Obama versus austerity: Who wins?
President Barack Obama is making a push to bolster spending on infrastructure and R&D, but is it too late for him to combat austerity? Brown says it may be.
President Barack Obama is making a push to bolster spending on infrastructure and R&D, but is it too late for him to combat austerity? Brown says it may be.
The debt ceiling debate resumes headed into this November for some unknown reason that makes sense to very few educated people. In the meantime, Obama's going to make another push for infrastructure spending, R&D spending, and the other things he campaigned based on - the stuff Congress won't let him enact in real life.
He is unlikely to succeed in his efforts given political realities.
This weekend, the New York Times ran a wide-ranging interview with the President on this economic agenda. Here's what he had to say about the politics of austerity during a time of growth and job market challenges:
In my opinion, neither side has articulated why its economic policies will create jobs. Obama has failed to convince the American people that we've had a historic opportunity to borrow money - essentially for free - to rebuild 30- to 70-year infrastructure around the country. As President, this should have been a primary thrust of his in the first term. Instead, we really only heard about during his campaigns.
Too late?