Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
Monday, February 10, 2020
Tuesday, January 10, 2017
USA: President Obama's farewell speech
Click on the link below for an unedited transcript of President Obama’s prepared remarks during his farewell address in Chicago, as provided by the White House.
Read the full transcript of President Obama's farewell speech - LA Times
Read the full transcript of President Obama's farewell speech - LA Times
Sunday, December 25, 2016
US Economy: Obama gives gift of solid economy to Trump
President Barack Obama inherited a shattered economy when he came into
office that stemmed from the bursting of a housing bubble that led to a
financial-sector meltdown.
When the president took over in 2009 the country was in the midst of a deep financial crisis and recession with unemployment near 10 percent.
Eight years later Obama is giving a gift of a solid economy to President-elect Donald Trump.
Despite problem of slow growth and an uneven recovery there has been an economic turnaround under Obama
Unemployment has fallen dramatically to just 4.6 percent, a nine-year low.
When Obama became president nearly 800,000 Americans had lost their jobs. Compare that today when America has gained over 11 million new jobs since Obama took office.
“The labor market is in better shape than at any point in the recovery,” said Jed Kolko, chief economist at the job site Indeed.
In addition to a better economy, 20 million more Americans now have health insurance coverage. Today only 8.9 percent of Americans now lack health insurance, a historic low, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Yet Trump has criticized the Obama economy as terrible. He says unemployment is lower because many American gave up search for jobs. Nearly two-thirds of voters described the economy as “not so good” or poor, according to polling after the November election.
The new economic reality is that for decades now jobs options have been dwindling for workers with only high school diplomas. This trend was occurring before Obama took office. Workers in rural towns in which Trump won big never enjoyed the economic recovery that benefited major cities.
Trump was able to capitalize on these economic trends fueled by globalization and technology to ride to victory in November.
Still the fact remain that Obama pulled the economy from the brink of collapse.
Read more: Obama gives gift of solid economy to Trump | Commentary | phillytrib.com
When the president took over in 2009 the country was in the midst of a deep financial crisis and recession with unemployment near 10 percent.
Eight years later Obama is giving a gift of a solid economy to President-elect Donald Trump.
Despite problem of slow growth and an uneven recovery there has been an economic turnaround under Obama
Unemployment has fallen dramatically to just 4.6 percent, a nine-year low.
When Obama became president nearly 800,000 Americans had lost their jobs. Compare that today when America has gained over 11 million new jobs since Obama took office.
“The labor market is in better shape than at any point in the recovery,” said Jed Kolko, chief economist at the job site Indeed.
In addition to a better economy, 20 million more Americans now have health insurance coverage. Today only 8.9 percent of Americans now lack health insurance, a historic low, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Yet Trump has criticized the Obama economy as terrible. He says unemployment is lower because many American gave up search for jobs. Nearly two-thirds of voters described the economy as “not so good” or poor, according to polling after the November election.
The new economic reality is that for decades now jobs options have been dwindling for workers with only high school diplomas. This trend was occurring before Obama took office. Workers in rural towns in which Trump won big never enjoyed the economic recovery that benefited major cities.
Trump was able to capitalize on these economic trends fueled by globalization and technology to ride to victory in November.
Still the fact remain that Obama pulled the economy from the brink of collapse.
Read more: Obama gives gift of solid economy to Trump | Commentary | phillytrib.com
Sunday, August 7, 2016
USA: Obama’s Warren Buffett foreign policy - by Derel Chollet
In his August 1 column, “A US retreat that feeds on itself,” Fred
Hiatt rehearsed many of the familiar critiques of US President Barack
Obama’s foreign policy, suggesting that if only the United States had
kept substantial troops in Iraq, put forces into post-Gaddafi Libya,
bombed Syria after it used chemical weapons and focused a little less on
“nation-building at home,” the US — and the world — would be better
off.
The idea that the US has retreated defies reality. Today the US is more engaged, in more places and in more ways, than it was eight years ago. In fact, on the issues that matter most — how and where the country uses military force, how it approaches its enemies and works with its partners, and how it should conceive of its power and exert its leadership — Obama’s mark will be enduring and largely positive. Instead of allowing the consensus for the America’s global leadership to fray, the president has worked to strengthen and sustain it.
That’s because Obama plays a “long game.” The defining element of his global strategy is that it reflects the totality of US interests — foreign and domestic — to project leadership in an era of finite resources and seemingly infinite demands.
Obama’s fundamental challenge has been to implement such a strategy within a debate that has become overwhelmed by manufactured drama and the illusion of silver bullet, black-and-white solutions. For too many critics, the answer is almost always for the US to do more of something and show “strength” by acting “tough,” though usually what that something is remains very vague. And doing more of everything is not a strategy.
Think of it this way: Obama has been like a foreign policy version of Warren Buffett, a proudly pragmatic value investor less concerned with appearances and the whims of the moment, focused instead on making solid investments with an eye to long-term success. The foreign policy debate, on the other hand, tends to be dominated by policy day traders — or flashy real estate developers — whose incentives are the opposite: achieving quick results by making a big splash, getting rewarded with instant judgments and reacting to every blip in the market.
Of course, today’s geopolitical turbulence feels like more than the usual market ups and downs. It is understandable that when looking out at the world, Americans are frustrated, pessimistic and scared. But think back to 2008, with the US economy shedding as many as 500,000 jobs a month and on the cusp of a second Great Depression, the US military was stretched to the breaking point through fighting two wars, and many parts of the world associated the US with militarism, Guantanamo Bay and torture. The picture looks very different today.
