Prepared Remarks of President
Barack Obama Weekly Addre Saturday, December 12th, 2009
Over the past two years, more than seven million Americans have lost their jobs, and factories and businees acro our country have been shuttered.In one way or another, we’ve all been touched by the worst economic downturn since the Great Depreion.The difficult steps we’ve taken since January have helped to break our fall, and begin to get us back on our feet.Our economy is growing again.The flood of job lo we saw at the beginning of this year slowed to a relative trickle last month.These are good signs for the future, but little comfort to all of our neighbors who remain out of a job.And my solemn commitment is to work every day, in every way I can, to push this recovery forward and build a new foundation for our lasting growth and prosperity.That’s why I announced some additional steps this week to spur private sector hiring.We’ll give an added boost to small businees acro our nation through additional tax cuts and acce to lending they desperately need to grow.We’ll rebuild more of our vital infrastructure and promote advanced manufacturing in clean energy to put Americans to work doing the work we need done.And I have called for the extension of unemployment insurance and health benefits to help those who have lost their jobs weather these storms until we reach that brighter day.But even as we dig our way out of this deep hole, it’s important that we addre the irresponsibility and recklene that got us into this me in the first place.Some of it was the result of an era of easy credit, when millions of Americans borrowed beyond their means, bought homes they couldn’t afford, and aumed that housing prices would always rise and the day of reckoning would never come.But much of it was due to the irresponsibility of large financial institutions on Wall Street that gambled on risky loans and complex financial products, seeking short-term profits and big bonuses with little regard for long-term consequences.It was, as some have put it, risk management without the management.And their actions, in the absence of strong oversight, intensified the cycle of bubble-and-bust and led to a financial crisis that threatened to bring down the entire economy.It was a disaster that could have been avoided if we’d had clearer rules of the road for Wall Street and actually enforced them.We can’t change that history.But we have an absolute responsibility to learn from it, and take steps to prevent a repeat of the crisis from which we are still recovering.That’s why I’ve proposed a series of financial reforms that would target the abuses we have seen and leave us le exposed to the kind of breakdown we just experienced.They would bring new transparency and accountability to the financial markets, so that the kind of risky dealings that sparked the crisis would be fully disclosed and properly regulated.
They would give us the tools to ensure that the failure of one large bank or financial institution won’t spread like a virus through the entire financial system.Because we should never again find ourselves in the position in which our only choices are bailing out banks or letting our economy collapse.And they would consolidate the consumer protection functions currently spread acro half a dozen agencies and vest them in a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency.This agency would have the authority to put an end to misleading and dishonest practices of banks and institutions that market financial products like credit and debit cards; mortgage, auto and payday loans.These are commonsense reforms that respond to the obvious problems exposed by the financial crisis.But, as we’ve learned so many times before, common sense doesn’t always prevail in Washington.Just last week, Republican leaders in the House summoned more than 100 key lobbyists for the financial industry to a “pep rally,” and urged them to redouble their efforts to block meaningful financial reform.Not that they needed the encouragement.These industry lobbyists have already spent more than $300 million on lobbying the debate this year.The special interests and their agents in Congre claim that reforms like the Consumer Financial Protection Agency will stifle consumer choice and that updated rules and oversight will frustrate innovation in the financial markets.But Americans don’t choose to be victimized by mysterious fees, changing terms, and pages and pages of fine print.And while innovation should be encouraged, risky schemes that threaten our entire economy should not.We can’t afford to let the same phony arguments and bad habits of Washington kill financial reform and leave American consumers and our economy vulnerable to another meltdown.Yesterday, the House paed comprehensive reform legislation that incorporates some of the eential changes we need, and the Senate Banking Committee is working on its own package of reforms.I urge both houses to act as quickly as poible to pa real reform that restores free and fair markets in which recklene and greed are thwarted; and hard work, responsibility, and competition are rewarded – reform that works for businees, investors, and consumers alike.That’s how we’ll keep our economy and our institutions strong.That’s how we’ll restore a sense of responsibility and accountability to both Wall Street and Washington.And that’s how we’ll safeguard everything the American people are working so hard to build – a broad-based recovery; lasting prosperity; and a renewed American Dream.Thank you.I speak to you today during a time that is holy and filled with meaning for believers around the world.Earlier this week, Jewish people gathered with family and friends to recite the stories of their ancestors’ struggle and ultimate liberation.Tomorrow, Christians of all denominations will come together to rejoice and remember the resurrection of Jesus Christ.These are two very different holidays with their own very different traditions.But it seems fitting that we mark them both during the same week.For in a larger sense, they are both moments of reflection and renewal.They are both occasions to think more deeply about the obligations we have to ourselves and the obligations we have to one another, no matter who we are, where we come from, or what faith we practice.This idea – that we are all bound up, as Martin Luther King once said, in \"a single garment of destiny\"– is a leon of all the world’s great religions.And never has it been more important for us to reaffirm that leon than it is today – at a time when we face tests and trials unlike any we have seen in our time.An economic crisis that recognizes no borders.Violent extremism that’s claimed the lives of innocent men, women, and children from Manhattan to Mumbai.An unsustainable dependence on foreign oil and other sources of energy that pollute our air and water and threaten our planet.The proliferation of the world’s most dangerous weapons, the persistence of deadly disease, and the recurrence of age-old conflicts.These are challenges that no single nation, no matter how powerful, can confront alone.The United States must lead the way.But our best chance to solve these unprecedented problems comes from acting in concert with other nations.That is why I met with leaders of the G-20 nations to ensure that the world’s largest economies take strong and unified action in the face of the global economic crisis.Together, we’ve taken steps to stimulate growth, restore the flow of credit, open markets, and dramatically reform our financial regulatory system to prevent such crises from occurring again – steps that will lead to job creation at home.It is only by working together that we will finally defeat 21st century security threats like al Qaeda.So it was heartening that our NATO allies united in Strasbourg behind our strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and contributed important resources to support our effort there.It is only by coordinating with countries around the world that we will stop the spread of the world’s most dangerous weapons.That is why I laid out a strategy in Prague for us to work with Ruia and other nations to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons; to secure nuclear materials from terrorists; and, ultimately, to free the world from the menace of a nuclear nightmare.And it is only by building a new foundation of mutual trust that we will tackle some of our most entrenched problems.That is why, in Turkey, I spoke to members of Parliament and university students about rising above the barriers of race, region, and religion that too often divide us.With all that is at stake today, we cannot afford to talk past one another.We can’t afford to allow old differences to prevent us from making progre in areas of common concern.We can’t afford to let walls of mistrust stand.Instead, we have to find – and build on – our mutual interests.For it is only when people come together, and seek common ground, that some of that mistrust can begin to fade.And that is where progre begins.Make no mistake: we live in a dangerous world, and we must be strong and vigilant in the face of these threats.But let us not allow whatever differences we have with other nations to stop us from coming together around those solutions that are eential to our survival and succe.As we celebrate Paover, Easter, and this time of renewal, let’s find strength in our shared resolve and purpose in our common aspirations.And if we can do that, then not only will we fulfill the sacred meaning of these holy days, but we will fulfill the promise of our country
