President Obama's Weekly Address 2/28/15: Ensuring Hard-Working Americans Retire with Dignity

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, the President reiterated his commitment to middle-class economics, and to ensuring that all hard-working Americans get the secure and dignified retirement they deserve. While most financial advisers prioritize their clients’ futures, there are some who direct their clients towards bad investments in return for backdoor payments and hidden fees. That’s why earlier this week the President announced that he is calling on the Department of Labor to update rules to protect families from conflicts of interest by requiring financial advisers to put their clients’ best interest before their own profits. The President emphasized his promise to keep fighting for this policy and for others that benefit millions of working and middle class Americans.

President Obama's Weekly Address 12/20/14: America’s Resurgence Is Real

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, the President reflected on the significant progress made by this country in 2014, and in the nearly six years since he took office. This past year has been the strongest for job growth since the 1990s, contributing to the nearly 11 million jobs added by our businesses over a 57-month streak. America is leading the rest of the world, in containing the spread of Ebola, degrading and ultimately destroying ISIL, and addressing the threat posed by climate change. And earlier this week, the President announced the most significant changes to our policy towards Cuba in over 50 years. America’s resurgence is real, and the President expressed his commitment to working with Congress in the coming year to make sure Americans feel the benefits.

President Obama's Weekly Address 12/6/14: Ensuring Americans Feel the Gains of a Growing Economy

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, the President highlighted the good news in Friday’s jobs report – that American businesses added 314,000 new jobs this past month, making November the tenth month in a row that the private sector has added at least 200,000 new jobs. Even with a full month to go, 2014 has already been the best year of job creation since the 1990s. This number brings total private-sector job creation to 10.9 million over 57 consecutive months – the longest streak on record. But even with this real, tangible evidence of our progress, there is always more that can be done. Congress needs to pass a budget and keep the government from a Christmas shutdown. We have an opportunity to work together to support the continued growth of higher-paying jobs by investing in infrastructure, reforming the business tax code, expanding markets for America’s goods and services, making common sense reforms to the immigration system, and increasing the minimum wage.

President Obama's Weekly Address 1/11/14 : Ensuring 2014 is a Year of Action to Grow the Economy

WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, President Obama called 2014 a year of action, which should start with Congress quickly passing emergency unemployment insurance for the 1.3 million Americans who lost this vital lifeline as they fight to find jobs and make ends meet.

President Obama's Weekly Address 2/2/13: A Balanced Approach to Growing the Economy in 2013

WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, President Obama called on Congress to work together on a balanced approach to reduce our deficit and promote economic growth and job creation. Our businesses created 2.2 million jobs last year, and we just learned that our economy created more jobs over the last few months than economists originally thought. Our economy is poised to expand in 2013 if Washington politics doesn’t get in the way, and the President called on Congress to work together to keep moving us forward.

President Obama's Weekly Address 5/19/12: Congress Must Move Forward, Not Back On Wall Street Reform

WASHINGTON, DC— In this week’s address, President Obama discussed Wall Street reform that he put in place to protect consumers, make Wall Street play by the same set of rules, and ensure that taxpayers are never again on the hook for the type of irresponsible behavior on Wall Street that nearly destroyed our financial system and cost the economy millions of jobs. While Republicans in Congress are still trying to delay and dismantle these critical Wall Street reforms, President Obama continues to urgeCongress to finish implementing these reformsso that we can prevent excessive risk-taking and help create an economy that is built to last.

President Obama's Weekly Address 3/24/12 : President Obama Says House Must Pass Bipartisan Transportation Bill

WASHINGTON, DC—In this week’s address, President Obama called on the House of Representatives to pass a bipartisan transportation bill that would repair crumbling roads and bridges and support construction jobs in communities all across America. According to a new report, 90 percent of these construction jobs are middle class jobs. The Senate passed the bill with the support of Democrats and Republicans because if the bill stalls in Congress then constructions sites will go idle, workers will have to go home, and our economy will take a hit. The President calls on everyone to tell their elected officials to pass a long-term transportation bill that will support American construction workers and our economy.