History reminds us that the question is not whether the world presents challenges but rather how the US is positioned to deal with them. Considering the extent of today’s global disorder, it is tempting to succumb to a narrative of grievance and fear — sharpening the divisions between “us” and “them,” building walls longer and higher, and lashing out at enemies with force. Or to think it better that, to reduce exposure to such geopolitical risk, the US should divest from its alliances. Despite all the talk of “strength,” what these impulses reflect is a core lack of confidence.
We cannot submit to such pessimism. As Obama’s presidency nears its end, the state of the world is indeed tumultuous and ever changing, but we have good reason to be confident. The United States’ global position is sound.
The US has restored a sense of strategic solvency. Countries look to it for guidance, ideas, support and protection.
It is again admired and inspiring, not just for what it can do abroad but also for its economic vitality and strong society at home. Or as Buffett — who last Monday spoke at a rally in support of Hillary Clinton for president — recently declared in his more folksy way, “The babies being born in America today are the luckiest crop in history.”
When it comes to being in a position to solve problems and give people an opportunity to improve their lives, the US is far better off than it was a decade ago. The question is whether it will continue to make the choices necessary to stay that way.
Read more: Obama’s Warren Buffett foreign policy | GulfNews.com
The idea that the US has retreated defies reality. Today the US is more engaged, in more places and in more ways, than it was eight years ago. In fact, on the issues that matter most — how and where the country uses military force, how it approaches its enemies and works with its partners, and how it should conceive of its power and exert its leadership — Obama’s mark will be enduring and largely positive. Instead of allowing the consensus for the America’s global leadership to fray, the president has worked to strengthen and sustain it.
That’s because Obama plays a “long game.” The defining element of his global strategy is that it reflects the totality of US interests — foreign and domestic — to project leadership in an era of finite resources and seemingly infinite demands.
Obama’s fundamental challenge has been to implement such a strategy within a debate that has become overwhelmed by manufactured drama and the illusion of silver bullet, black-and-white solutions. For too many critics, the answer is almost always for the US to do more of something and show “strength” by acting “tough,” though usually what that something is remains very vague. And doing more of everything is not a strategy.
Think of it this way: Obama has been like a foreign policy version of Warren Buffett, a proudly pragmatic value investor less concerned with appearances and the whims of the moment, focused instead on making solid investments with an eye to long-term success. The foreign policy debate, on the other hand, tends to be dominated by policy day traders — or flashy real estate developers — whose incentives are the opposite: achieving quick results by making a big splash, getting rewarded with instant judgments and reacting to every blip in the market.
Of course, today’s geopolitical turbulence feels like more than the usual market ups and downs. It is understandable that when looking out at the world, Americans are frustrated, pessimistic and scared. But think back to 2008, with the US economy shedding as many as 500,000 jobs a month and on the cusp of a second Great Depression, the US military was stretched to the breaking point through fighting two wars, and many parts of the world associated the US with militarism, Guantanamo Bay and torture. The picture looks very different today.
History reminds us that the question is not whether the world presents challenges but rather how the US is positioned to deal with them. Considering the extent of today’s global disorder, it is tempting to succumb to a narrative of grievance and fear — sharpening the divisions between “us” and “them,” building walls longer and higher, and lashing out at enemies with force. Or to think it better that, to reduce exposure to such geopolitical risk, the US should divest from its alliances. Despite all the talk of “strength,” what these impulses reflect is a core lack of confidence.
We cannot submit to such pessimism. As Obama’s presidency nears its end, the state of the world is indeed tumultuous and ever changing, but we have good reason to be confident. The United States’ global position is sound.
The US has restored a sense of strategic solvency. Countries look to it for guidance, ideas, support and protection.
It is again admired and inspiring, not just for what it can do abroad but also for its economic vitality and strong society at home. Or as Buffett — who last Monday spoke at a rally in support of Hillary Clinton for president — recently declared in his more folksy way, “The babies being born in America today are the luckiest crop in history.”
When it comes to being in a position to solve problems and give people an opportunity to improve their lives, the US is far better off than it was a decade ago. The question is whether it will continue to make the choices necessary to stay that way.
Read more: Obama’s Warren Buffett foreign policy | GulfNews.com
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Germany: President Obama To Open Hannover Messe with Chancellor Merkel April 25
 |
| President Barack Obama and Chancellor Angela Merkel |
The US is the partner country of the 2016 fair, a decision that was made based on the strong industrial and manufacturing ties between the US and Germany. President Obama is the first sitting president to attend the trade fair.
Ambassador Peter Wittig, who personally delivered an invitation from Chancellor Merkel to the White House, greeted the news of President Obama’s visit warmly. “It will be a great event for US-German trade relations!” he said on twitter. Earlier this year, the Ambassador praised the decision to make the US the partner country. “Having the USA as the featured Partner Country will give us a golden opportunity to convey our dynamic business relations to the fullest while at the same time widening and deepening them,” he said.
The Hannover Trade Fair has been an integral part of international industry since 1947. Over 200,000 visitors attend the Hannover Messe every year, 30 percent from outside of Germany. In addition, 6,500 exhibitors show off their latest innovations at the fair. India, the 2015 partner country, contributed around 300 booths last year, which proves how much exposure the fair can bring to the US this year.
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