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President Obama's speeches on the economy are needlessly scaring the daylights out of the American people.
In a foolish effort to ensure swift passage of his fiscal stimulus plan, which is aimed at arresting the recession (more on this aspect later), the president and his aides have used jargon that risks making it worse, to say the least.
For example, while addressing the residents of Elkhart, Ind., last week, Obama warned that "if we don't act immediately, our nation will sink into a crisis that, at some point, we may be unable to reverse." This was nothing more than a poke in the eye to Republicans (and some democrats) who have been dead-set against the second bailout.
I don’t like Bills passed by Congress that have not seen daylight long enough to be read and understood. Since the Patriot Act (one of the worst pieces of legislation passed in the last decade), more and more of the “people’s work” goes unread before passing, except for pet projects or earmarks. Congressional Staffers may read the Bills - but they are not elected and paid to represent the constituent’s’
A few days later, when asked at his first press conference as president to elaborate on why he used such "dire language," the president referred to a "potentially negative spiral that becomes much more difficult for us to get out of."
He must have been referring to words that his top economic adviser, Lawrence Summers, used recently: we must "contain what is a very damaging and potentially deflationary spiral"
Really! Even the Great Depression, which the president also referred to in his press conference, eventually came to an end.
This kind of talk usually comes from gold bugs and those who are ready to head for the hills, armed with ammunition and canned goods. One does not expect to hear such language from the leader of the free world.
True, there's no point in sugarcoating the current environment. Doing so risks reminding people of another president, one who was perceived as out of touch.
Herbert Hoover maintained that "prosperity was just around the corner" in 1932, even as the economy continued to head south.
But his successor, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, beat Hoover in the 1932 election by promising the American people a "New Deal." He tried to engender confidence by saying in his inaugural address that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
While this may not be your father's recession, neither is it your grandfather's Depression -- although, in view of how dour people's attitudes are these days, it is not too difficult to imagine that we could easily talk ourselves into such a downturn.
Maybe the president and his aides should take a leaf from Roosevelt's campaign and from his inaugural address. Besides the stimulus package, a little dose of optimism may go a long way to help break this downward spiral.
The president should change the venue for his speeches to more upbeat locales. He should also remind people that the vast majority of the population still has a job, money in the bank, and a house that is not in danger of being foreclosed.
These people have to eat, buy clothes, take medicine and repair or replace their old car. The president should tell them not to be afraid to spend.
Since business cycles are a product of human nature, the administration should remember that psychology works both ways.
Now that the president's stimulus package has become law, he would do well to remember another phrase from a bygone era: "You've got to accentuate the positive."
Next - we will deal with the reality of the new bailout packages.........
But Before We Do - Please read THIS FIRST
Now, you should be warned and you are now warned that my words on the 2009 Stimulus package as so far revealed have something to offend everyone. It matters not if you are a Democrat or Republican, I can assure you you won’t like what is written here
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