A Question of Priorities Under an Obama Administration – TabRight.com Editorial
A Question of Priorities During a Recession
According to a January 9th report by NPR, after seeing the US unemployment rate jump to 7.2% President Elect Obama was quoted stating “Clearly, the situation is dire…It is deteriorating and it demands urgent and immediate action…This is the time to act.” Democratic Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, head of the House Financial Services Committee, added that the situation was “…Disastrous…”
On January 7th, CNN reported that the Congressional Budget Office projects the U.S. budget deficit for 2009 will skyrocket to a record $1.2 Trillion. The CBO’s annual budget report states “As a share of the economy, the deficit for this year is anticipated to be the largest recorded since World War II.” As a comparison, even with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the deficit for the 2008 was $455 Billion. The sudden jump to $1.2 Trillion, almost three times as large or $745 Billion larger then 2008, will result in the “…highest-ever deficit…” Perhaps even more disturbing, CNN reports the CBO’s estimate does not include the “…massive spending and tax cut proposed in President-elect Barack Obama’s economic rescue plan.”
When asked by the New York Daily News concerning the now estimated $160 million price tag for President Elect Obama’s inauguration (over 5 times the cost of President Clinton’s 1993 $33 million inauguration) , the spokeswoman for the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies, Carole Florman stated ” We’re always very budget conscious. But we’re sending a message to the entire world about our peaceful transition of power, and you don’t want it to look like a schlock affair. It needs to be appropriate to the magnitude of events that it is.”
Question: If we are in an economic crisis and the “…the situation is dire…”, “…Disastrous…” and “…This is the time to act…”, couldn’t this money be used for something else? Perhaps to help pay some of the cost for armor for our troops, a $3000 tax credit for businesses creating new jobs, unemployment benefits, food stamps, helping students to pay for college…
Source: Guardian.co.uk, NPR, CNN
5 Responses to “A Question of Priorities Under an Obama Administration – TabRight.com Editorial”
Right on, I agree. Pres-elect Obama’s $160 million inauguration reminds me of “Let them eat cake,” Marie Antoinette’s clear ignorance of those suffering around them. As a democrat,this discusses me.
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