George Mason University, Transcript Excerpts
January 8, 2009
Summary: The economy is in a crisis, need to invest and grow. No mention of “stimulate”, the preferred term is now “invest”.
CRISIS
We start 2009 in the midst of a crisis unlike any we have seen in our lifetime, a crisis that has only deepened over the last few weeks.
This crisis did not happen solely by some accident of history or normal turn of the business cycle, and we won't get out of it by simply waiting for a better day to come or relying on the worn-out dogmas of the past.
Now, the very fact that this crisis is largely of our own making means that it's not beyond our ability to solve.
If we hope to end this crisis, we must end the culture of "anything goes" that helped create it.
That's why we need to restart the flow of credit and restore the rules of the road that will ensure a crisis like this never happens again.
To help Americans who have lost their jobs and can't find new ones, we'll continue the bipartisan extension of unemployment insurance and health-care coverage to help them through this crisis.
This recovery plan alone will not solve all the problems that led us into this crisis.
For every day we wait or point fingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs; more families will lose their savings; more dreams will be deferred and denied; and our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.
INVEST
We need to put money in the pockets of the American people, create new jobs, and invest in our future.
We'll invest in priorities like energy and education; health care and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century.
To improve the quality of our health care while lowering its cost, we will make the immediate investments necessary to ensure that within five years all of America's medical records are computerized.
And it means investing in the science, research and technology that will lead to new medical breakthroughs, new discoveries, and entire new industries.
This recovery and reinvestment plan will provide immediate relief to states, workers and families who are bearing the brunt of this recession.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan won't just throw money at our problems; we'll invest in what works.
Instead of politicians doling out money behind a veil of secrecy, decisions about where we invest will be made transparently, and informed by independent experts wherever possible.
We have to make tough choices and smart investments today so that as the economy recovers, the deficits start coming down.
It means reforming a weak and outdated regulatory system so that we can better withstand financial shocks and better protect consumers, investors and businesses from the reckless greed and risk- taking that must never endanger our prosperity again.
AND GROW
I have moved quickly to work with my economic team and leaders of both parties on an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that will immediately jump- start job creation and long-term growth.
We cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or long-term growth, but at this particular moment, only government can provide the short-term boost necessary to lift us from a recession this deep and severe.
Only government can break the cycle that are crippling our economy -- where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs which leads to even less spending; where an inability to lend and borrow stops growth and leads to even less credit.
The true test of the policies we'll pursue won't be whether they're Democratic or Republican ideas, whether they're conservative or liberal ideas, but whether they create jobs, grow our economy, and put the American Dream within reach of the American people.
Our goal is not to create a slew of new government programs, but a foundation for long-term economic growth.
Chicago Sun Times Transcript
