Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

SUN EDITORIAL:

A smart investment

President’s vision includes investment in renewable energy, high-tech areas

This past week, President Barack Obama went to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh to talk about his economic vision for the country. He addressed not only how he thinks our nation can emerge from the worst recession this country has experienced since the Great Depression, but how the country can chart a course so that we’re not left behind other countries as the 21st century unfolds. But, because of the catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, coverage of the speech didn’t get as much play by the media as it normally would. That’s too bad.

The president offered a compelling vision of why this nation desperately needs a smart economic policy — including investments in renewable energy and high-tech areas — if it is to compete in the global marketplace. Obama noted that European nations, China and India understand what’s at stake.

“They’re putting a greater emphasis on math and science, and demanding more from their students,” the president said. “They’re making serious investments in technology and clean energy because they want to win the competition for those jobs.”

Nevada, one of the states hit hardest by the recession, is well-positioned to capitalize on renewable energy’s promise. Fortunately, the leadership of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is starting to turn much of that promise into reality.

We’re truly in a global economy, which requires the federal government to take a leadership role.

“We can’t afford to stand pat while the world races by,” Obama said. “The United States of America did not become the most prosperous nation on Earth by sheer luck or happenstance. We got here because each time a generation of Americans has faced a changing world, we have changed with it. We have not feared our future; we have shaped it. America does not stand still; we move forward.”

The country also needs to learn from its mistakes, so it was encouraging to hear the president say that as the country emerges from the recession, it can’t afford to retreat to the way things once were.

“We can’t go back to an economy that was too dependent on bubbles and debt and financial speculation,” he said. “We have to build a new and stronger foundation for growth and prosperity — and that’s exactly what we’ve been doing for the last 16 months. It’s a foundation based on investments in our people and their future; investments in the skills and education we need to compete; investments in a 21st-century infrastructure for America ...”

The problem isn’t that the president’s vision of this nation’s economic future is flawed; the problem is that Republicans continue to stymie him and the Democrats in Congress at every turn. Although part of this opposition has simply been about partisan politics, with Republicans hoping to cripple his presidency and the election hopes of Democrats by blocking his legislation, the president acknowledged the opposition also is rooted in ideology and the Republicans’ view of what role government should play: “It’s a belief that government has little or no role to play in helping this nation meet our collective challenges. It’s an agenda that basically offers two answers to every problem we face: more tax breaks for the wealthy and fewer rules for corporations.”

The president wisely said that government doesn’t have all the answers and, for that matter, can’t replace businesses as the real producer of job creation: “Too much government can deprive us of choice and burden us with debt,” he said. “Poorly designed regulations can choke off competition and the capital that businesses need to thrive.”

As you can see, the president’s ideas don’t resemble the big government, out-of-touch caricature painted by his right-wing critics. Obama is offering a thoughtful, reasonable, middle-of-the-road approach in which government plays a responsible role in spurring job growth and investment. It’s long past time for congressional Republicans to stop playing the needless partisan games and work with this president, who has been more than willing to meet them halfway. They need to grow up and stop being so petulant. Is that really too much to ask?

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