Today the news came that GM and Ford are slashing workforces and posting huge losses. GM is on the verge of bankruptcy.
The jobless rate is rising, the economy is still sinking, and the credit crunch is not exactly helping businesses or individuals.
President-elect Obama gave his first press conference today after a meeting with his economic team. He vows to take the challenge head on, while offering few specifics at this time until he’s sworn in. Except that he sees the urgent need for an economic stimulus package passed sooner than later. If it doesn’t happen in the upcoming lame duck session of Congress, he’ll rush to pass one when he takes office.
It’s unlikely Congress will pass a stimulus package in the next month to come unless Bush gets behind it.
Nancy Pelosi has said if they do take up the topic she hopes it includes some green measures to create jobs.
One thing for sure, we’ve reached a turning point in America how we deal with oil, energy, and the types of cars we drive. It’s time to change for the survival of our businesses, to grow jobs and to help our planet and environment.
From Grist:
Stimulate this
Pelosi wants a stimulus package that includes green measures
Posted by Kate Sheppard at 12:20 PM on 06 Nov 2008
In her post-election press conference yesterday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) affirmed her desire that a new economic stimulus plan — which could be taken up in a lame-duck session of Congress later this month — include green measures:
The economy, of course, is the top item on the agenda as we go forward, and we’ll all be planning what happens in January when we meet with the new President-elect. But even before then, we have a stimulus package on the table that I hope the Republicans in the Senate will allow to be taken up in a lame duck session, and the communication with the White House about such a stimulus package to grow our economy by creating jobs and to do it in a newer, greener way; to recognize the unemployment situation in our country by extending unemployment insurance; to understand that people are hungry in America, to provide additional emergency food assistance; and to give help to the states for their health needs for seniors and for children and other needs that they have.
Central to the job creation issue is the strong piece for rebuilding the infrastructure of America, again, in a way that reduces our dependence on foreign oil and that creates good green jobs in America. That is the first order of business that we will have, if it appears to have an opportunity, then we will have a lame duck session to take it up, but again, those conversations are still taking place with the White House.
