Obama: ‘We’re Past the Crisis Point in the Economy’
By Hazel Trice Edney
President Obama touted successes to reporters before vacationing in Hawaii.
WASHINGTON (TEWire) – Despite record high Black unemployment rates, President Obama says the ailing economy is now “past the crisis point” and that his strategies for 2011 will focus mainly on job creation.
“Well, I do think that the car is on level ground. I mean, the car is the economy” the President said in a press conference just before leaving to join the First Family in Hawaii for Christmas vacation. “And I think we are past the crisis point in the economy, but we now have to pivot and focus on jobs and growth.”
He continued, “And my singular focus over the next two years is not rescuing the economy from potential disaster, but rather jumpstarting the economy so that we actually start making a dent in the unemployment rate and we are equipping ourselves so that we can compete in the 21st century.”
Exuding what appears to be new confidence after winning a short-lived battle with Democrats over his tax bill concession to Republicans, the President outlined a pre-State of the Union vision.
Among the general solutions to moving ahead on his agenda, President Obama told the press assembled in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building that Democrats and Republicans must learn to coalesce in the now Republican-dominated House and Democrat-dominated Senate.
“We’ve got to look at some of our old dogmas - both Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals - to think about what works,” Obama said. “The American people are driving the car. They're the ones who are going to be making an assessment as to whether we’re putting in place policies that are working for them. And both parties are going to be held accountable and I’m going to be held accountable if we take a wrong turn on that front.”
Touting a list of successful bi-partisan votes, including his across the board tax cuts, the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”, and a food safety bill, President Obama said Congressional votes since the Nov. 1 election exemplified the “most productive post-election period we’ve had in decades, and it comes on the heels of the most productive two years that we’ve had in generations.”
During Obama’s second State of the Union address in mid-January, African-Americans will no doubt be listening for specifics as Black unemployment remains at 16 percent, at 16.7 for Black males, and almost half of Black youth between 16 and 19 are unemployed.
Obama acknowledges that he has much work to do before the 2012 election, but he still avoids speaking boldly to the nation about race disparities specifically pertaining to Blacks.
Meanwhile, he expressed disappointment about Congress’ inability to agree on the “Dream Act”, which would allow children smuggled illegally into the country to serve in the U. S. military or attend college without fear of deportation. He also expressed disappointment over the Congress’ inability to agree on a long term budget.
He concluded: “I expect we’ll have a robust debate about this when we return from the holidays - a debate that will have to answer an increasingly urgent question - and that is how do we cut spending that we don’t need while making investments that we do need - investments in education, research and development, innovation, and the things that are essential to grow our economy over the long run, create jobs, and compete with every other nation in the world. I look forward to hearing from folks on both sides of the aisle about how we can accomplish that goal.”