Below are the remarks of President Barack Obama – AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY

[darrels joy]

Below are the remarks of President Barack Obama – AS PREPARED FOR DELIVERY


I want to start by thanking Ed for coming here today and sharing his family’s story with all of us.

You know, we tend to take the measure of the economic crisis we face in numbers and statistics. But when we say we’ve lost 3.6 million jobs since this recession began – nearly 600,000 in the past month alone; when we say that this area has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in America, with an unemployment rate over 15 percent; when we talk about layoffs at companies like Monaco Coach, Keystone RV, and Pilgrim International – companies that have sustained this community for years – we’re talking about Ed Neufeldt and people like him all across this country.

We’re talking about folks who’ve lost their livelihood and don’t know what will take its place. Parents who’ve lost their health care and lie awake nights praying the kids don’t get sick. Families who’ve lost the home that was their corner of the American dream. Young people who put that college acceptance letter back in the envelope because they just can’t afford it.

That’s what those numbers and statistics mean. That is the true measure of this economic crisis. Those are the stories I heard when I came here to Elkhart six months ago and that I have carried with me every day since.

I promised you back then that if elected President, I would do everything I could to help this community recover. And that’s why I’ve come back today – to tell you how I intend to keep that promise.

The situation we face could not be more serious. We have inherited an economic crisis as deep and as dire as any since the Great Depression. Economists from across the spectrum have warned that if we don’t act immediately, millions more jobs will be lost, and national unemployment rates will approach double digits. More people will lose their homes and their health care. And our nation will sink into a crisis that, at some point, we may be unable to reverse.

So we can no longer afford to wait and see and hope for the best. We can no longer posture and bicker and resort to the same failed ideas that got us into this mess in the first place – and that the American people rejected at the polls this past November. You didn’t send us to Washington because you were hoping for more of the same. You sent us there with a mandate for change, and the expectation that we would act quickly and boldly to carry it out – and that is exactly what I intend to do as President of the United States.

That is why I put forth a Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that is now before Congress. At its core is a very simple idea: to put Americans back to work doing the work America needs done.

The plan will save or create three to four million jobs over the next two years. But not just any jobs – jobs that meet the needs we’ve neglected for far too long and lay the groundwork for long-term economic growth: jobs fixing our schools; computerizing medical records to save costs and save lives; repairing our infrastructure; and investing in renewable energy to help us move toward energy independence. The plan also calls for immediate tax relief for 95 percent of American workers.

Now I know that some of you might be thinking, well that all sounds good, but when are we going to see any of that here in Elkhart? What does all that mean for our families and our community? Those are exactly the kind of questions you should be asking of your President and your government, and today, I want to provide some answers – and I want to be as specific as I can.

First, this plan will provide for extended unemployment insurance, health care and other assistance for workers and families who have lost their jobs in this recession.

That will mean an additional $100 per month in unemployment benefits to more than 450,000 Indiana workers, extended unemployment benefits for another 89,000 folks who’ve been laid off and can’t find work, and job training assistance to help more than 51,000 people here get back on their feet.

That is not only our moral responsibility – to lend a helping hand to our fellow Americans in times of emergency – but it also makes good economic sense. If you don’t have money, you can’t spend it. And if people don’t spend, our economy will continue to decline.

For that same reason, the plan includes badly needed tax relief for middle class workers and families. The middle class is under siege, and we need to give you more of the money you’ve earned, so you can spend it and pay your bills. Under our plan, individuals get $500 – families, $1,000 – providing relief for nearly 2.5 million workers and their families here in Indiana.

The plan will also provide a partially refundable $2,500 per-student tax credit to help 76,000 Hoosier families send their kids to college. This will benefit your household budgets in the short run, and will benefit America in the long run.

But providing tax relief, and college assistance and help to folks who’ve lost their jobs is not enough. A real recovery plan helps create more jobs and put people back to work.

That’s why, between the investments our plan makes – and the tax relief for small businesses it provides – we’ll create or save nearly 80,000 badly needed jobs for Indiana in the next two years. Now, you may have heard some of the critics of our plan saying that it would create mostly government jobs. That’s simply not true. More than 90 percent of these jobs will be in the private sector. More than 90 percent.