 

President Obama's Weekly Address 12/31/11 : Working Together in the New Year

WASHINGTON—In his weekly address, President Obama told the American people that although there will be tough debates to come in the new year, by joining together, we can continue to help grow the economy and create jobs across the country. President Obama will keep working to ensure that everyone has a fair shot and does their fair share, and as we enter into 2012, all Americans should remind Washington of what is at stake for the middle class. By adding their voices to the debate, Americans have already proven that they can make a difference, and in the new year, we can continue to work together to put the country first and help every American find the opportunities they deserve.

President Obama's Weekly Address 7/9/11: Working Together to Meet our Fiscal Challenges

WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, President Obama called on both parties to come together during this unique moment to find a significant, balanced approach to deficit reduction that lets us live within our means without hurting investments our economy needs to grow and create jobs. The President believes the American people deserve to have their leaders work in a bipartisan way to find common ground to tackle our fiscal challenges so we can be in a stronger position to focus on new job-creation measures to get the American people back to work.

President Obama's Weekly Address 3/19/11: American Jobs Through Exports to Latin America

Even as the President maintains his focus on international crises in Japan and Libya, he discusses his trip to Latin America to open up markets for US products.

President Obama's Weekly Address 11/25/10: Giving Thanks for Those Who Serve

The President expresses gratitude to America’s military men and women and their families, and discusses the steps his administration is taking to help create jobs so that next Thanksgiving, Americans can give thanks for a stronger economy.

President Obama's Weekly Address 10/30/10: Working Together on the Economy

Ahead of the elections, the President says no matter what happens both parties must work together to boost the economy, and expresses concern about statements to the contrary from Republican Leaders.

President Obama's Weekly Address: 10/24/09 Working with Small Business to Drive Recovery

The President restates his commitment to small business as key to economic recovery -- from the Recovery Act to Financial Stability to Health Reform -- and pledges more to come

President Obama's Weekly Address: 10/03/09 Health Reform Urgent for the Economy

The President discusses ongoing efforts to spur job creation. He also explains why health insurance reform is needed not just for long-term economic stability, but in the immediate future, discussing statistics on how costs will continue to skyrocket and hurt small businesses even next year.

Three Cheers For Working Americans

The Labor Day holiday brings many things to mind--the end of summer, the beginning of school and a day where Americans celebrate the work we do by not doing it this one day. But let's remember how it all started.

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City and quickly spread to other cities.

In 1894, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September a legal holiday. The form for the day's celebration was outlined in the holiday's first proposal: A street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families. Later on speeches by prominent citizens were introduced as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday.

Today, barbeques, picnics and fireworks have mostly replaced speeches and political demonstrations. But it is important to remember at this time, during one of the worst economic downturn in history, that workers are vital to the nation's productivity and prosperity.

NJPP Policy Fellow Norman Glickman believes that the way to celebrate labor and help workers is to expand unemployment benefits, fix the broken health care system and give the federal stimulus package the chance to work:

AS WE COME together for one last barbeque, let’s take some time to celebrate the besieged American worker on Labor Day.

Despite hope for the “green shoots” of an economic recovery, it is a little harder to celebrate this year: We are in the middle of the worst economic times since the Thirties.

Yes, the stock market is up a bit since March and the financial system has not collapsed as feared a year ago, but it has been a tough year for most of us: Unemployment has soared, wages have stagnated and people lucky enough to have jobs are less secure about keeping them.

Let’s look at the dreary numbers.

The July unemployment rate in New Jersey stood at 9.3 percent, about twice what it was before this Great Recession began in late 2007. More than 400,000 people are now out of work, compared to 200,000 before the economy crashed.

Hardest hit have been people in the construction and finance sectors, but losses have bled across the economy. No industries have been spared.

Unemployment for men has risen above that for women (6.1 percent vs. 5.4 percent) in large part due to the decimation of male-dominated industries, like finance and construction. African-Americans have more than twice the jobless rate as whites.

