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| Obama on 2016 race: Trump would heighten risk of new financial crisis | Obama on 2016 race: Trump would heighten risk of new financial crisis |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Barack Obama on Wednesday made his most aggressive foray yet into the battle to succeed him, warning that Donald Trump would serve the interests of his fellow billionaires and heighten the risk of another financial crisis. | Barack Obama on Wednesday made his most aggressive foray yet into the battle to succeed him, warning that Donald Trump would serve the interests of his fellow billionaires and heighten the risk of another financial crisis. |
| Returning to Elkhart, Indiana, the first city he visited as president, Obama defended his economic record over the past seven years against not only Republicans but “talking heads” who theorise that outsiders Trump and Bernie Sanders have thrived because of bad trade deals that hollowed out communities. | Returning to Elkhart, Indiana, the first city he visited as president, Obama defended his economic record over the past seven years against not only Republicans but “talking heads” who theorise that outsiders Trump and Bernie Sanders have thrived because of bad trade deals that hollowed out communities. |
| The president stood at a podium jacketless, with his sleeves rolled up, apparently relishing a return to election campaign mode even though he is not on the ballot. He did not mention Trump or Hillary Clinton by name but displayed how he is likely to be a formidable weapon for his fellow Democrat during the general election. | The president stood at a podium jacketless, with his sleeves rolled up, apparently relishing a return to election campaign mode even though he is not on the ballot. He did not mention Trump or Hillary Clinton by name but displayed how he is likely to be a formidable weapon for his fellow Democrat during the general election. |
| “The one thing I can promise you is if we turn against each other based on divisions of race or religion, if we fall for a bunch of okey doke just because it sounds funny or the tweets are provocative, then we’re not going to build on the progress that we’ve started,” he said to applause and cheers from 2,000 people in a brightly lit gymnasium. “If we get cynical and just vote our fears, or if we don’t vote at all, we won’t build on the progress that we’ve started.” | “The one thing I can promise you is if we turn against each other based on divisions of race or religion, if we fall for a bunch of okey doke just because it sounds funny or the tweets are provocative, then we’re not going to build on the progress that we’ve started,” he said to applause and cheers from 2,000 people in a brightly lit gymnasium. “If we get cynical and just vote our fears, or if we don’t vote at all, we won’t build on the progress that we’ve started.” |
| Obama had been in office for three weeks when he set foot in Elkhart in early 2009, in the midst of a fight for Congress to pass a roughly $800bn economic stimulus package. Part of his administration’s response to the financial crisis, he said, were the toughest Wall Street laws in history, forcing the biggest banks to carry twice the amount of capital they used to and putting in place a new consumer watchdog, thereby reducing the likelihood of a repeat. | Obama had been in office for three weeks when he set foot in Elkhart in early 2009, in the midst of a fight for Congress to pass a roughly $800bn economic stimulus package. Part of his administration’s response to the financial crisis, he said, were the toughest Wall Street laws in history, forcing the biggest banks to carry twice the amount of capital they used to and putting in place a new consumer watchdog, thereby reducing the likelihood of a repeat. |
| If we get cynical and just vote our fears, or if we don’t vote at all, we won’t build on the progress that we’ve started | If we get cynical and just vote our fears, or if we don’t vote at all, we won’t build on the progress that we’ve started |
| “The Republican nominee for president has already said he’d dismantle all these rules that we passed,” Obama frowned, his voice rising with incredulity. “That is crazy. I’ll be honest with you, sometimes I just don’t get it. How it is that somebody could propose that we weaken regulations on Wall Street? | “The Republican nominee for president has already said he’d dismantle all these rules that we passed,” Obama frowned, his voice rising with incredulity. “That is crazy. I’ll be honest with you, sometimes I just don’t get it. How it is that somebody could propose that we weaken regulations on Wall Street? |
| “Have we really forgotten what just happened eight years ago? It hasn’t been that long ago and because of their reckless behaviour, you got hurt.” | “Have we really forgotten what just happened eight years ago? It hasn’t been that long ago and because of their reckless behaviour, you got hurt.” |
| Despite his efforts, the wealthiest Americans are still paying far lower tax rates than they used to, the president continued. “Today, even as the top 1% is doing better than ever for all the reasons I talked about earlier, the Republican nominee for president’s tax plan would give the top one-tenth of 1% a bigger tax cut than the 120 million American households at the bottom. | Despite his efforts, the wealthiest Americans are still paying far lower tax rates than they used to, the president continued. “Today, even as the top 1% is doing better than ever for all the reasons I talked about earlier, the Republican nominee for president’s tax plan would give the top one-tenth of 1% a bigger tax cut than the 120 million American households at the bottom. |
| “It would explode our deficits by nearly $10tn. I’m not making this up. You can look at the math. That will not bring jobs back. That is not fighting for the American middle class. That will not help us win. That is not going to make your lives better, that will help people like him.” | “It would explode our deficits by nearly $10tn. I’m not making this up. You can look at the math. That will not bring jobs back. That is not fighting for the American middle class. That will not help us win. That is not going to make your lives better, that will help people like him.” |
| As the crowd rose to its feet and applauded, Obama added: “That’s the truth.” | As the crowd rose to its feet and applauded, Obama added: “That’s the truth.” |
