President Obama's WaPo Op-Ed

President Barack Obama has an op-ed piece in The Washington Post today.


In recent days, there have been misguided criticisms of this plan that echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis -- the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures; that we can ignore fundamental challenges such as energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive.
I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change. They know that we have tried it those ways for too long. And because we have, our health-care costs still rise faster than inflation. Our dependence on foreign oil still threatens our economy and our security. Our children still study in schools that put them at a disadvantage. We've seen the tragic consequences when our bridges crumble and our levees fail.
Every day, our economy gets sicker -- and the time for a remedy that puts Americans back to work, jump-starts our economy and invests in lasting growth is now.

The President said much of the same yesterday. It was in a tone that, frankly, I would like to have seen a week earlier when the Republicans in the House of Representatives voted against a quick economic stimulus package for political bravado. I have a hard time believing that their constituents are against government spending on infrastructure when many of them are without power during a basic winter storm. Or, that they are against government spending on green technology and rebuilding bridges when so many people are without a job. The Republicans in Congress are performing fantastic political theater at the worst time. Hopefully, our senators will come together this week and put a stop to it. 626,000 people filed unemployment claims last week. Enough is enough.

Read the whole piece here.