By Meagan Wiseley – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said Friday that on the economic front, America received good news and bad news today following the Labor Department’s announcement of a 10.2% unemployment rate.

“Although 190,000 more American’s lost their jobs…that is substantially less than the pace at which they were losing jobs until fairly recently,” Frank said during remarks at a conference sponsored by NoLimits.org, a progressive on-line organization founded by Frank’s sister.

Frank said the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, or the stimulus bill, had a positive impact in deterring unemployment, explaining that unemployment rates would be higher if the stimulus bill hadn’t passed.

Frank also said that the lack of regulation in the financial sector, which he contributed to Alan Greenspan, the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, led to the AIG crisis and the following recession. He praised the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke for his willingness to collaborate with Congress over new financial regulatory reforms.

Frank remained positive about the economic outlook.

“We are making progress … things are getting better virtually on every front [and] I am confident that when we are through with financial regulations…the kind of things that got us in trouble in the past won’t get us in trouble in the future,” Frank added.

Former economic adviser for President Clinton Alan Blinder says that Congress, the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve have helped the economy enormously, but it is still in bad shape. He says although GDP is growing, the amount of jobs is still likely to “shrink.” (0:37)

 

 Standard Podcast [0:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Man On The Street: Atif Siddiqui of Washington, D.C. says he doesn’t think the DOW will stay above 10,000 for a while, but that he thinks it will dip down a little bit. Siddiqui says that the recovery is happening, but slowly. (0:11)

 

 Standard Podcast [0:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Man On The Street: Lynn, of South Carolina, responds to the DOW jump, saying that she would like to see more jobs and a better economy. Lynn adds that she doesn’t see where more jobs are going to come from because there’s no manufacturing base in America anymore and that more manufacturing jobs are in China. (0:14)

 

 Standard Podcast [0:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Man On The Street: Bob Francis of California says he’s not sure what will happen with the economy after the DOW jump. Francis adds that no one knows, and if he did, he would invest that information or put it under his bed. (0:11)

 

 Standard Podcast [0:11m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

David Andrea, Vice President of Industry Analysis and Economics at the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association, says in a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing Friday that many manufacturing companies are making major cutbacks in employee compensation and benefits. (0:30)

 

 Standard Podcast [0:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Robert Kiener, Director of Member Outreach at the Precision Machined Products Association, says in a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing Friday that if manufacturers can not acquire the capital they need for employees, equipment and raw materials due to the credit crisis, consumers will be forced to outsource from overseas. (0:30)

 

 Standard Podcast [0:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) says in a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing Friday that compromised access to credit is a huge threat and could cause manufacturers to go out of business (0:31)

 

 Standard Podcast [0:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

By Leah Valencia, University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Several industry experts called on Congress to help restore credit to manufacturers in a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing Friday.

A few who testified said that current credit limits typically do not cover the amount that suppliers need to invest in employees, equipment and raw materials.

“In our industry, manufacturers are expected to deliver products just in time. Any delays can cause significant disruption in our nation’s critical supply chain…thus stifling economic growth and risking national security,” said Robert Kiener, Director of Member Outreach at the Precision Machined Products Association. “If our customers can not acquire the products they need, due to the credit crisis, they will source from overseas and these lost jobs will never come back to the United States.”

The testimonies focused on the need for long-term programs that support manufacturing, technology and innovation initiatives in the U.S. The experts outlined the increased problems manufacturers have had in gaining access to greater capital during the current economic recession.

“The bank[s] need assurances that the federal regulators will not come down on them for making sound lending decisions, a return to the sound lending decisions will allow for available and affordable credit for manufacturers,” Kiener said. “I think it is crucial to the recovery of the economy to allow renewed capital expenditures… and in the end, increase hiring and employment to get things back and rolling.”

A Senate subcommittee will submit questions to the U.S. Department of Treasury and U.S. Department of Commerce in a continued effort to evaluate and resolve this issue.

By Travis Martinez
University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service

Mitt Romney doesn’t think the last eight months of Barack Obama’s presidency have been successful. In an hour-long speech to hundreds of Republicans last Saturday, Romney said that Obama has failed with healthcare reform, economic redevelopment, stimulus funding and foreign relations.

What President Obama has done these past eight months [stimulus and bailout packages]… has not strengthened America,” said Romney at the 2009 Family Research Council Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. “To strengthen the economy and create jobs the President has to stop trying to borrow the country out of a debt problem… don’t repeat the stimulus, repair the stimulus.”

Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and 2008 presidential candidate, criticized Obama’s approach to foreign policy. Last week, the Obama Administration made headlines when it was announced that the U.S. will scrap the 2007 European missile defense program. Romney called the decision “alarming, and dangerous… We should never cut corners in our military and intelligence agencies,” he said.

With healthcare, Romney said that reform would make a healthier and a stronger nation, but without a public option and less government control. He cited successful reform in Massachusetts that was implemented without a public option. “The right answer for health care is not more government, it’s less government,” said Romney. “As a Republican, I worked very hard to reform health care in my own state… It does teach an important lesson that you can get everyone insured without a public option.”

Romney did not talk about his future career in politics, but said: “The voters are going to make their intentions clear in the 2010 elections.”