| He also took Trump to task over his plan to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. He said the number of people trying to cross the US-Mexico border illegally is near its lowest level in 40 years. While it is true that new immigrants sometimes compete for service and construction jobs, he added, they also start about 30% of new businesses in America and pay more in taxes than they receive in services. | He also took Trump to task over his plan to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants. He said the number of people trying to cross the US-Mexico border illegally is near its lowest level in 40 years. While it is true that new immigrants sometimes compete for service and construction jobs, he added, they also start about 30% of new businesses in America and pay more in taxes than they receive in services. |
| “Most importantly, immigrants are not the main reason why wages haven’t gone up for middle-class families,” Obama said. “Those decisions are made in the boardrooms of companies where top CEOs are getting paid more than 300 times the income of the average worker. So deporting 11 million immigrants – not only is that a fantasy that would cost taxpayers billions of dollars and tear families apart and just logistically would be impossible – even if it were possible, it wouldn’t do anything to seriously help the middle class.” | “Most importantly, immigrants are not the main reason why wages haven’t gone up for middle-class families,” Obama said. “Those decisions are made in the boardrooms of companies where top CEOs are getting paid more than 300 times the income of the average worker. So deporting 11 million immigrants – not only is that a fantasy that would cost taxpayers billions of dollars and tear families apart and just logistically would be impossible – even if it were possible, it wouldn’t do anything to seriously help the middle class.” |
| Broadening his critique to “myth-busting” Republican orthodoxy, Obama continued: “The primary story that Republicans have been telling about the economy is not supported by the facts. They repeat it a lot but it’s not supported by the facts, but they say it anyway. Now, why is that? It’s because it has worked to get them votes, at least at the congressional level.” | Broadening his critique to “myth-busting” Republican orthodoxy, Obama continued: “The primary story that Republicans have been telling about the economy is not supported by the facts. They repeat it a lot but it’s not supported by the facts, but they say it anyway. Now, why is that? It’s because it has worked to get them votes, at least at the congressional level.” |
| The president’s speech in Elkhart came against a background in which the theory that a sluggish economy, stagnant wages and the migration of manufacturing jobs overseas fuelled the rise of Trump and Sanders. | The president’s speech in Elkhart came against a background in which the theory that a sluggish economy, stagnant wages and the migration of manufacturing jobs overseas fuelled the rise of Trump and Sanders. |
| Some foreign diplomats worry about a surge of protectionism in America: Clinton, Sanders and Trump have all come out against Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership. | Some foreign diplomats worry about a surge of protectionism in America: Clinton, Sanders and Trump have all come out against Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership. |
| “The truth is trade has helped our country a lot more than it’s hurt us,” Obama insisted. “Exports helped lead us out of the recession. Companies that export pay workers higher wages than folks who don’t export. And anybody who says that somehow shutting ourselves off from trade is going to bring jobs back, they’re just not telling the truth.” | “The truth is trade has helped our country a lot more than it’s hurt us,” Obama insisted. “Exports helped lead us out of the recession. Companies that export pay workers higher wages than folks who don’t export. And anybody who says that somehow shutting ourselves off from trade is going to bring jobs back, they’re just not telling the truth.” |
| Most manufacturing jobs lost over the past decade were not from trade deals but technology and automation that let businesses make more products with fewer workers, he argued. | Most manufacturing jobs lost over the past decade were not from trade deals but technology and automation that let businesses make more products with fewer workers, he argued. |
| Perhaps weary of hearing his economic record hammered on the campaign trail, Obama was also eager to shore up his legacy. “Now, I’m the first to admit my presidency hasn’t fixed everything. We’ve had setbacks. We’ve had false starts. We’ve frankly been stuck with a Congress recently that’s opposed pretty much everything that we’ve tried to do.” | Perhaps weary of hearing his economic record hammered on the campaign trail, Obama was also eager to shore up his legacy. “Now, I’m the first to admit my presidency hasn’t fixed everything. We’ve had setbacks. We’ve had false starts. We’ve frankly been stuck with a Congress recently that’s opposed pretty much everything that we’ve tried to do.” |
| But he was adamant: “By almost every economic measure, America’s better off than when I came here at the beginning of my presidency,” he said to cheers and whistles. “That’s the truth. That’s true. That’s true. That’s true.” | But he was adamant: “By almost every economic measure, America’s better off than when I came here at the beginning of my presidency,” he said to cheers and whistles. “That’s the truth. That’s true. That’s true. That’s true.” |
| In Elkhart, he noted, unemployment had peaked at 19.6% but was now down to around 4%. The recovery came about as demand for RVs, the motorhomes that are central to the local economy, bounced back. Nevertheless, he got “whupped” in the county at the last election and had not come looking for votes. | In Elkhart, he noted, unemployment had peaked at 19.6% but was now down to around 4%. The recovery came about as demand for RVs, the motorhomes that are central to the local economy, bounced back. Nevertheless, he got “whupped” in the county at the last election and had not come looking for votes. |
| “I came here precisely because this county votes Republican. If the economy is what’s really driving this election, then it’s going to be voters like you that have to decide between two very different visions of what’s going to help strengthen our middle class. You’re going to have to make that decision.” | |
| An audience member shouted for him to stay for another term. “No, I can’t do that,” Obama replied with a laugh. “The constitution prohibits it but, more importantly, Michelle prohibits it.” | An audience member shouted for him to stay for another term. “No, I can’t do that,” Obama replied with a laugh. “The constitution prohibits it but, more importantly, Michelle prohibits it.” |