Fri
Nov 7 2008
04:43 pm
By: R. Neal

Fortune Magazine and the Masters of the Universe examine Obama's plans for the economy and they like what they see, including the advisors he has surrounded himself with. And they think he will hit the ground running. For starters:

In the coming weeks and months those purse strings will be loosened, first for another major stimulus package that includes ready-to-launch infrastructure construction projects - and then for producers of clean energy like hybrid-auto technology and low-emission coal.

His advisors say he's determined to pursue his $150 billion, ten-year energy plan despite the unexpected federal outlays caused by the recession and near collapse of the financial markets. The purse will open again in the form of tax breaks for small businesses and for big companies that create new jobs - but not for firms building operations overseas and not for oil companies, which face the prospect of a windfall-profits tax.

Read the whole thing, which looks at Obama's style as much as the substance of his proposals. It's encouraging.

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Altru's picture

Style and Substance

And the style is surely more worthy than the substance.

"Purse strings will be loosened." "Another major stimulus package." "Infrastructure projects." "The purse will open again in the form of tax breaks."

A uniquely brilliant macro policy and very encouraging, if you find the trite to be unique, and if you find building an even more massive federal budget deficit and jump-starting a new era of inflation during a recession to be encouraging. The one devastating element this recession has lacked is high inflation.

It's actually a recipe for stagflation. The troubling unemployment rate is already in place, thank you Mr. Bush. Now, we just need a President to implement inflationary practices. It's happened once before, and it took a GOP President implementing Keynesian policies followed by a well-intentioned Democratic President opening up the ole' purse, but together they by gum pulled it off.

2012 should be the new 1979. And we all know what happened in 1980.

Et tu, Paul Volcker?

jbr's picture

Hopefully infrastructure

Hopefully infrastructure means bridge repairs, improving intersections efficiency and safety, development of intercity passenger rail. Those would create a very large number of jobs for years.

Hopefully not things like orange route, interstate 3, etc.

R. Neal's picture

From Change.gov: Economy |

From Change.gov:

Economy | Change.gov

New Jobs Through National Infrastructure Investment

Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that it is critically important for the United States to rebuild its national transportation infrastructure – its highways, bridges, roads, ports, air, and train systems – to strengthen user safety, bolster our long-term competitiveness and ensure our economy continues to grow.

Create a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will address the infrastructure challenge by creating a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank to expand and enhance, not supplant, existing federal transportation investments. This independent entity will be directed to invest in our nation’s most challenging transportation infrastructure needs. The Bank will receive an infusion of federal money, $60 billion over 10 years, to provide financing to transportation infrastructure projects across the nation. These projects will create up to two million new direct and indirect jobs and stimulate approximately $35 billion per year in new economic activity.

Technology, Innovation and Creating Jobs

Barack Obama and Joe Biden will increase federal support for research, technology and innovation for companies and universities so that American families can lead the world in creating new advanced jobs and products.
Invest in the Sciences: Barack Obama and Joe Biden support doubling federal funding for basic research and changing the posture of our federal government from being one of the most anti-science administrations in American history to one that embraces science and technology. This will foster home-grown innovation, help ensure the competitiveness of US technology-based businesses, and ensure that 21st century jobs can and will grow in America.

Make the Research and Development Tax Credit Permanent: Barack Obama and Joe Biden want investments in a skilled research and development workforce and technology infrastructure to be supported here in America so that American workers and communities will benefit. Obama and Biden want to make the Research and Development tax credit permanent so that firms can rely on it when making decisions to invest in domestic R&D over multi-year timeframes.

Deploy Next-Generation Broadband: Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe we can get broadband to every community in America through a combination of reform of the Universal Service Fund, better use of the nation's wireless spectrum, promotion of next-generation facilities, technologies and applications, and new tax and loan incentives.

Inquiry_Mind's picture

Tax breaks huh? ... how is

Tax breaks huh? ... how is obama going to finance all his initiatives? .. with a magic wand? I thought he was going to increase the corporate tax on companies, including small businesses?

R. Neal's picture

He proposes to eliminate

He proposes to eliminate capital gains taxes on small businesses and startups and give tax breaks to corporations that create jobs in the U.S. instead of outsourcing them overseas. Also, his middle-class tax cuts would provide tax relief to a large percentage of small businesses.

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