Barack Obama Requests $50 Billion in Emergency Funding from Congress
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has sought to shore up the US economy with a request for $50 billion (£34 billion) in emergency funding from Congress to save the jobs of "hundreds of thousands" of teachers, firemen and policemen.

He said the aid, which also included measures to help small businesses, was essential to ensure that the country did not "slide backwards just as our recovery is taking hold".

"It is essential that we continue to explore additional measures to spur job creation and build momentum toward recovery, even as we establish a path to long-term fiscal discipline," Mr Obama wrote in a letter sent to party leaders in Congress.

Pointing out that 84,000 public sector jobs had been lost so far this year, he said keeping people employed in the short term would cost less than their unemployment.

The demand to inject further government spending into the economy puts America on the opposite course to its major trading partners in the developed world. Britain, Germany, Japan, France and Italy have all announced cuts after boosting spending to counter the recession in recent years.

Mr Obama is also likely to encounter stiff domestic opposition. Republicans immediately criticised the president for seeking to spend more money when the national debt has risen to £9.6 trillion.

John Boehner, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, said spending more public money without offsetting the costs was irresponsible.

"The spending spree in Washington continues unabated, though the American people are screaming at the top of their lungs: 'Stop'." >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Sunday, June 13, 2010

Obamonomics©: A Definition >>>

A Matter of Trust
TOWNHALL.COM: The current civil war in America is really an uncivil debate about whether or not to trust the federal government. Policy aside, fundamental beliefs are separating Americans into two intense camps.

On the left sits the give hope a chance crew, which supports the dramatic increase in government influence and spending. These pro-Obama citizens believe that the president can right economic and social wrongs by dramatically expanding federal power.

Cruising on the right are those suspicious of increasing federal power. These folks generally believe President Obama is, indeed, an agent of hope: He hopes the nation will embrace a form of neo-socialism. Emotions are running high on both sides of the debate.

Polls show the nation is almost evenly divided when it comes to Obama's vision for the country. A Rasmussen poll this week has the president's approval rating at 49 percent, while 51 percent disapprove. That's even when the margin of error factor kicks in.

We are a country at odds. Just six months ago, the president's approval rating approached 70 percent as the nation looked forward to better times under a young, dynamic leader. But that was then. >>> Bill O’Reilly | Saturday, August 08, 2009

Obama Forced to Fight Own Party to Spend Taxpayers’ Trillions
TIMESONLINE: President Obama was huddled in talks yesterday with congressional Democrats over proposals that would pare his $3.6 trillion budget, raising question marks over how he would fund promises on healthcare, climate change and tax cuts.

Although the President was braced for ferocious opposition from Republicans, who warn that his spending plans will bankrupt America, he also faces growing hostility from a group of fiscally conservative Democrats alarmed by forecasts of a $9.3 trillion (£6.3 trillion) deficit over ten years. Barack Obama's Pledges in Peril as Blue Dogs Take a Bite at Budget >>> Tom Baldwin in Washington | Thursday, March 26, 2009

MAIL Online: Brown Spooked by the Markets: PM Accused of Heading Down 'the Road to Hell'

In London: Investors won't buy our bonds / In Europe: PM accused of heading down 'the road to hell'

Gordon Brown is in retreat on his Budget plans amid signs of City alarm over the soaring level of Government borrowing.

He pulled back from another debt-fuelled giveaway to kickstart the economy after Tuesday's intervention from the Governor of the Bank of England.

Downing Street insisted there was no rift between Mr Brown and Mervyn King over his bombshell claim that Britain cannot afford another 'fiscal stimulus'.

But the Governor appeared to have spooked the markets when it emerged that a routine sale of Government bonds fell short yesterday.

City experts blamed doubts over Mr Brown's economic policy for the Treasury's failure to find buyers for £120million worth of debt, or 'gilts'.

It was the first time since 2002 that the Government has been unable to sell its debt, and this will be seized on by those who have warned that there is insufficient demand for the volume of debt being sold by the Treasury.

Officials played down the significance of the shortfall, but economists said investors were beginning to doubt the Government's credit rating.

The Tories turned up the pressure on Mr Brown by insisting there was now a question mark over his ability to fund the crippling levels of debt needed to keep the economy afloat.

And the European Union added to his woes when its acting president warned that President Barack Obama's call for more borrowing and spending, backed by Mr Brown, was 'the road to hell'. >>> By Benedict Brogan and James Chapman | Thursday, March 26, 2009