http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29211954/

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers will oversee the across-the-government panel, a senior administration official said Sunday on the condition of anonymity because no announcement had been made.

Well at least we know that we have qualified people on the job!

David Axelrod said, "I'm not going to prejudge anything. I think that there is going to have to be a restructuring of those companies. I'm not going to get into the mode of how that happens. We'll wait and see what they have to say on Tuesday."

My guess is that the government “task force” is going to find that GM and Chrysler's measures for reconstruction have fallen short of what they were looking for. It will be suggested that the government take more control of the industry in order to "make it viable". We know it's coming, why will nobody admit it. The auto industry is going to be primarily controlled by the government before this is all over.

Tell me what you think...

Obama:

"Before I take your questions tonight, I'd like to speak briefly about the state of our economy and why I believe we need to put this recovery plan in motion as soon as possible.

I took a trip to Elkhart, Indiana, today. Elkhart is a place that has lost jobs faster than anywhere else in America. In one year, the unemployment rate went from 4.7 percent to 15.3 percent.

Companies that have sustained this community for years are shedding jobs at an alarming speed, and the people who've lost them have no idea what to do or who to turn to.

They can't pay their bills. They've stopped spending money. And because they've stopped spending money, more businesses have been forced to lay off more workers. In fact, local TV stations have started running public service announcements to tell people where to find food banks, even as the food banks don't have enough to meet the demand.

As we speak, similar scenes are playing out in cities and towns across America. Last Monday, more than 1,000 men and women stood in line for 35 firefighter jobs in Miami. Last month, our economy lost 598,000 jobs, which is nearly the equivalent of losing every single job in the state of Maine.

And if there's anyone out there who still doesn't believe this constitutes a full-blown crisis, I suggest speaking to one of the millions of Americans whose lives have been turned upside-down because they don't know where their next paycheck is coming from.

And that is why the single most important part of this economic recovery and reinvestment plan is the fact that it will save or create up to 4 million jobs, because that's what America needs most right now.

It is absolutely true that we can't depend on government alone to create jobs or economic growth. That is and must be the role of the private sector. But at this particular moment, with the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back into life.

It is only government that can break the vicious cycle, where lost jobs lead to people spending less money, which leads to even more layoffs. And breaking that cycle is exactly what the plan that's moving through Congress is designed to do.

When passed, this plan will ensure that Americans who've lost their jobs through no fault of their own can receive greater unemployment benefits and continue their health care coverage.

We'll also provide a $2,500 tax credit to folks who are struggling to pay the costs of their college tuition and $1,000 worth of badly needed tax relief to working- and middle-class families. These steps will put more money in the pockets of those Americans who are most likely to spend it, and that will help break the cycle and get our economy moving.

But as we've learned very clearly and conclusively over the last eight years, tax cuts alone can't solve all of our economic problems, especially tax cuts that are targeted to the wealthiest few Americans. We have tried that strategy time and time again, and it's only helped lead us to the crisis we face right now.

And that's why we have come together around a plan that combines hundreds of billions in tax cuts for the middle class with direct investment in areas like health care, energy, education, and infrastructure, investments that will save jobs, create new jobs and new businesses, and help our economy grow again, now and in the future.

More than 90 percent of the jobs created by this plan will be in the private sector. They're not going to be make-work jobs, but jobs doing the work that America desperately needs done: jobs rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, repairing our dangerously deficient dams and levees so that we don't face another Katrina.

They'll be jobs building the wind turbines and solar panels and fuel-efficient cars that will lower our dependence on foreign oil and modernizing our costly health care system that will save us billions of dollars and countless lives.

They'll be jobs creating the 21st-century classrooms, libraries, and labs for millions of children across America. And they'll be the jobs of firefighters and teachers and police officers that would otherwise be eliminated if we do not provide states with some relief.

Now, after many weeks of debate and discussion, the plan that ultimately emerges from Congress must be big enough and bold enough to meet the size of the economic challenges that we face right now.

It's a plan that is already supported by businesses representing almost every industry in America, by both the Chamber of Commerce and the AFL-CIO. It contains input, ideas and compromises from both Democrats and Republicans.

It also contains an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability so that every American will be able to go online and see where and how we're spending every dime. What it does not contain, however, is a single pet project, not a single earmark, and it has been stripped of the projects members of both parties found most objectionable.

Now, despite all of this, the plan's not perfect. No plan is. I can't tell you for sure that everything in this plan will work exactly as we hoped, but I can tell you with complete confidence that a failure to act will only deepen this crisis, as well as the pain felt by millions of Americans.

Now, my administration inherited a deficit of over $1 trillion, but because we also inherited the most profound economic emergency since the Great Depression, doing little or nothing at all will result in even greater deficits, even greater job loss, even greater loss of income, and even greater loss of confidence.

