Obama’s Man on the Budget: Just 40 and Going Like 60

In the article Mr. Orszag is the youngest member of President Obama’s team holding cabinet status, a 40-year-old with what colleagues call a graybeard’s knowledge of how the government spends money.
A former director of the Congressional Budget Office, Mr. Orszag is what passes in the Democratic Party for a deficit hawk. But with the economy requiring a jolt from deficit spending, and with his boss determined to press ahead with expensive domestic initiatives while he has the weight to do so, Mr. Orszag embodies the administration’s awkward fiscal policy positioning: big spending now, with a promise to scrub the budget of waste and a bet that economic recovery and changes to health care will gradually reduce the deficit. Mr. Orszag earned master’s and doctoral degrees at the London School of Economics.)In classic political fashion, Mr. Orszag trained for Washington rivalry through family rivalry, not just with his father but also with his economist brothers. Peter, Michael and Jonathan Orszag have worked and written papers together and still compare electronic gadgets and their Princeton grade-point averages.
In Washington, Mr. Orszag’s prowess with numbers has always meant opportunity. (Mr. Orszag, a divorced father of two, is so cozy with the Capitol Hill crowd that Senator Ron Wyden and his wife, Nancy Bass Wyden, found him a girlfriend.) Both sides benefited: lawmakers were more likely to receive favorable rulings on cost, and Mr. Orszag became more policy partner than accountant.
Now he has stocked the White House’s budget office with advisers who aspire to shape policy across the administration. Mr. Orszag had a large role in the economic stimulus bill, taking charge of sorting the workable spending ideas from the impractical ones and helping negotiate its final passage on Capitol Hill. Asked about his relationship with Mr. Summers, Mr. Orszag answered politely but stiffened visibly. For weeks after Mr. Obama took office, Mr. Orszag sat directly across the table from him in the Roosevelt Room. In recent years, many say, he has helped popularize the idea that reducing health care costs is essential to the country’s economic future and the sustainability of the federal budget.
The future looks bright for Mr. Orszag and sheds some light at the end f the tunnel for the U.S. With his dedication and hard work to see that we all benefit from the economic stimulus bill.

Forced Down

Forced Down the Job Ladder, From Executive Pay to Hourly Wage
In the article I read there were several people talking about how the recession has effected their lives, moving them from executive positions to low paying jobs if any at all. They talked about how this downslide has effected them not only financially , but emotionally as well. “You’re fighting despair, discouragement, depression every day,” Mr. Cooper said. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were About 1.7 million people working part-time in January because they could not find full-time work, a 40 percent jump from December 2007, when the recession began, just to survive.
It is difficult to hear these stories as my own family has been effected by this recession, in more ways than one. As a college student I was more than anticipating graduation, and getting a good stable job to support my family, but it seem as of right now no job is secure. I am know holding on to hope as I am sure so many others are, that by the time I graduate things will be looking up, so that we all can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

housing Plan

In the article I read on the plan to help with the housing crises Obama’s purposes a 275 billion dollar budget to help families keep their homes out of foreclosure and those who are already in foreclosure reduce their monthly mortgage payments. Away from persuading lenders with government money, the plan also calls on Congress to give bankruptcy judges the authority to change the conditions of mortgages and reduce the monthly payments.
In presidents Obama’s plan mortgage lenders would have to except their losses in order to and be able to reduce the borrower’s monthly payment to thirty-eight percent of their monthly income. This made republican lawmakers a little apprehensive. To motivate these lenders the government has offered incentives for every loan that is modified, and if the borrower stays current the lender will receive more payments from the government.
Although president Obama’s plan sounds great to some, but for those who were trying to avoid to make a down payment or to reduce the down payment by taking out a second mortgage have been excluded from Obama’s plan causing a big limitation on the rescue portion of his plan. The plan would only apply to those with fairly traditional loans that are owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac estimated at thirty million homeowners. The administrating officials think that this portion of the plan could help four to five million homeowners. The hopeful outcome is to step up purchases of mortgage and mortgage backed securities.
I think that this plan opens a great deal of opportunity for a lot of homeowners, who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. As for those who have had to take out a second mortgage and are excluded from this plan, should get the same opportunity, as long as they have played by he rules and have made monthly payments on time. If not I’m not sure that thing are going to change as much as they are expected to over the next couple of years.

Big Ideas, Grand Plans, Modest Budgets
The New York Times
In this article advocates say they are concerned that the plan represents a missed opportunity. they believe that we should make a decision as to long or short term investments, because we need both. Californians want finally to bring high-speed rail to the United States. Planners want to build bridges to Canada from Detroit, a tunnel for trucks to the Port of Miami and a new one for trains between New York and New Jersey. Transit systems want to expand, ports want more capacity and freight train companies want to untangle bottlenecks on the track
California High-Speed Rail: $45 billions.
Californians want to build bridges to Canada from Detroit, a tunnel for trucks to the Port of Miami and a new one for trains between New York and New Jersey. Transit systems want Californians want finally to bring high-speed rail to the United States. Planners to expand, ports want more capacity and freight train companies want to untangle bottlenecks on the tracks. Supporters say that the plan would reduce congestion on highways and at airports and revitalize the economy; skeptics question whether the plan makes economic sense.
This is just one of the big projects mentioned in this article. In my opinion I think that any investment we make in the attempt to have growth in the economy is a good thing, however as Americans we do dream big. I believe it is better to keep our goals within reach at this time. It is the small steps that will make these big projects seem more a reality than just a dream.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/us/politics/15cantor.html?_r=1

Education Stimulus

A strong federal investment in education would be great. It would be a great long-term investment that will hopefully be used wisely, but I can't judge how effective this package would be as an economic stimulus in the short-term. While we need better education and more equitable school funding, we also need that short-term economic stimulus. I sincerely hope this package will be able to achieve both those goals.
NYTimes.com http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/education/28educ.html?_r=2

here is my blog address

http//politicsandmytwocents.blogspot.com