The Garden City Telegram
Email this story | Add Your Comment
| Read (0) Comments
Jobs first
Published 1/28/2010 in Commentary : Editorial
President Obama rode into office on a pledge to bring change to a nation in turmoil.
Frustrated by troubles ranging from war to a plunging economy, Americans went ahead and elected the Democrat who promised a new spirit of hope and bipartisanship needed to change the course of the nation.
Yet a year later, change has become the president's biggest burden.
In his first State of the Union address Wednesday, Obama did his best to rally fellow Democrats to stay the course in forwarding his agenda. But with all 435 House seats and a third of Senate seats up for grabs in November, he has to worry about securing bipartisan support needed to push through legislation that delivers positive change.
And jobs top the list.
In his speech, the president offered a variety of tax breaks and other incentives to create new jobs, such as eliminating capital gains taxes on small business investment and extending tax breaks for businesses to invest in new plants and equipment.
He also acknowledged the unpopularity of bank bailouts and other economic stimulus initiatives that, while bashed as out-of-control spending, did slow the economic slide.
But with unemployment still at 10 percent and health care reform dominating the discussion of late, Americans out of work and feeling other fallout of the economic meltdown understandably have grown more frustrated.
The president has to reach out to those in trouble on Main Street America who care more about a thriving economy and steady paycheck than health care reform (even though reining in health care costs and providing coverage for the uninsured would aid the economy.)
The worst of the economic storm may have passed, as the president noted. Yet history proves that in an economic recovery, jobs don't materialize as fast as anyone would like.
A growing economy that generates jobs is the kind of change Americans want, and the president needs to salvage his own political future.
The worst of the economic crisis may indeed be over. But, with so many in Congress facing re-election, plenty of clouds still linger over the prospect of delivering jobs as quickly as possible.
Found 0 comment(s)!
Twitter Updates