Those are deficits that could turn a crisis into a catastrophe, and I refuse to let that happen. As long as I hold this office, I will do whatever it takes to put this economy back on track and put this country back to work.

I want to thank the members of Congress who've worked so hard to move this plan forward, but I also want to urge all members of Congress to act without delay in the coming week to resolve their differences and pass this plan.

We find ourselves in a rare moment where the citizens of our country and all countries are watching and waiting for us to lead. It's a responsibility that this generation did not ask for, but one that we must accept for the future of our children and our grandchildren.

The strongest democracies flourish from frequent and lively debate, but they endure when people of every background and belief find a way to set aside smaller differences in service of a greater purpose. That's the test facing the United States of America in this winter of our hardship, and it is our duty as leaders and citizens to stay true to that purpose in the weeks and months ahead.

After a day of speaking with and listening to the fundamentally decent men and women who call this nation home, I have full faith and confidence that we can do it, but we're going to have to work together. That's what I intend to promote in the weeks and days ahead."

Can anyone tell me what’s wrong with this?

Take a very close look at these three people. These three people are the ones who are going to allow the largest transfer of freedoms (power) to the Federal Government in the history of the United States of America! To most this seems like no big deal. To most they don't understand what this bill will really do. To most they don't care either way. To those who love freedom, and understand what is at stake, this is a sad day...

Arlen Specter: Pennsylvania

Olympia Snow: Main

Susan Collins: Main

For all of the Obama supporters here is your CHANGE. Now those people don't have to move to Europe to get socialism, they can have it come to them.

Too many people today forget the old adage, "Your rights begin where someone else's rights end." Well with the passing of this bill everyone's rights are scaled back now! Check out the current version of the bill.

PDF file: Senate version of H.R. 1

The problems this bill will create are immediately evident. Let me break it down to the low-level.

The government has money because of taxes. The taxes are raised from people who produce. When the government spends money it does not yet have, that money in effect does not exist. That money is thought to exist in the future provided the economy functions properly. What this bill does is provide a path for money collected from profitable business to make it's way to the unprofitable business. In other words the government is using those businesses that run correctly to fund businesses that do not run effectively.

a three year old could figure this one out! The after effect is that all business is brought down to a lower level. Compound that with the fact that the government has promised money that it does not currently have.

So to conclude. The government is spending money not yet existent. It is believed that the money will be there in the future provided the economy functions properly. Meanwhile by spending the "not yet earned money" they are hurting the economy.

The United States Government now resembles a person who just quit their job, but is maxing out all of their credit cards!

I will provide a more in depth look at the bill later today...

Tell me what you think...

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Today The President of The United States wrote an op-ed piece.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/04/AR2009020403174_pf.html

Normally I would consider this to be a joke. This time it is no joke. Obama apparently THINKS that by doing an op-ed piece and telling everyone that the sky is on fire is how a president leads a nation. I don’t know where he gets his ideas. I can tell you that he could most likely not give a heart-felt speech on the issue, because there is a possibility that he would have to answer questions from reporters afterwards. Obama does not like the media much now; even though they propped him up for the entire campaign. He has made the media look bad by proving to be a less than impressive leader. Does the following sound honest to you?

Obama:

Because each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes," he wrote. "And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse.

In recent days, there have been misguided criticisms of this plan that echo the failed theories that helped lead us into this crisis -- the notion that tax cuts alone will solve all our problems; that we can meet our enormous tests with half-steps and piecemeal measures; that we can ignore fundamental challenges such as energy independence and the high cost of health care and still expect our economy and our country to thrive.

I reject these theories, and so did the American people when they went to the polls in November and voted resoundingly for change. They know that we have tried it those ways for too long. And because we have, our health-care costs still rise faster than inflation. Our dependence on foreign oil still threatens our economy and our security. Our children still study in schools that put them at a disadvantage. We've seen the tragic consequences when our bridges crumble and our levees fail.

This angers me, because every time the Democrats bring up the word crisis or depression they forget that it is their party in large part who is historically responsible for these conditions. Now we have the same people using the same techniques to attempt to dupe everyone again. Funny how all of the problems he lists above have large government involvement. GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IS THE ONLY THING THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON. Is it not wise to assume that the one binding factor, (government) could be the problem?

Sorry Mr. Obama but we can and will be able to reverse this “crisis”. The way to do that is ignore your party’s historically inaccurate suggestions and apply Conservative Legislation to deal with the issue. The economy is not stimulated by fears of increased taxes, the second highest corporate tax globally, fears that capital gains taxes are going to increase. Economies are stimulated when there is opportunity. When opportunity is scarce and achievement punished, there is little room for optimism…

Tell me what you think?