Obama: US economy will get worse
Sat, 06 Dec 2008 07:06:41 GMT
US President-elect Barack Obama has warned that the economy has not yet seen the worst days.
US President-elect Barack Obama has warned that the ailing American economy could get worse, urging action to get people back to work.
In a statement released on Friday, Obama noted that the US economy had already lost two million jobs in the recent downturn.
"There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis, which has been many years in the making, and it's likely to get worse before it gets better," he said.
Obama added that the time has come to respond with urgent resolve to put people back to work and get the US economy moving again.
Also on Friday incumbent US President George W. Bush used the word 'recession' for the first time to describe the downturn in the US economy. The move followed the publication of a report which confirmed over half a million US jobs were lost in November alone, the biggest monthly loss in 34 years.
Bush, whose eight-year term at the White House ends on January 20, expressed his deep concern for Americans who have lost their job, but tried to paint a more optimistic picture than Obama.
"We're working to stabilize the markets and make credit more affordable and available," said Bush, "Credit is beginning to move. A market that was frozen is thawing. There's still more work to do, but there are some encouraging signs."
Official data released by the Labor Department shows that US employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November, sending the unemployment rate to a 15-year high of 6.7 percent.
Obama was one of the reasons this mess started. The Dems pushed for the sub-prime loans, forced the SEC to ignore the derivatives market and cheerleaded for low interest rates and easy credit.
ReplyDeleteIt's like letting an arsonist run the fire department.