Crisis No More: The Success of Obama's Stimulus Program - Gary Burtless - Brookings

Brookings, Gary Burtless, 17/08/2010 excerpt/extracto.-

The recession that began in December 2007 ranks as the worst since World War II. It carved a huge slice out of Americans’ financial wealth and caused the biggest percentage decline in employment of the post-war era. Even though the stock market rebounded in 2009 and U.S. output began to grow in the second half of that year, the recession continues to take a terrible toll on the incomes and psychological health of many families.

(...) The tea leaves are clear: The Great Recession will not be a second Great Depression. And, as I argue below, President Obama’s stimulus package, though imperfect, deserves a great deal of credit for bringing us back to the positive trajectory we’re on today. Any reasonable grader of the stimulus’s effects on driving recovery and combating joblessness would give the stimulus at least a B+. In the pages that follow, I first outline the size and contours of the government’s response to the recession, paying specific attention to how this response does and does not differ from government policy in recessions past. I distinguish between standard and nonstandard responses, that is, policies typical of those in other post-war recessions and those that are unusual. Then I consider the success of the policies and the public’s surprisingly hostile reaction to them. Voters’ sour views on the stimulus make it unlikely Congress will extend or expand the program, even if the economy takes a turn for the worse.

Obama: Spill Can Signal End To Oil 'Addiction' - npr

NPR, Liz Halloran: In his first-ever prime-time Oval Office address to the nation Tuesday, President Obama attempted to assure angry and alarmed Americans that he's on top of the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and that BP will be held financially accountable for environmental and economic damage.

• Remarks by the President to the Nation on the BP Oil Spill , The White House, 15/06/2010
• Obama: "Haremos que BP pague por el daño" , Carlos Chirino, BBC Mundo, Washington, 15/06/2010 01:35 GMT

Barack Obama - Senado aprueba plan de recuperación.

El Senado ha aprobado hoy el plan de recuperación con un presupuesto de US$ 838 mil millones. El proyecto pasa hoy a la instancia de conciliación entre las dos cámaras. Fue aprobado con 61 votos a favor y 37 en contra. Sólo 3 senadores republicanos dieron su apoyo que se sumó a 56 demócratas y dos independientes. La mayoría republicana mantiene, obtusa, su escepticismo. Sostienen que el plan no ayudará a la recuperación. Es una apuesta doctrinaria contra la política del gasto fiscal como instrumento anti-crisis. La idea fija republicana (adoptada timidamente por las derechas en América Latina) es que sólo vale el recorte de impuestos.