politics
• america
• obama
• recession
• economy
• growth
• financial
• crisis

[SocialDissimulation]

Made millions off of a movie???

[anno6181947]

Intelligence community is ineffective. Huge amounts of incoming data. Few Analysts. Every aspect of society has huge amounts of incoming data. No one actually analyzing and recommending. Academia and economists appear ineffective. Nobody will to commit to an idea. Look what happened to Gore when he did.