Wall Street nervous about Obama plan
TEXT OF STORY
Renita Jablonski: President Barack Obama took on a balancing act during his speech last night to a joint session of Congress. The president blended the tough reality of the fallout from the financial crisis with confidence that his plan for the economy will help. That plan includes a long list of spending on things like health care, housing, and the environment. But not for the corner office.
President Barack Obama: I will not spend a single penny for the purpose of rewarding a single Wall Street executive. But I will do whatever it takes to help the small business that can’t pay its workers, or the family that has saved and still can’t get a mortgage. That’s what this is about. It’s not about helping banks, it’s about helping people.
Marketplace’s Dan Grech takes a look at how Wall Street’s digesting that message this morning.
Dan Grech: Wall Street is nervous about President Obama overspending. With the bank bailout, the stimulus package, and a proposal to head off foreclosures, the tab is approaching $2 trillion.
Venture capitalist Peter Cohan:
Peter Cohan: There is that overhanging concern that, you know you have to refinance that money, and maybe there won’t be somebody there who’s willing to buy it up. And then you’ve got a humungous problem.
The National Debt is already at more than $10 trillion.
Todd Buchholz was an economic advisor to the first President Bush. He says you can see the anxiety in the trading of government bonds.
Todd Buccholz: Treasury yield interest rates have gone up, even though stocks have gone down. That’s a sign that the market is worried about the explosive deficit.
Obama says he’s searching for budget cuts to offset these new programs. He’s already found ways to reduce spending by nearly $2 trillion over the next decade.
I’m Dan Grech for Marketplace.
Stories You Might Like
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
