Nation’s Govs. Meet with Obama in Philly

It's Our City Home

News and Information Home

Hot Topics

Give you thoughts on these current debates:

Philly's "S.S. United States" Ocean Liner May End Up as Scrap Metal »

Philly to bicyclists: Get off the sidewalk »

Is the Philadelphia Parking Authority scaring away tourists? »

Mayor's 2010 Budget

Budget Workshops

Blogroll

Mission Statement

It's Our City is a project that uses TV, Radio and Web to promote civic engagement in the Philadelphia region.

About Us

Useful Resources

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at 3:57 pm - by Stephanie Marudas. Filed under: Budget, Economy, Politics.

President-elect Barack Obama summoned the nation’s governors to Independence Hall today to talk about how to pull our nation out of a recession. With 48 governors in attendance, he asked for their input to help shape his economic recovery plan, which he hopes to enact soon after being sworn in on January 20th. Some of the national media networks got in on the floor to hear opening remarks from Obama and Vice-President Elect Joe Biden, before being kicked out for the meat of the session. (Click on this link to watch what Obama had to say).

After the closed-door meeting ended, a group of governors emerged without Obama and Biden for a press conference with a crowded pack of reporters, radio and TV crews. Among the governors standing around the podium was Sarah Palin of Alaska. The former Republican Vice Presidential candidate praised Obama for calling the meeting and encouraging a bipartisan partnership.

Our very own Keystone state leader Ed Rendell, who also chairs the National Governor’s Association, answered the bulk of the questions. Rendell told the crowd that Obama has not made any commitments about how much money each state would receive. Under the current economic conditions, most states are facing massive budget shortfalls and are making difficult decisions in terms of cuts and taxes.

Rendell laid out some of the major topics discussed in the meeting with Obama. He said states are looking for increased federal handouts to improve infrastructure, which would create 30,000 - 40,000 immediate jobs nationwide that wouldn’t be outsourced. In terms of Pennsylvania, Rendell said the state needs to act quickly to repair bridges, dams, and waste water systems. Besides infrastructure, state leaders are also looking for federal dollars to lengthen unemployment compensation and increase spending on safety net programs like Food Stamps and Medicaid, which are all areas where demand is already going up because of the declining job market.

While the governors were encouraged by their meeting with Obama, they acknowledged that they’ve got a major bullet to bite. After all, the feds can only help out so much. At the end of the day, state leaders are carrying the burden and and having to make budget cuts or raise taxes, or even worse, do both. In places like California , Governor Arnold Schwartzenegger is warning that the state might be cashless in two months.

Among the goals behind Obama’s stimulus package is to create 2.5 million jobs by the end of 2011, and also give tax cuts to middle class families. The final cost to pull off such an economic recovery plan could be somewhere in the ballpark of $700 billion.