Financial sector jobs

Bergen County towns that prospered on the pinstriped backs of Wall Streeters are feeling lots of pain from the downturn; high-paid brokers and traders have lost work and their bonuses. Others further down the financial food chain are also hurting.

In Ridgewood, for instance, where one in six people work in financial services, 20 downtown stores are vacant. According to a recent Record report, the town’s Cheese Shop, which catered to high-income clientele for many years, is closing next month. Restaurants, dry cleaners, and other retailers are feeling the pinch of the downturn. They are reporting sales declines of up to 40 percent.

This makes for unhealthy downtowns throughout the area and further weakens real estate markets.

The high levels of unemployment have also led to increased home foreclosures. Lost income from job loss leads very quickly to payment delinquencies and foreclosures. People who had good credit and standard mortgages can’t keep their houses when unemployment strikes.

Also, tax revenues have dried up because of tight credit and joblessness. Municipalities and school districts have taken huge tax hits as foreclosures soared and houses were abandoned.

As people lose their homes, their tax payments dry up. Many families have also had to say bye-bye to their health insurance. No job, no coverage.

As bad as unemployment may seem — and it is truly bad — the number of people who are underemployed is even more serious. The Economic Policy Institute reports that fully one in seven (14.9 percent) New Jerseyans fit into this category. These are the unemployed, plus those who want to work full time, but can find only part-time jobs (they are working less than 35 hours a week). Also add those who have given up trying to find work because labor market conditions are so weak and are not counted among the unemployed.

The disaster of underemployment is worse for Hispanics (19.4 percent) and African-Americans (27.8 percent) than for the work force as a whole.

People are also unemployed longer than they were previously: The amount of time people spend out of work has increased by about 50 percent in the past year. Unfortunately, there are now about six unemployed people for every available job nationally. This is bad news for job seekers.

New Jersey’s problems didn’t start with this recession. Looking back over the decade, we now have fewer jobs than we had at the turn of the century. This compares to nearly 500,000 jobs we gained during the Nineties.

There was a largely jobless recovery from the Bush-era recession of 2001-2003 and it is likely that we will see few new jobs when we emerge from the current recession. Our economy is less able to produce more good jobs than it did a decade ago.

Patience

What must we do?

First, have patience: Give the Obama administration’s stimulus plan — the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — more time to work. This substantial program involving tax cuts and spending on transportation, education and other useful items is only in its infancy.

Most economists, including me, argue that the recovery act will need far more time to generate new jobs and retain existing ones. We should see more progress on the jobs front by next year, but it won’t pull us completely out of our economic funk.

Second, at both the state and national levels, we need to extend unemployment benefits to keep families afloat. Too many people are running out of benefits because of the depth of the recession. Let’s add another six months of benefits.

Third, we must fix the broken health insurance system, which is fatally tied to jobs.

Despite this bad news, we know that New Jerseyans are a tough bunch and somehow we will pull through.

Let’s hope that next Labor Day will bring more to celebrate.

Is The Worst Over? Wells Fargo Earnings Surprise Sends Market Surging

Question - Is the worst over? Has the economy finally bottomed out and is prosperity just around the corner?

Answer - Nobody knows, but based on the the strong performance of Wells Fargo & Co, reporting an expected profit of $3 billion for the first quarter of the year, the signs for an economic recovery before the end of the year are looking good:

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks surged Thursday to their highest levels in two months after banking giant Wells Fargo & Co. surprised the market with an early profit report that blew past analysts' expectations thanks to a strong increase in its lending business.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped nearly 250 points and major market indexes logged their fifth straight week of gains. Markets are closed for Good Friday.

Investors have been grasping at any sign of improvement in the crippled banking industry, and Wells Fargo's report Thursday that it expects first-quarter earnings of $3 billion provided an encouraging sign that a deep freeze in borrowing activity may finally be thawing. Wells Fargo said it benefited from its January acquisition of Wachovia and an increase in mortgage applications.

