Thursday, March 05, 2009

Stocks Tumble While Obama Fiddles

We had another terrible bloodletting on the market.

Investors fled Wall Street as fear grew about the stability of the nation's largest banks and worries mounted about General Motors Corp. The major market indicators resumed their slide Thursday after a one-day rally, falling to levels not seen in more than a decade as investors contended with more disheartening economic data, new concerns about the stability of GM and ongoing uncertainty about the financial system.

You would think that the Commander and Chief was watching the markets and trying to reassure fearful Americans worried about their 401K, their pensions, or their university endowments. Nope Obama was doing this.

President Barack Obama summoned allies, skeptics and health care figures of all stripes to the White House Thursday to debate ideas for overhauling the nation's costly system and declared, "The status quo is the one option that is not on the table."

The big Washington session — Obama called it a health care summit — and meetings to follow around the country show the new president's push for universal health care coverage will be more open and inclusive than the Clinton administration's failed attempt of 15 years ago.

I think Obama needs to think about fixing the financial system and banks before he goes any further on healthcare. This is 2nd year stuff that won't matter at all if the financial system is not fixed ASAP. People don't worry about their rising healthcare costs when they have lost their house, their job, and they probably can't retire until they are 75. He needs to concentrate on one crisis at a time and not be sidetracked by things he can take care of months from now.

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