by Christi Parsons
As Congress prepares to pass his economic rescue plan, President Barack Obama today was promising to turn immediately to the housing crisis, saying he will soon offer more details on how to address "the root of our economic challenges."
He also called on business leaders to help his administration as their forbears helped President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the early days of his presidency.
Speaking to the Business Council - founded in 1933 by FDR's secretary of commerce - Obama asked dozens of CEOs gathered in the White House East Room to help him bring their "best practices" to the enterprise of government.
"Even as our president was leading unprecedented public interventions into the private sector," Obama said of Roosevelt, "he did so always in concert with the private sector's leaders."
Obama said he expects a House vote today on his $790 billion rescue plan will get the U.S. economy on the road to recovery.
But passing the plan is only the first step, he told members of the council, now a self-appointed panel that meets once a year.
"To truly address this economic crisis, we need to address the crisis in our financial sector to get credit flowing again to families and businesses," Obama said. "We need to confront the crisis in the housing sector, that has been at the root of our economic challenges, and I'll be discussing that soon.
"We need comprehensive financial reform in the way government relates to the financial markets in order to deal with the complex challenges of the 21st Century - both as a way to restore trust and ensure that a crisis like this can never happen again."
Comments
He needs their help now that he's been complaining about their business retreats and compensation for two years? That's rich. This poor sap, Obama, is in way over his head.
Former Honeywell CEO Larry Bossidy sand the democrats in congress' questions for the bank CEOs "ranged from elementary to frivolous." These people have no idea how a business runs and are only interested in creating more socialism, and he actually asked the CEOs to HELP him do that? Do the unicorns arrive soon?
Posted by: Jeff | February 13, 2009 11:54 AM
Does this guy know the 1933 Business Council resulted in monopolistic codes in restraint of trade that were struck down as unconstitutional? Barack, please look at the end of the Great Depression, not the beginning of it, for historical lessons. And don't tell business leaders to ignore dogma when you support a bill that takes away employees right to vote on whether to have unions and empowers third parties to tell employers what the first contract with those unions will say. So, why you are imposing a private-sector (union) patronage scheme on employers and employees to benefit your campaign supporters in the organized labor organization special interest lobby (and appointing their chief lobbyist/congresswoman/tax cheat) as Labor Secretary, you want them to tell you how to make your pork packages work. Good luck with that.
Posted by: Are you kidding? | February 13, 2009 12:05 PM
As Jeff points out........Why would CEOs want to help the American people? After all, they were upset at them when they spent our tax dollars on lavish bonuses and resorts after their companies fail.
Posted by: bill r. | February 13, 2009 1:33 PM
I think instead of this stimulus...we should let the pilots who flew us into the mountainside take the controls.
Posted by: bill r. | February 13, 2009 2:37 PM
Hussein, are you REALLY complaining about trips to resorts when Nancy Pelosi and the House leadership is scheduled to jet off to Rome ONE WEEK after their "retreat?" And they voted on the stimulus bill today without 48 hours notice because of her travel plans. Wow, you're right up front about being a huge hypocrite anymore, aren't you?
Posted by: Jeff | February 13, 2009 2:51 PM
These people have no idea how a business runs and are only interested in creating more socialism, and he actually asked the CEOs to HELP him do that? Do the unicorns arrive soon?
Posted by: Jeff | February 13, 2009 11:54 AM
Yeah, Jeffrey, we should all learn to run a business like the CEO of Citigroup who bought up the hedge fund he co-founded, netting a bonus for himself of $168,000,000, then writing off $200,000,000 to CitiGroup when the whole thing imploded. Must be the Unions' fault.
Posted by: dt☢ | February 13, 2009 3:45 PM
So if the guy's such an awful person for making money, then why does Obama want his help? Could it be that he's going to need people like him to create jobs? Or do you think unemployed protestors like yourself are going to create jobs, dt?
Posted by: Jeff | February 13, 2009 4:51 PM
To make sure it never happens again, first we need an autopsy that tells how it really happened in the first place.
Which has yet to be forthcoming.
Yes, highroller CEO's think they can play Obama.
Yes, Nancy comes across as Loretta Young (remember her series on early TV, her lavish sets and dramatic entry every week in a new designer gown--sort of like Nancy and her re-decorated "speaker's rooms").
Seems CEOs and some politicians don't realize this is a time for austerity, not ostentation.
"Irrational exuberance" has to be unmasked for what it was before we get to a place where another debacle like the present one "can't happen again".
And that will be hard considering the amounts of $$$ that are about to be printed and handed out to the likes of Govs. Ryan, Blagojevich, Ald.Ed Vrydolyak (to pick some examples).
Posted by: ornery | February 14, 2009 8:08 AM