Neal Peirce

Obama’s huge challenge

Washington Post Writers Group, Jan 10, 09.

Tagged with urban planning, environment, economy, government, recovery plan

An economic stimulus plan is one thing. And unless one’s mired in a Herbert Hoover-type mindset, it’s tough to question the need for strong, immediate fiscal measures to reverse the course of the dangerously deepening recession we’re now witnessing.

But how about a full-scale “American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan” with the power to both fight recession and start building a truly competitive, world-class 21st century American economy?

We should expect nothing less from the incoming Obama administration, according to Larry Summers, the former Treasury Secretary tapped to head the new White House Economic Council.

That means immediate action to create new jobs–Obama’s new goal is 3 million in two years. But it also means an early start on future-oriented investments in areas where the nation’s been lagging, such as critical infrastructure, spurring renewable energy, and information technology to start modernizing our health care system. And, Summers writes for the Washington Post, “investments to build the classrooms, laboratories and libraries our children need to meet 21st century educational challenges.”

Yet there’s an immediate problem. The stimulus bill numbers congressional committees are considering, as part of an overall package close to $800 billion that Obama might sign by later this month, seems heavily weighted to very large but relatively unimaginative expenditures. Read more>>

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