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End of America's Great Recession, declares Obama
President Obama has declared an end to America’s “Great Recession”, saying the country had “fought its way back” and reinstated the “American Dream” where hard work is rewarded with prosperity.
In a landmark speech littered with historical references, the US president argued that the “basic bargain” at the heart of the US economy - that those who worked hard could build a better life for themselves - had lain in tatters when he became president, because many jobs were relocated overseas and technology rendered others obsolete. Photo: AP
By Katherine Rushton, US Business Editor
7:16PM BST 24 Jul 2013
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In a landmark speech littered with historical references, the US president argued that the “basic bargain” at the heart of the US economy - that those who worked hard could build a better life for themselves - had lain in tatters when he became president, because many jobs were relocated overseas and technology rendered others obsolete.
“A housing bubble, credit cards, and a churning financial sector keep the economy artificially juiced up. But by the time I took office in 2009, the bubble had burst,” he said.
However, he said that the US had finally weaned itself off its “addition to foreign oil”, saved the auto industry from collapse, and started attracting foreign investment instead of losing its business overseas.
It has also cracked down on banks, and changed “a tax code too skewed in favour of the wealthiest Americans at the expense of working families” so that it asked “those at the top to pay a little more”.
President Obama’s speech comes ahead of a series of key deadlines, when the US government will be forced to raise its debt ceiling, or consider more controversial tax hikes and spending cuts in order to avoid a government shutdown.
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However, his critics immediately called for less grandstanding and more detail on the government’s proposed policies for supporting economic growth. House speaker John Boehner said his speech was like an “Easter egg with no candy”.
President Obama has declared an end to America’s “Great Recession”, saying the country had “fought its way back” and reinstated the “American Dream” where hard work is rewarded with prosperity.
In a landmark speech littered with historical references, the US president argued that the “basic bargain” at the heart of the US economy - that those who worked hard could build a better life for themselves - had lain in tatters when he became president, because many jobs were relocated overseas and technology rendered others obsolete. Photo: AP By Katherine Rushton, US Business Editor
7:16PM BST 24 Jul 2013
24 Comments In a landmark speech littered with historical references, the US president argued that the “basic bargain” at the heart of the US economy - that those who worked hard could build a better life for themselves - had lain in tatters when he became president, because many jobs were relocated overseas and technology rendered others obsolete.
“A housing bubble, credit cards, and a churning financial sector keep the economy artificially juiced up. But by the time I took office in 2009, the bubble had burst,” he said.
However, he said that the US had finally weaned itself off its “addition to foreign oil”, saved the auto industry from collapse, and started attracting foreign investment instead of losing its business overseas.
It has also cracked down on banks, and changed “a tax code too skewed in favour of the wealthiest Americans at the expense of working families” so that it asked “those at the top to pay a little more”.
President Obama’s speech comes ahead of a series of key deadlines, when the US government will be forced to raise its debt ceiling, or consider more controversial tax hikes and spending cuts in order to avoid a government shutdown.
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However, his critics immediately called for less grandstanding and more detail on the government’s proposed policies for supporting economic growth. House speaker John Boehner said his speech was like an “Easter egg with no candy”.
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