Transition time: Obama must start acting immediately


Barack Obama has been elected 44th president of the United States and he's not to take office until January 20, 2009. Yet the economy is in a bad shape now and needs immediate action -- even if President-elect Obama and sitting President Bush may not see eye to eye when it comes to the steps needed to heal the economy. That may put Obama in an awkward position for a while, but I hope he won't be deterred.

Obama has two months to name a cabinet and surround himself with experts. He also has enough time to figure out which of the issues on his economic agenda will be tackled first. Most will require government spending at a time the country already runs unprecedented deficits. Is it the $25 billion State Growth Fund, or the $25 billion in a Jobs and Growth Fund? Is it the $500-$1000 tax credit and shifting the burden of taxes back to the rich (which would cost $115-175 billion)? Is it the $150 billion investment in clean energy to create jobs? Other than these issues, he also said he would work on undoing some of the deregulation that brought the U.S. to this messy state.

And of course, we've just scratched the surface. What about health care? What about the myriad of other issues Obama will face when taking office, including war.

For now, he can mostly just prepare himself. He may be able to pass a bill in Congress, but he should take this time to prepare and prioritize. Americans will expect him to stick to his agenda. He may appease interest groups on occasion to create unity, but let's hope he can do this and still jumpstart the economy so that the recession is as painless as possible and growth is sustainable for years to come.

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