Political Rising Stars

President Obama held a Twitter town hall "Tweetup" today. In addition to other concerns, he warned that if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling, it would open the door to a second "great recession." He said Congress should not be "toying with the debt ceiling" and that by doing so, Congress is being irresponsible by even considering that America could default on its loans.

President Obama also touched on the issues of Green Energy, and said alternative energy is one of his primary goals. The President stated that the Recovery Act pushes many means of alternative energy such as Turbines and Advanced Batteries, which are forms of batteries that are used in electric vehicles. He also stated that America only controls a 2% share of the advanced battery market, but has successfully grown by as much as four times in the last two years, hoping to control 30-40% of the market share within the next couple years. Nations around the world are vying to control the advanced battery market, with heavy investment from nations such as China, Germany and Japan. President Obama stressed the importance of advanced batteries in the future, and said, "Ultimately whoever wins the race on advanced batteries will win the alternative energy race."

Later, a viewer asked the President if he would support a tax break for companies that hired former members of the armed services who were honorably discharged. The President responded by saying that a top priority is making sure that veterans have access to jobs when they return from fighting for our country. He also said he supports and is working for tax credits for companies that hire vets. President Obama would also like to see a campaign to encourage companies to hire vets, and said it is very worrisome that veterans are experiencing higher unemployment rates than non-military civilians.

Surprisingly, a question was submitted by House Speaker John Boehner. The Speaker asked the President, "After embarking on a record spending binge that's left us deeper in debt, where are the jobs?" The President did not miss a stride when he replied, "John's the Speaker of the House, and a Republican, so..." Following this entertaining moment courtesy of the President, he moved on and conceded that job growth has, in fact, been too slow. Obama countered Boehner's implication that the unavailability of jobs was due to the current administration's spending by saying that there were over four million jobs lost before he was ever sworn in. The President says, however, that the job growth is there, and that there has been an increase of two million jobs in the private sector over the last quarter. President Obama stresses that this will not be a quick process, and that it is difficult to dig out of an eight million-job hole. The President stresses that he and his administration have done their part by providing at least 16 tax cuts to small businesses. In contrast, he said, the Republicans are failing to do their part. Obama reiterated that there is an estimated $2 billion in infrastructure repairs needed in this nation in areas such as bridges, sewage, electricity, etc. President Obama stressed that he has not received the cooperation needed to move forward with a mass job creation program to repair the infrastructure of America. The President said he will not let it discourage him and proclaimed, "I'm going to keep trying, and hopefully the Speaker will see the light."