"The fact that Wells Fargo can have record profits despite the troubles facing the banking system tells you something," said Rick Campagna, chief investment officer at 300 North Capital in Pasadena, Calif. "It's very good news."

The Dow and the Standard & Poor's 500 index ended at their highest levels since Feb. 9 and the Nasdaq posted its highest finish of the year, giving it a gain of 4.8 percent for 2009.

The Dow rose 246.27, or 3.1 percent, on Thursday to 8,083.38.

Read more >>>Here

NEW LEGISLATION FROM SEN. MENENDEZ PROVIDES INCENTIVES FOR PRODUCTION OF SOLAR ENERGY

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) yesterday introduced legislation that would help encourage the use of solar energy by homeowners and small businesses. The initiative would support new, innovative solar financing strategies being adopted by local governments around the nation by allowing home and business owners to participate in these local programs while still receiving a full solar federal energy tax credit. In addition, the bill would help spur the manufacturing of solar panels here in the United States and would boost the use of solar power in federal buildings.

“Solar power can save people money, create jobs, and help lower greenhouse gas emissions, which is why it needs to be a key part of our green economic recovery,” said Senator Menendez. “This legislation would allow homeowners to take full advantage of programs to help harness solar power and encourage the manufacturing of solar power in our country. These are the sorts of programs with short and long term economy benefits that should be considered for an economic recovery package.”

“We applaud Sen. Menendez’s ongoing efforts to help the solar industry to continue to flourish. This bill will help the solar industry produce 440,000 jobs by 2016 and truly repower our economy,” said Rhone Resch, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Industry Association.

Senator Menendez’s bill is a companion to legislation introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Mike Thompson (D-CA). It would do the following:

• Allow communities to finance solar panels without forcing their residents’ to forgo federal tax incentives. Instead of incurring upfront costs of up to $40,000, residents would be able to get solar panels for less than $200 per month by taking full advantage of a solar energy tax credit. New Jersey communities are considering adopting such a funding mechanism that was adopted by Berkeley. See the following for details: http://www.berkeleyfirst.renewfund.com/

• Provide a manufacturing tax credit for solar equipment so solar panels can be made affordably right here in America.

• Allow federal buildings to enter into long term solar power purchase agreements. This will mean federal buildings can contract with firms to get power at a fixed rate long period of time. This could result in an immediate savings for taxpayers and the expansion of solar installations.

01/10/09: President-Elect Obama's Weekly Address

 In this week's address, President-elect Barack Obama highlights the challenges facing our struggling economy and introduces a report being drafted by Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein.

HOLT ENCOURAGED BY AGREEMENT ON IMPORTANCE OF SCIENCE INVESTMENT TO ECONOMIC RECOVERY

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Rush Holt (NJ-12) today was encouraged by the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee’s forum on the components of an economic recovery plan to spur job creation and create long-term growth – a discussion that included an exchange about the importance of investing in science innovation and infrastructure. Holt, a member of the Steering and Policy Committee, has long argued that investment in physical sciences and energy research can lead to sustained economic growth.

“Today’s forum strengthened the case that we can’t view science research and development as something the government can fund only in times of good economic health,” Holt said. “Innovation infrastructure will create jobs in the short term and drive the economy in the long term, and I am confident we will include it in the recovery plan we send to President Obama.”

Last month, Holt hosted a roundtable discussion at Princeton University, along with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congressional leaders, and national leaders in the science and technology community to highlight the importance of innovation infrastructure to ensure long-term American competitiveness. Today, two of those participants - Norman Augustine, Former President and CEO, Lockheed Martin and author of the “Rising Above the Gathering Storm”, and Maria Zuber, E. A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – reiterated the need to include science funding in an economic recovery bill. Speaker Pelosi and Chairman George Miller, also participants at the Princeton roundtable, today voiced support for including science funding.

“We need to bolster existing high-innovation areas, and we will need to create new areas….The United States has led virtually every technology revolution since the mid-1800s, but it is by no means certain that we will lead the energy revolution,” Zuber said.

Contact: Zach Goldberg
202-225-5801 (office)