Congressman Baird urges Americans to go green

Congressman Brian Baird (D-WA) held a press conference to encourage Americans to spend the money they receive from President Bush’s stimulus package on “green” products in order to both help the environment and boost the sagging economy.



Baird discussed how Americans have to spend the money “being put in our pockets” responsibly, and by improving our environment we could in turn better the future of our country. He cited his urging Congress to pass the bipartisan resolution H. Res. 987 as a start to begin convincing citizens to support his “Buy Green to Save Green” legislation.



Baird mentioned that although legislation to “go green” has been slow to implement, individual efforts to improve the environment have been successful. At the press conference, representatives from Lowes Hardware, Sears, and Home Depot spoke about how their companies have made efforts to increase the sales of environmentally friendly products by offering consumers discounts on such goods.

IMF economists address the housing crisis

At a discussion on the Housing Crisis and Lessons for Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institute today, International Monetary Fund Economic Counselor and Director Simon Johnson predicted a “mild contraction” in the U.S. economy this year followed by a “relatively slow recovery” next year. Johnson discussed the link between housing and mortgage finance and said that the link between monetary policy and housing is stronger because of recent governmental intervention in the current crisis.

IMF Senior Economist Roberto Cardarelli said that over the last four quarters, residential investment has contributed 56% to the decline in U.S. GDP, “and by that standard, we are very much in a recession environment in the United States.” Cardarelli said another cause for concern is the impact of housing prices on the decline in consumption, which further stunts economic growth. He also emphasized that inflation rates need to change in order to stabilize inflation and minimize loss.

President Bush addresses small business owners

President Bush addressed America’s Small Business Summit put on by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Discussing the economy and small businesses in America, Bush delivered a commanding speech offering hope and optimism on the economy. Offering his own experience on understanding about growing a business and sympathizing with the small business owners in the room, he said that the stimulus plan that has been enacted is helping. “We’ve cut taxes,” he claimed and went on to state that he believes Americans can spend money more wisely than their government can, drawing a large cheer from the crowd. He also stated that he would like to see the tax relief made permanent and commented that he would veto any unwanted bill.

Hillary hangs tough- doesn’t trade punches with Obama, criticizes “imperial” presidency

A confident, focused Hillary Clinton took the stage as the last of the three presidential candidates to speak at the annual Associated Press luncheon this afternoon. Clinton focused on promoting the initiatives she supports and, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, avoided slamming her Democratic adversary Barack Obama and Republican opponent, John McCain.

The introduction to Clinton’s speech was similar to McCain’s, in that it discussed her support of a “shield law” to a crowd composed of mainly journalists, whom she thanked for their “courage” to report the news.

Clinton, like Obama’s speech did Monday afternoon, discussed the “power of the presidency” that she claimed has been abused under the Bush Administration. Clinton noted her intention to eliminate the “imperial” presidency Bush operates under. She criticized the current administration for “ignoring” and “rewriting” laws as they see fit.

Clinton forecast a multitude of challenges the incoming administration will have to face (fixing the economy, maintaining national security, and solving the crisis in Iraq), as she painted a portrait of herself as a leader, and longtime advocate of programs focused on helping all Americans, such as universal health care.

While Obama’s speech opened by discussing how the struggles he faced growing up have helped him understand how to relate to “everyday” Americans, Clinton modestly mentioned that she understood she was “blessed” to grow up in a middle-class household and, with government aid, fund a law-school education.

Clinton described her presidency as one that would restore the “evidence based decision making” that the Bush Administration, she argued, has strayed away from. Clinton called for an “immediate freeze on housing foreclosures” and, when asked about the role played by race in the election, said she wanted voters to base their decisions on the candidates based on their policy views, not gender or skin color.

As Clinton’s speech came to a close, she mentioning the tremendous economic success America achieved under her husband, Bill Clinton, and the lessons she learned watching him build an American powerhouse.

McCain campaign addresses economic plan to help the American worker and control government spending

Sen. John McCain’s presidential campaign held a conference call with senior adviser Steve Schmidt and senior policy adviser Doug Holtz-Eakin to discuss McCain’s remarks in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania on the economy. Schmidt began however by mentioning presidential candidate Sen. Obama’s comment on bitterness influencing voter actions and beliefs, and he said this has become an important and defining moment of the race because it shows how Obama feels toward people in the country.

Schmidt also summarized McCain’s economic policy, starting with cleaning up “out of control” government spending, reducing corporate taxes, and creating plans to grow the economy, which will spur innovation and investments by the people. He also said McCain believes people are over taxed.

Holtz-Eakin said McCain’s plans have the vision to help the American worker and their family, and to clean up spending. He said McCain is proposing to eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), and offer an alternative tax system that is simpler and more transparent. He also said that the proposal for a temporary summer gas tax holiday is part of the short-tem plan to get the economy going and to look at what is hitting people in the pocket now, such as high gas and food prices.

Holtz-Eakin said the long-term plan is to promote economic growth. He said McCain’s plan includes reducing corporate tax rates so the United States is no longer uncompetitive, pursuing ways to broaden the tax base, and having a balanced budget by the time he leaves office.