Obama Confident Republicans Getting Ready For Compromise
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – President Barack Obama on Sunday looked forward to accountability and responsibility from the newly-elected Republicans in the House.
“My expectation is, when I sit down with Mitch McConnell and John Boehner this week, along with the Democratic leaders, that there are a set of things that need to get done during the lame duck, and that they are not going to want to just obstruct, that they’re going to want to engage constructively,” he said.
The President made the comments Sunday to journalists aboard Air Force One as he returned from a 10-day trip to India, Indonesia, Korea and Japan.
Obama noted that “I believe it is a mistake for us to borrow $700 billion to make tax cuts permanent for millionaires and billionaires. It won’t significantly boost the economy, and it’s hugely expensive. So we can’t afford it.”
The president, however, expressed his willingness to learn “how they (the Republicans) intend to spend–how they intend to pay for it,” as he recalled that, “during the campaign at least, the Republicans expressed some strong feelings about (those tax-cuts).”
“I want to hear from them how strongly they feel about it, particularly given that they’re also saying they want to control the deficit and debt,” he added.
“Campaigning is very different from governing,” noted Obama. “All of us learn that. And they’re (the Republicans) still flush with victory, having run a strategy that was all about saying no.”
The American people “want to see us make progress precisely because they understand instinctually how competitive things are and how we have to step up our game.” Obama hoped that “we should be able at least to get through the lame duck, making sure that taxes don’t go up for middle-class families starting January 1st, that some of the key business provisions that can assure economic growth get done.”
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Indian PM, Obama Agree India Not Stealing American Jobs
New Delhi, India (AHN) – Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh insisted Monday that instead of “stealing American jobs,” India was helping “improve the productive capacity and productivity of America.”
Speaking with Singh at a joint press conference at Hyderabad House, U.S. President Barack Obama tried to assuage India’s fears over his views on “outsourcing” by saying that $10 billion in business deals, to be signed during the course of his visit, would create more than 50,000 jobs for Indians.
The two leaders committed themselves to encourage bilateral cooperation in the fields of technology, trade and investment so that living standards could be raised in India while the U.S. economy could be saved from the floundering pathways since the 2008 economic downturn.
Prior to the press conference, Obama and Singh met for a one-to-one talk, during which they discussed issues of bilateral importance including terrorism.
However, Obama’s focus remained on business and benefits emerging from it. “When I go back to the US, a part of the reason that I advertised these 50,000 jobs is I want to be able to say to the American people when they ask me why are you spending time in India when they are taking our jobs. I want to be able to say they actually created 50,000 jobs and that’s why we should not be resorting to protectionist measures. We should not be thinking that it’s just a one-way street.”
Obama’s India visit comes in the dismal backdrop of his Democratic Party’s frustrating performance in the mid-term elections, which is believed to have been a result of the high unemployment level and difficult economic conditions in the past two years.
While Singh welcomed Obama’s remark that the relationship between India and the U.S. would be a “defining partnership of the 21st century,” he also pointed out India’s requirement of about $1 trillion worth of investment into the country’s infrastructure over the next five years.
According to U..S data, Indian companies are the second-largest investor in America with a figure of $4.5 billion, left behind only by the UAE. In return, India received only about 8 percent of its total Foreign Direct Investment from the U.S. in 2009-10.
Perhaps that is why Singh mentioned, “We welcome U.S. investments and high technology in key sectors of our economy, including nuclear energy.”
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Republicans take control of House
Americans went to the polls for Congressional elections that are expected to hand control of the House of Representatives to the Republican party and significantly diminish the Democratic majority in the Senate, an outcome that will be seen as a repudiation of the Obama administration’s first two years in office
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President Barack Obama Says “It Gets Better” In New Anti-Bullying Video
Los Angeles, CA, United States (AHN) – President Barack Obama submitted a video for the “It Gets Better” project, which has featured gay and gay-friendly celebrities speaking out to youths about the current bullying and gay suicide epidemic. President Obama wants to fight against discrimination, against LGBT Americans or anyone.
