"What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them - that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works - whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account - to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day - because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control - and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favours only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our Gross Domestic Product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart - not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Blog Archive
-
▼
2009
(53)
-
▼
January
(18)
- Limbaughconomics
- Best economic news yet
- There's a political context to this photo, but I'm...
- Republican Congressional leaders on ending the Bus...
- Pro-Death, Pro-Choice Obama
- to sum up the day
- My favorite part of the inaugural speech
- This and that
- Words killed by partisan rhetoric
- TARP rock and roll
- I am enjoying this too much
- Before the new TV season starts
- Here's the talking points I've been waiting for!
- Barney Frank and mortgages
- Buck's testimony before the joint finance committee
- What to do, what to do???
- Validation of pessimism
- Hopeful and Happy New Year
-
▼
January
(18)
No comments:
Post a Comment