Amid an historic-high unemployment rate and continued credit concerns, President Barack Obama spoke at Georgetown about what it will take to get the nation through economic recovery.

The president arrived to huge applause in Gaston Hall before he went into how the poor decisions of Wall Street, Washington and “Main Street” have contributed to the current economic crisis.

“In just under three months, we’ve responded to an extraordinary set of economic challenges with extraordinary action; action that’s been unprecedented both in terms of its scale and its speed,” Obama said.

Georgetown President John J. DeGioia reiterated concerns about the economy, taking a page from Obama’s oft-used quote by Martin Luther King Jr. – “the fierce urgency of now.”

“That urgency has never been more present than in this moment when the framework that guides the economies of our world must be built anew,” he said.

The Obama administration has received criticism for spending during "urgent" times, but the president said cutbacks do not support a flailing economy.

“If every family in America, every business in America cuts back all at once, no one is spending any money; which means there are no customers, which means there are more layoffs, which means the economy gets even worse,” Obama said.

Continuing to defend the largest recovery plan in the nation’s history, he said the goal is to save or create 3.5 million jobs over the next two years, put money in the pockets of 95 percent of working families and cushion the blow for laid-off workers by extending unemployment benefits and health care insurance.

“The government has to step in and temporarily boost spending to stimulate demand,” he said.

Under the nation’s recovery plan, focus turns less to the financial sector and more to renewable energy, health care reform and new legal authority and regulations that would curb corporate loopholes on Wall Street.

The plan’s focus on college enrollment, early childhood education and vocational training attempts to make America more sustainable, Obama said. He’d like to see Americans commit to at least one year of education or career development.

“For decades, we led the world in educational attainment, and as a consequence we led the world in economic growth,” he said. “But in this new economy we’ve come to trail the world’s leaders in graduation rates and educational achievement. By 2020, America will have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.”

Reena Aggarwal, professor of finance in the McDonough School of Business, agreed with Obama’s goals for longer-range investments, but called them ambitious. “All those things are important, but the trick is going to be making sure that those things all work simultaneously,” Aggarwal said. “If the economy doesn’t get back on track with the short-term fixes, the longer-term ambitions will have little impact.”

Aggarwal said the short-term fixes -- the $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers and tax cuts for the working class -- have definitely helped increase housing and retail sales over the last couple of months, but those solutions must gain traction, especially since retail sales took a slight dip for the month of March.

“There is no doubt that times are still tough,” Obama said. “But from where we stand, for the very first time, we are beginning to see glimmers of hope. And beyond that, way off in the distance, we can see a vision of an America's future that is far different than our troubled economic past.”

Source: Blue & Gray