“Like all of you, I was shocked and saddened by the deaths of several young people who were bullied and taunted for being gay, and who ultimately took their own lives,” President Barack Obama said in the video. “As a parent of two daughters, it breaks my heart. It’s something that just shouldn’t happen in this country.”
“We’ve got to dispel the myth that bullying is just a normal rite of passage—that it’s some inevitable part of growing up. It’s not,” President Obama continued. “We have an obligation to ensure that our schools are safe for all of our kids.”
Since the “It Gets Better” project launched, from “Savage Love” columnist Dan Savage, the award-winning project has received videos from celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres, Tim Gunn, and Kathy Griffin. In their videos, they all encouraged young LGBT adults and anyone currently affected by bulling to stay strong.
President Obama’s video was posted both by Savage on his blog as well as on the White House website.
“I don’t know what it’s like to be picked on for being gay,” President Obama said.” But I do know what it’s like to grow up feeling that sometimes you don’t belong. It’s tough.”
“But what I want to say is this. You are not alone,” he continued.” You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t do anything to deserve being bullied. And there is a whole world waiting for you, filled with possibilities. There are people out there who love you and care about you just the way you are.”
But Savage also challenges President Obama to not just say it gets better, but to make things better. The video comes amidst the administration’s appealing of recent “don’t ask, don’t tell” efforts and the Defense of Marriage Act.
“The president of the United States has the power to do more than assure LGBT kids that it will get better,” Savage said on CNN Friday. “The president of the United States and his administration have the power to make it better.”
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Obama Suggests $50 Billion for Transportation Infrastructure
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – President Barack Obama said Monday the federal government needs to invest $50 billion in the nation’s transportation infrastructure to create jobs and stimulate the economy. Obama met with mayors and governors at the White House to promote his plan for a “National Infrastructure Bank.”
“Nearly one in five construction workers is still unemployed and needs a job,” Obama said at a press conference. “And that makes absolutely no sense when so much of America needs rebuilding.”
The $50 billion would pay to lay and maintain 4,000 miles of railroad track, rebuild 150,000 miles of roadways, upgrade airport runways and improve the nation’s air traffic control system.
Obama first proposed the infrastructure investments last month but renewed his calls for the program Monday after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the nation’s unemployment rate held steady in September at 9.6 percent, the same as a month earlier. Some economists say the government estimate is too low and that the real figure is closer to 10.1 percent.
“Investing in infrastructure is something members of both political parties have always supported,” Obama said. “There’s no reason why we can’t do this. This is work that needs to be done. There are workers who can do it. All we need is the political will.”
Also on Monday, the Treasury Department released a study saying a lack of infrastructure investment is hurting U.S. economic competitiveness.
“It is clear that persistent neglect of our infrastructure will impact America’s competitive position vis-a-vis the rest of the world,” the report says.
U.S. infrastructure spending dropped by 50 percent since 1960. It stands at 2 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). By comparison, China spends about 9 percent of its GDP on infrastructure while most European countries spend about 5 percent.
The study found that 90 percent of the jobs the investment would create would be middle-income.
The White House Council of Economic Advisors says every $1 billion invested in transportation infrastructure would create about 35,000 jobs.
However, Congressional Republicans say the $50 billion program would add to the nation’s deficit at a time it is spiraling out of control.
Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has said the proposal is “yet another government stimulus effort.”
He referred to the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which Congress passed last year to lift the nation out of recession. Republicans criticize it for burdening the economy with too much debt. The government would manage the infrastructure bank after collecting revenue from private investors and taxes.
Some of the projects could be built as public-private joint ventures with investors reaping profits after they are completed. Grants for the projects would be awarded based on performance measures that determine whether they provide safety, environmental or economic benefits.
The $50 billion would be part of a $500 billion, six-year bill Congress is considering to pay for nearly all government transportation programs, such as highways, airports, passenger railroads and public transit. Obama met with governors Edward G. Rendell (D-Pa.) and Jack Markell (D-Del.) at the White House to discuss his proposal. They were joined by the mayors of Atlanta, Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Columbus, Philadelphia and Charleston, S.C.
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) have both said they support the idea of a National Infrastructure Bank.
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