Obama Accepts U.S. Debt as a Bigger Threat than the Recession (That's Not Good)

Last week I got involved in a nice discussion with my brothers over at The Urban Politico. Central to the discussion was the question: What exactly can president Obama do about the job crisis faced by Black people? It was a nice exchange, one where I learned a thing or two. However, I was left with the impression that, well, there is absolutely nothing the president can do beyond passage of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act.

Yeah RiPPa, the prez can't make them folks hire people, nor can the gov't create jobs; that's up to Wall Street! Besides, Negroes are lazy and they ain't trynna find work; yep, they love Welfare and that ain't finna change!

Now of course you know I'm not of that belief or opinion; and yes, there is something the president and by extension the gov't can do; yeah, how's that $26 billion in tax cuts for small businesses of a jobs bill working out while Wall Street sits on $1 trillion in cash? But at any rate, I think it's pretty sad that while we're in the midst of economic recovery, that we're talking about deficits and not job creation, which is needed to boost the economy. As opposed to a discussion of necessary but painful budget cuts to help in deficit reduction.

Folks, that's ass-backwards and here's why:


BIO: Robert Pollin is Professor of Economics and founding Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. His research centers on macroeconomics, conditions for low-wage workers in the U.S. and globally, the analysis of financial markets, and the economics of building a clean-energy economy in the U.S. Most recently, he co-authored the reports Job Opportunities for the Green Economy (June 2008) and Green Recovery(September 2008), exploring the broader economic benefits of large-scale investments in a clean-energy economy in the U.S. He has worked with the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Economic Commission on Africa on policies to promote to promote decent employment expansion and poverty reduction in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. He has also worked with the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress and as a member of the Capital Formation Subcouncil of the U.S. Competiveness Policy Council.