Obama huddles with economic advisers amid more bad news
When President-elect Barack Obama convenes his economic advisers later today in Chicago, the urgency of their task will be only more obvious with the latest depressing numbers.
The Labor Department reported this morning that the unemployment rate jumped to 6.5 percent -- the highest in 14 years -- after the loss of another 240,000 jobs. That brings to 1.2 million the total jobs lost this year -- more than half of them since August.
Obama's office said the president-elect, Vice President-elect Joe Biden, and newly named White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel will huddle with the Transition Economic Advisory Board, which it said will "help guide the work" of Obama's transition team in "developing a strong set of policies to respond to the economic crisis."
"We're not starting from nowhere," Lawrence Summers, the former Harvard University president, a former treasury secretary under President Clinton, and one of 17 board members, said on NBC's "Today" show. On "Today" and in another appearance on "The Early Show" on CBS, Summers sidestepped swirling speculation that he's in line to become Obama's treasury secretary.
"Throughout his campaign the president-elect has been talking about what we need to do," Summers said on NBC. "We need to put the middle class at the center of the policy approach in a way that it hasn't been these last years."
UPDATE: The nation's largest labor federation said the jobless numbers prove the need for a second stimulus package.
"For the first time in eight years, working people heard today's abysmal economic news with a hopeful eye to the future. The election of Barack Obama and a working families Congress carries a silver lining as our economy plunges deeper into a recession. But each day Congress waits to act is another day that our economy worsens," AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said in a statement."
"We need urgent action on an economic recovery package in the lame-duck Congress that dedicates enough money to matter to help working people get back on track. The recovery package must include an extension of unemployment benefits and increased funding for food stamps while providing aid to local and state governments to maintain vital services. It should also include an immediate investment in infrastructure spending to rebuild our crumbling roads, bridges and schools and put people to work."
Obama voted for the $700 billion financial rescue package, but has also talked about a rescue plan for the middle class, including targeted tax cuts, and about an economic stimulus package to create jobs.
After the meeting, the Illinois Democrat will hold his first press conference -- around 2:30 EST -- since his landmark victory on Tuesday.
Obama's office said his schedule for today also includes parent-teacher conferences at his daughters school with his wife Michelle, additional transition meetings, his now daily intelligence briefing, recording the weekly Democratic radio address, and returning additional post-election political and protocol calls.
His office said there will be no personnel announcements today, though that's not stopping anyone from speculating.
The latest list compiled by the Associated Press is below:
DEFENSE SECRETARY
Current Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Former Navy Secretary Richard Danzig.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., critic of Iraq war retiring from Senate.
Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., member of Senate Armed Services Committee.
TREASURY SECRETARY
Timothy Geithner, president of Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.
Lawrence Summers, former treasury secretary and one-time Harvard University president.
SECRETARY OF STATE
Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., former U.N. ambassador and energy secretary.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., 2004 presidential nominee.
Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., former chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., critic of Iraq war retiring from Senate.
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Eric Holder, former deputy attorney general.
Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano.
Rep. Artur Davis, D-Ala., member of House Judiciary Committee.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, former assistant U.S. attorney for civil rights.
ENERGY SECRETARY
Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell.
Former Rep. Philip Sharp, D-Ind., president of Resources for the Future think tank.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
EPA ADMINISTRATOR
Lisa P. Jackson, commissioner of New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Mary Nichols, head of California Air Resources Board.
Kathleeen McGinty, former secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY
Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D.
Howard Dean, chairman of Democratic National Committee, physician, former Vermont governor.
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY
Jane Garvey, former head of Federal Aviation Administration.
Mortimer Downey, former deputy transportation secretary.
Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell.
INTERIOR SECRETARY
Former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber.
Former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles.
Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., former executive director of Colorado Natural Resources Department.
HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY
James Lee Witt, former FEMA director.
Los Angeles Police Chief Bill Bratton.
Former New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean, chairman of 9/11 commission.
Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., chairwoman of Homeland Security intelligence subcommittee.
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER
James B. Steinberg, former deputy national security adviser.
Susan Rice, former assistant secretary of state for African affairs.
EDUCATION SECRETARY
Colin Powell, former secretary of state, former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Former North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt.
Arne Duncan, chief executive officer of Chicago public schools.
Inez Tenenbaum, former South Carolina schools superintendent.
AGRICULTURE SECRETARY
Tom Buis, president of National Farmers Union.
Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack.
Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., chairman of House Agriculture Committee.
OFFICE OF BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR
Rep. John Spratt Jr., D-S.C., chairman of House Budget Committee.
Gene Sperling, economic aide to President Clinton.
Jason Furman, Obama's campaign economic policy director.
HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT SECRETARY
Valerie Jarrett, Obama friend, chairman and CEO of Habitat Co.
LABOR SECRETARY
Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of House Education and Labor Committee.
Former Rep. David Bonior, member of Obama's Transition Economic Advisory Board.
Andy Stern, president of Service Employees International Union.
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ObamaBlueprintForChange.pdf (491KB), petition.pdf (36KB), pickens_pledge.pdf (93KB), ThePlan_0710_01.pdf (205KB), API_truth_primer22.pdf (1510KB), factsheet_energy_speech_080308.pdf
New Energy for America
5 Million Green Collar Jobs
A Bold New National Goal on Energy Efficiency
American Energy
Read the New Energy for America plan
Read and watch Barack's speech in Lansing, MI on his new energy plan: factsheet_energy_speech_080308.pdf, ObamaBlueprintForChange.pdf, TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A CHANGE!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Obama-Biden comprehensive New Energy for America plan will:
Watch the VideoProvide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump
Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.
Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars -- cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon -- on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America.
Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.
