President Elect Barrack Obama Weekly Address November 15, 2008 Unofficial Transcript

Today the leaders of the G20 Nations, a group that includes the world largest economist are gathering in Washington to seek solutions to the on going turmoil in our financial markets. I’m glad President Bush has initiated this process, because our global economic crisis requires a coordinate response.  And Yet as we act in concert with other nations we must also act immediately here at home to address America’s own economic crisis.  This week amongst continued volatiles in our financial markets, we learned that employment insurance claims rose to their highest level since 9/11/2001; we’ve lose jobs for 10 straight months — nearly 1.2 million jobs this year — many of them in our struggling auto industry.  And millions of our fellow citizens lay awake each night wondering how they are going to pay their bills, stay in their homes, and save for retirement.   

Make no mistake, this is the greatest economic crisis of our times.  And while the road ahead will be long, and the work will be hard, I know that we will be able to steer ourselves out of the crisis.  Because here in America we always rise to the moment no matter how hard.  And I am more hopeful as ever that America will rise again, but we must act right now.  Next week Congress will meet to address the spreading impact of the economic crisis.  I urge them to at least pass a down payment on a rescue plan that will create jobs, relieve the squeeze on families, and help get the economy growing again.  In particular, we can not afford to delay in providing help for the more than 1 million Americans who will have exhausted their employment insurance by the end of this year.

If Congress does not pass an immediately plan that gives the economy the boost it needs, I will make it my first order of business as president.  Even as we dig ourselves out of this recession we must also realized that out of this economic crisis comes an opportunity to create new jobs, strength our mid-class, and keep our economy competed the 21st century.  And that starts with the long turn investments that we have neglected for too long.  That means putting 2 million Americans to work, rebuilding our crumbling roads — bridges and schools.  It means investing 150 billion dollars to build an American green energy economy that will create 5 million new jobs, while free our nation of the teariny of foreign oil, and saving our planet for our child. It means making healthcare affordable for anyone who has it, accessible for anyone who wants it, and reducing cost for small businesses. And it also means giving every child a world class education they need to compete with any worker anywhere in the world. 

Doing all this requires not just new policies, but a new spirit.  A new spirit of service and sacrifice.  Where each of us resolutes to pitch in and work harder.  And look after not only ourselves, but each other.  If this financial crisis has taught us anything, it that we can not have a growing Wall Street while main street suffers. In this country we rise and fall as one nation, as one people — and that’s how we will meet the challenge of this time — together.

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Other Resources

• President Barrack Obama Weekly Address Dec 24 2008 Unofficial Transcript
• President Barrack Obama Weekly Address Dec 6 2008 Unofficial Transcript
• Health Care Reform – Losing Insurance
• Debunking Health Insurance Reform – Health Care America