WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Monday used his first news conference in office to urge Americans to embrace big government in the face of a recession he called "the most profound economic emergency since the Great Depression."
"The federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life," Obama said during his the news conference. He implored Congress to pass his $800 billion-plus economic stimulus program.
Noting Republican objections to his plan, he said that former President George W. Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy had only "helped lead us to the crisis we face right now," and pledged that "as long as I hold this office, I will do whatever it takes to put this economy back on track and put this country back to work."
Here's video of President Obama's prepared remarks:
On a related note, The Gavel provides a useful visual aid for understanding the current economy:
What 3.6 Million Jobs Lost Over 13 Months Looks Like
This chart compares the job loss so far in this recession to job losses in the 1990-1991 recession and the 2001 recession – showing how dramatic and unprecedented the job loss over the last 13 months has been. Over the last 13 months, our economy has lost a total of 3.6 million jobs – and continuing job losses in the next few months are predicted.
By comparison, we lost a total of 1.6 million jobs in the 1990-1991 recession, before the economy began turning around and jobs began increasing; and we lost a total of 2.7 million jobs in the 2001 recession, before the economy began turning around and jobs began increasing.
(click chart for larger image)