ENERGY PLAN OVERVIEW:
Provide Short-term Relief to American Families:
Enact a Windfall Profits Tax to Provide a $1,000 Emergency Energy Rebate to American Families.
Crack Down on Excessive Energy Speculation.
Swap Oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Cut Prices.
Learn More...Energy Plan Relief for American Families
Eliminate Our Current Imports from the Middle East and Venezuela within 10 Years:
Increase Fuel Economy Standards.
Get 1 Million Plug-In Hybrid Cars on the Road by 2015.
Create a New $7,000 Tax Credit for Purchasing Advanced Vehicles.
Establish a National Low Carbon Fuel Standard.
A Use it or Lose It Approach to Existing Oil and Gas Leases.
Promote the Responsible Domestic Production of Oil and Natural Gas.
Learn More...Energy Plan Eliminate Oil Imports
Create Millions of New Green Jobs:
Ensure 10 percent of Our Electricity Comes from Renewable Sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
Deploy the Cheapest, Cleanest, Fastest Energy Source Energy Efficiency.
Weatherize One Million Homes Annually.
Develop and Deploy Clean Coal Technology.
Prioritize the Construction of the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline.
Learn More...Energy Plan Green Jobs
Reduce our Greenhouse Gas Emissions 80 Percent by 2050:
Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050.
Make the U.S. a Leader on Climate Change.
Learn More...Energy Plan Greenhouse Gas Emissions
GET THE DETAILS:
Read the full version of The Obama-Biden New Energy for America plan
The Obama-Biden environmental plan
The Obama-Biden plan to crack down on excessive energy speculation
The Obama-Biden Wildfire Prevention Plan
Prepare yourselves for the cavalcade of "astute" conservative criticism on this one : "with the country in such bad economic shape, I can't believe he's going to waste his time at a parent-teacher conference!! He should be fixin' the economy!"
Just remember the Palin battlecries of "She's a "real" american, with FIVE KIDS!" As if that was a qualification for VP...
Don't say you weren't warned.
Ed S. give it a rest. Why don't you give your candidate a chance to bring people together? It sounds like YOU are PREJUDICE against conservatives since you are attributing characteristics to them just because they are affiliated with a group that holds a point of view. Obama is now OUR president. He will be judged by what he does and the quality of the candidate he selects. I would say there is some to like and some to like less in this grab bag of names.
Any one who bashes Obama for a parent-teacher conference should be wacked in the head with a reality stick, twice.
Bravo, James E. Stevenson! Never mind reality stick.....make it an idiot stick, and make it 3 times!
Starting today, I intend to give our new president-elect the exact same amount of respect and loyalty that was always so generously given by you libs to our current president.
The key for the Obama camp to turn the economy around will be to tax small businesses as much as possible.......that way no one will have a job......
OK - so Obama huddled with his economic advisers, and what did they tell him?
Apparently they told him to borrow more money from China and spend it on a useless "economic stimulus" package, just like President Bush has done.
This is change?
The current president had the liberal support as OUR president until he squandered every last bit of cooperation ever afforded to him.
If Obama does that, you can then open your big fat ugly mouth ok Marie?
I am not sure who wrote this, but it is SO pertinent to the moment.
-----------------------------
Republicans sometimes like to mix politics and religion, but for Democrats politics is religion. The reason Republican speeches are generally much less memorable, much less inspiring is that they don't promise us the dawn of a new millennium. They might praise America and invoke patriotism, but mostly they are about workaday politics. If anyone doubts that the Democratic Party is the true party of religion in the United States, let them doubt no longer. Democrats may not talk about God as much as Republicans, and a lot of Democrats might be die-hard secularists, but their politics is so invested with the hope of a completely transformed world in which all problems and all divisions are overcome that, for them, politics is a form of religion. If Obama himself was to appear in resplendent white robes with the 'The Age of Aquarius' playing in the background, no one would be surprised. If he was suddenly to be transfigured, if he appeared in a vision with those earlier prophets, Martin Luther King and John F Kennedy, his followers would think it the most natural thing in the world and they would erect a tent for them just like in the Bible. It is this lack of a sense of proportion that makes some of Barack's speeches so completely overblown. His impressive baritone voice, his skill with words, and the way he can deliver those words in the rhythmic, hypnotic tones of the best black preachers help disguise the fact that he is a man suffering from a very severe case of Messiah-complex.
Only such a man could say, on the day he knew he had secured the Democratic nomination, that "this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal".
Barack needs to realize that politics is just politics. It's not religion. We're not at the dawn of a New Age. We're not about to evolve to a new and higher level of consciousness.
MEDIA INDUCED PRESIDENT
MEDIA INDUCED PRESIDENT
MEDIA INDUCED PRESIDENT
Copy & paste if you agree
zelracz
Folks, give the man a chance...he can certainly do no worse than Bubba Bush.
Wow, now that's REAL CHANGE isn't it? The same old Democrat warhorses are being trotted around the track to show their flesh. Time for the glue factory I say. I guess we knew that Obama's plan was really MORE OF THE SAME. Although it would be nice to get rid of Cadillac Deval and Herman Munster Kerry.
it would be great if the specific plan for economic redemption is spelt out , It is indeed sad with all the available information there has not been knowledge management. It is not necessary have recessive cycles if underlying economic factors are properly examined when businesses are not faring well in depth study would be imperative prior to reducing the interest rate as this could even aggravate the downturn. Switch on to areas which change the economic fundamentals Discourage all forms of speculation particularly derivative products. Even the hedging instruments are not related underlying commodities ,it has become speculative product for wall st ill gotten money CDS should be withdrawn
Use funds to fundametally change the main st Develop small businesses with relationships With it you may not capture the world but would have sustainable business and a contented society
Use fund to fundamentally change the main st