A Green Horizon
New York City -- The recovery bill that President Barack Obama will sign today, on schedule and less than one month into his presidency, is an important milestone in the effort to get America's economy back on track. Coming on the heels of tough economic news around the world last week, it is a welcome positive development. Its green initiatives, many of which began as NDN proposals suggested to the Obama team last year, include credits for solar and wind energy, money to green the federal government, smart meters, and other investments in our future. All of these are good things that pave the way for future prosperity.
But to make the most of this stimulus, President Obama has to keep our eyes focused on the bill's benefits and our future. A piece by Ahmar Bhidhe in today's Wall Street Journal, points out that a key element of the bill is how it is presented and, in turn, perceived by the public. The money will begin trickling out immediately but will not show up in a big way in the economy for some time. Much of the bill's initial impact will therefore rest on its "signaling" effect, as game theorists say. In other words, what it says to people about what our leaders believe about the future and are committed to do.
The President has an opportunity to shape this signaling effect later today. If he emphasizes the dark clouds -- in effect amplifying the criticism of the bill from his opponents -- he may reduce the signaling effect. On the other hand, if he emphasizes hope and possibility --assuring Americans about our future, he will maximize the bill's positive economic impact.
History shows that many slumps have served to incubate new ideas that then bear fruit when the slump is over. This was certainly true in the 1970s, when entrepreneurs like Jobs, Wozniak, Gates and Allen, ignoring high gas prices, low stock prices and stagflation, were working away in their garages on revolutionary new technologies. It was true in the early 1980s when Ronald Reagan's optimism stirred enthusiasm about entrepreneurship, whatever one thinks of Reagan's social policies. And just last week, Twitter raised money for its software, while a host of clean technology companies will use money from the recovery bill to invent game-changing technologies to build the clean economy of the future.
However, the President's opponents have unleashed a withering barrage of attacks on the recovery bill. And economic news has plenty to suggest hunkering down. When President Obama signs the bill in Denver -- a location chosen to highlight the clean technology elements of the bill -- he will do well to talk about the potential of the future, rather than give credence to the naysayers.
