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December 6, 2008

Postcard to the president: Edmond residents give Obama advice on the economy

Mark Schlachtenhaufen

EDMOND — EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first in a four-part series leading up to the Jan. 20 presidential inauguration. Each week, Edmond residents will be sharing their advice for the president-elect. This week’s topic: The economy.



In a few weeks, Barack Obama will take the oath of office and become the 44th president of the United States.

When he does, he will have a daunting task. Likely at the top of Obama’s to-do list will be the economy, and in recent weeks the number of negative headlines seem to be mounting:

• U.S. lost 533,000 jobs in November

• 1 in 10 mortgages are in trouble

• Recession start revised to Dec. 2007

• Big Three bankruptcy worries on the rise

Don’t fear, Mr. President-elect. While there’s turmoil on Wall Street, there’s a lot of good advice available to you on Main Street, here in Edmond.

Stephanie Carel said Obama should get advice from outside the Washington “beltway,” outside of federal government offices. Obama has created an economic advisory committee, headed by a former Washington insider, Paul Volcker, former chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Carel, who makes and sells jewelry full-time, said if she had Obama’s ear she would ask him to work on reducing frivolous spending by Congress.

“As consumers, we look for bargains. We look for the best way to spend our money,” Carel said. “It seems like they aren’t really researching before they spend it.”

Carel said properly educating future workers is important, as is creating stable, high-paying jobs that will be there when they graduate.

Mary Ann Karns, chair of the Edmond Economic Development Authority, said regarding the bailout plan that has funneled billions into Wall Street, she thinks Washington got the trickle-down approach backwards.

Karns said she has an idea for a bottom-up economic stimulus package. She would give consumers, rather than big companies, a large amount of money, say $20,000 apiece.

The catch is, she said, Americans would have to use it, for example, to buy a car from the Big Three automakers, spend it in ways that help wean the U.S. off fossil fuels, or on securities.

“I think that would solve the mortgage crisis,” Karns said.

Furthermore, Karns said she would advise Obama to do more to help U.S. cities with populations less than 100,000. She also said it would be good for Obama to be true to himself and his beliefs and do the best job he can.

Nick Massey, regional vice president for Householder Group, said he would tell the future president he has inherited a “mess.”

“This administration and the one before it allowed the housing and credit markets to spiral out of control until they came crashing down as the house of cards they were built on collapsed,” Massey said.

Massey said any solution will come with a high price tag. Media reports have said the next stimulus plan could be upwards of $500-$700 billion.

Massey suggested that Obama be honest with Americans.

“They will appreciate the change,” he said.

Mickey Hepner, an associate economics professor at the University of Central Oklahoma and director of the UCO Public Policy Institute, said Obama should not try to save every company.

“The role of government is to help people manage these times,” Hepner said.

Hepner said another economic stimulus package would help the mood of the country and that it should also help states strapped with the biggest budget shortfalls. The government also needs to extend unemployment benefits. And he said money should go to fix roads and bridges that need to be repaired.

The goal should be to not just create jobs, but to create productive assets that aid the overall health of the economy, Hepner said. The government should focus on the overall production capability of the economy, he said.

Hepner also advised Obama to dream big and focus on the long term.

Also, Hepner said, Obama should remember that “every decision he makes will affect his two little girls.”

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