Credit Crisis
You don't need to hear another list of statistics to know that our economy is in crisis.
You see, the flow of credit is the lifeblood of our economy. But credit has stopped flowing the way it should. Too many bad loans from the housing crisis have made their way onto the books of too many banks. And with so much debt and so little confidence, these banks are now fearful of lending out any more money
There will be no real recovery unless we clean up the credit crisis that has severely weakened our financial system. And our goal is to quicken the day when we restart lending to the American people and American business and end this crisis once and for all.
To respond to an economic crisis that is global in scope, we are working with the nations of the G-20 to restore confidence in our financial system,
The weight of this crisis will not determine the destiny of this nation. If we come together and lift this nation from the depths of this crisis, if we put our people back to work and restart the engine of our prosperity, then some day, years from now, our children can tell their children that this was the time when we performed.
My budget does not attempt to solve every problem or address every issue. It reflects the stark reality of what we've inherited: a trillion-dollar deficit, a financial crisis, and a costly recession.
With the deficit we inherited, the cost of the crisis we face, and the long-term challenges we must meet, it has never been more important to ensure that, as our economy recovers, we do what it takes to bring this deficit down.
In a time of crisis, we cannot afford to govern out of anger or yield to the politics of the moment.
Debt
We still managed to spend more money and pile up more debt, both as individuals and through our government, than ever before.
The only way this century will be another American century is if we confront at last the price of our dependence on oil and the high cost of health care, the schools that aren't preparing our children and the mountain of debt they stand to inherit.
Another responsibility we have to our children, and that's the responsibility to ensure that we do not pass on to them a debt they cannot pay. In order to save our children from a future of debt, we will also end the tax breaks for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans.
Invest and Grow
A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future.
Now is the time to jump-start job creation, re-start lending, and invest in areas like energy, health care, and education that will grow our economy. A failure to act would have worsened our long-term deficit by assuring weak economic growth for years. The only way to fully restore
The budget I submit will invest in the three areas that are absolutely critical to our economic future: energy, health care, and education.
We will invest $15 billion a year to develop technologies like wind power and solar power, advanced biofuels, clean coal, and more efficient cars and trucks built right here in America.
Our recovery plan will invest in electronic health records and new technology that will reduce errors, bring down costs, ensure privacy, and save lives. It makes the largest investment ever in preventive care, because that's one of the best ways to keep our people healthy and our costs under control.
We've made a historic investment in education through the economic recovery plan. We'll invest in innovative programs that are already helping schools meet high standards and close achievement gaps.