But it’s not just the jobs that will benefit Indiana and the rest of America. It’s the work people will be doing: Rebuilding our roads, bridges, dams and levees. Roads like US 31 here in Indiana that Hoosiers count on, and that connect small towns and rural communities to opportunities for economic growth. And I know that a new overpass downtown would make a big difference for businesses and families right here in Elkhart.

We’ll also put people to work rebuilding our schools so all our kids can have the world-class classrooms, labs and libraries they need to compete in today’s global economy.

Investing in clean alternative sources of energy and the electric grid we need to transport it from coast to coast, helping make Indiana an energy-producing state, not just an energy-consuming state. Weatherizing homes across this state, and installing state of the art equipment to help you control your energy costs.

Building new high-speed broadband lines, reaching schools and small businesses in rural Indiana so they can connect and compete with their counterparts in any city in any country in the world.

And there is much, much more.

Now I’m not going to tell you that this bill is perfect. It isn’t. But it is the right size, the right scope, and has the right priorities to create jobs that will jumpstart our economy and transform it for the twenty-first century.

I also can’t tell you with one hundred percent certainty that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hope. But I can tell you with complete confidence that endless delay or paralysis in Washington in the face of this crisis will bring only deepening disaster.

We’ve had a good debate. Now it’s time to act. That’s why I am calling on Congress to pass this bill immediately. Folks here in Elkhart and across America need help right now, and they can’t afford to keep on waiting for folks in Washington to get this done.

We know that even with this plan, the road ahead won’t be easy. This crisis has been a long time in the making, and we know that we cannot turn it around overnight. Recovery will likely be measured in years, not weeks or months. But we also know that our economy will be stronger for generations to come if we commit ourselves to the work that needs to be done today. And being here in Elkhart, I am more confident than ever before that we will get where we need to be.

Because while I know people are struggling, I also know that folks here are good workers and good neighbors who step up, help each other out, and make sacrifices when times are tough. I know that all folks here are asking for is a chance to work hard – and to have that work translate into a decent life for you and your family.

So I know you all are doing your part out here – and I think it’s about time the government did its part too. That’s what the recovery plan before Congress is about. And that is why I hope Congress passes it as soon as humanly possible, so we can get to work creating jobs, helping families and turning our economy around.

Thank you, and I’d now like to open this up for questions.

[darrels joy]

Drill Baby Drill

They build RVs. Bring down the price of gas and diesel and keep it down and people will buy more recreation vehicles including motor homes, trailers, motorcycles, 4 wheelers, etc.

Joy

[darrels joy]

Here’s a handy list of pork in the Sellout Substitute Amendment from the Turncoat Caucus:
* 2 billion Blagojevich earmark for FutureGen near zero emissions powerplant in Mattoon, IL
* $2 billion for manufacturing advanced batteries for hybrid cars
* $3 million for purchasing “neighborhood electric vehicles” (golf carts)
* $5.5 billion for making federal buildings “green” (including $448 million for DHS HQ)
* $650 million for the DTV transition coupon program
* $1.2 billion for summer jobs for youth
· $200 million for workplace safety in USDA facilities
* $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges and libraries
* $75 million for the Smithsonian Institution
* $750 earmark for the National Computer Center in MD
* $224 million for International Boundary and Water Commission – U.S. and Mexico
* $198 million to design and furnish the DHS headquarters
* $10 million to fight Mexican gunrunners
* $850 million for Amtrak
* $100 million for lead paint hazard reduction
* $39 billion slush fund for “state fiscal stabilization” bailout
* $275 million for flood prevention
* $65 million for watershed rehabilitation
* $255 million for “priority procurements” at Coast Guard (polar ice breaker)$650 million for abandoned mine sites
* $1.3 billion for NASA (including $450 million for “science” at NASA)
* $100 million to clean up sites used in early U.S. atomic energy program
* $10 million for urban canals
* $1.5 billion for carbon capture projects under sec. 703 of P.L. 110-140 (though the original section only authorizes $1 billion for five years)
* $300 million for hybrid and electric cars for federal employees
* $500 million for State and local fire stations
* $180 million for construction of Bureau of Land Management facilities
* $500 million for wildland fire management
* $110 million for construction for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
* $522 million for construction for the Bureau of Indian Affairs
* $412 million for CDC headquarters
* $500 million earmark for NIH facilities in Bethesda, MD
* $100 million for constructing U.S. Marshalls office buildings
* $300 million for constructing Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) office buildings
* $800 million for constructing Federal Prison System buildings and facilities
* $307 million for constructing National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) office buildings
* $1 billion for administrative costs and construction of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) office buildings
* $160 million for “volunteers” at the Corp. for National and Community Service

