The recent speech by the President of the USA, Barack Obama, at George Town University has rightly been billed as a "major speech". Without the economy in this state of utter chaos it is quite conceivable that Obama would not have made iot ti the White House and he has the mandate to take stringent steps to kick start the economy. He has stresswed that the regulatory framework had not quite done its job and hence the very institutions that shouls have prevented the sub-prime crisis started behaving as if they could undeerwrite derivative instruments that were worthless as Obama rightly pointed out. The unregulated capitalism of Wall Street has caused greatr pain in Main Street USA and Obama has indicated that there will be no return to the bad days of unregulated autonomy of the financial institutions. The sub-prime crisis that hit the housing market is dragging the whole US economy down annd with it the economy of the rest of the world.
The President has touched the right bases when he repeatedly said that he hears the voices of the people asking for a bailout. Now, Obama, risks being labelled a "tax and spend" liberal if he directly addresses the problem and hence he is being cautious. He has empahsised the fact that the best and the brightest must be involved in making things rather than manage "paper work". His call for an educational reform at the School and university levels will be keenly watched.
What is so charming about the new president is that within 100 days he not only identified the major problems facing the economy but he is in the thick of battle with his shirt sleeves rolled. The measures Obama takes will.be emulated all over the world and hence it is in our collective interest that USA must allow the President to succeed.