[Stick]

According to: http://mwhodges.home.att.net/debt_b.htm#international
BOTTOM-LINE - - DEBT SUMMARY TABLE
AMERICA'S TOTAL DEBT (as of Jan. 1, 2008)
- $53 Trillion – add another $60 trillion for other contingencies such as Social Security/Medicare/Medicaid
Our Federal Government Debt Report shows $9.2 Trillion of debt as of end CY 2007, the State & Local Government Report shows debt of $2.2 Trillion, and $41.6 Trillion of private (household, business and financial sector) debt is revealed in America's Total Debt Report.
These sum to $53 Trillion - - equivalent to $175,154 per capita, or $700,616 per family of 4.
(This sum does not include the federal government's un-funded contingent liabilities such as social security/Medicare/Medicaid estimated at $57 trillion, plus additional unknown amounts(?) for other contingencies listed below.)
The following table summarizes Total Debt in America - - as of December 31, 2007
According to: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/to...cle2120735.ece
Dated June 23, 2007
US financial watchdog says economy at risk from ‘non-ally’ bondholders
Suzy Jagger and Gary Duncan
America’s leading public finance watchdog has sounded a warning that the US economy is vulnerable to hostile financial actions by nations that are not its “allies”.
David Walker, the US comptroller general, indicated that the huge holdings of American government debt by countries such as China, Saudi Arabia and Libya could leave a powerful financial weapon in the hands of countries that may be hostile to US corporate and diplomatic interests.
Mr Walker told The Times that foreign investors have more control over the US economy than Americans, leaving the country in a state that was “financially imprudent”.
He said: “More and more of our debt is held by foreign countries – some of which are our allies and some are not.”
Mr Walker, who heads the Government agency that is responsible for auditing the national accounts and is also the arm of Congress that scrutinis-es spending by the Administration, said that the US has been forced to rely on foreign investors more because Americans are saving so little.
According to US Treasury Department statistics, Japan is the biggest foreign holder of US Treasury bonds, with almost $623 billion (£310 billion) of US government debt as of December last year. Mainland China is the second biggest investor, with about $397 billion, and oil exporters, which include Iran and Saudi Arabia, had $110 billion.
The UK, while the biggest foreign investor in US equities, is the fourth-biggest holder of US Treasuries.
While Mr Walker referred to Britain as “the best ally the US could hope for”, he told The Times that “anybody who looks at that list will see that some of the countries there are not traditional US allies. You will see that China, Korea and a number of Opec nations are there. Not all the countries on the list share the same economic, national and foreign polices as the US.”
The worry is that should any of these foreign nations choose to reduce their holdings significantly, it would trigger sharp falls in US government bond prices, driving up their yield, which would raise borrowing costs sharply for American consumers and companies. While most economists take the view that countries such as China are unlikely to reduce their US bond holdings because they would also suffer a fall in the value of their own investments, China could still be perceived as holding a powerful financial weapon.
Ian Shepherdson, an economist at High Frequency Economics, said: “The US has a symbiotic relationship with China. The US cannot afford for China to sell its US treasuries but, equally, China cannot afford to see the value [of its treasury bonds] slide. They are strategic enemies and are in a financially weird relationship. China’s holdings represent about a third of Chinese GDP.”
China has been buying US Treasury bonds faster than any other big country – it has increased its holdings six fold in six years. Beijing has accumulated the bonds as a consequence of its extensive program of intervention in the currency markets. To hold down the value of the yuan, China buys dollar assets and sells the yuan.
This month Mr. Walker described the US as suffering from a “fiscal cancer'” because of the massive long-term healthcare liabilities that the nation faces. The financial burden caused by healthcare entitlements has increased from about $20 trillion to $50 trillion over the past six years, representing a $440,000 bill for every American household, he explained. He also added that in 2005 and 2006, Americans spent more money than they took home, the first such pattern since 1933.
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YOU OWE A LOT MORE TODAY AND WILL OWE EVEN MORE TOMORROW. The above statistics are from just the Federal debt. Your State is also indebted to another country I'm sure.
When are we going to realize that America is not owned by Americans?

Thomas Jefferson: "I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and debt as the greatest of dangers to be feared."