The New New Deal
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smart meters, 17, 41, 96, 125, 304, 312, 314–15, 471
Snowe, Olympia, 208, 216, 218, 222–26, 229–30, 237–38, 280, 286, 345, 430
Soetoro, Lolo, 30
SolarCity, 373, 439
solar power, 26, 39, 40, 41, 43, 157, 165–66, 240, 242–44, 308, 311, 312, 371, 372–73, 376–77, 405, 428, 435, 438–40, 447, 450, 471
see also Solyndra
Solar Strong, 438–39
Solazyme, 365–67, 373, 440
Solis, Hilda, 102, 129, 282, 306–7
Solyndra, 17, 160, 272–75, 364, 373, 389, 477, 489
failure of, 384–87, 414–15, 435–39, 441, 445, 450
“son of stimulus,” 421
Soros, George, 316, 406
Specter, Arlen:
defection from GOP of, 284–87, 319, 348, 400, 430, 450
Recovery Act support by, 207–8, 214, 219–26, 229, 233, 237–38, 241, 318
Sperling, Gene, 101, 128, 340, 405
Spinner, Steven, 266, 274–75
stabilization fund, 153
Stark, Pete, 171–72
state aid, 82, 95, 196, 263, 287, 332, 345, 421
Democratic opposition to, 134–35
energy incentives and, 167
GOP opposition to, 125–26, 220, 222, 281–82, 287–88
as stimulus, 63, 125–26, 152, 161, 197, 199
State Department, U.S., 101, 108, 212
State of the Union Address, 26, 341–42, 352, 415
Stearns, Cliff, 480
Steele, Michael, 279, 284
Steiner, Josh, 77, 78
Stewart, Don, 159, 294
Stewart, Jon, 392–93
Stiglitz, Joseph, 94, 101, 406
“Stimulus Bill That’s Not All Stimulating,” 184
“Stimulus Has Plum for Lawmaker’s Son,” 183
Stimulus Oversight Commission, 415
stimulus plan:
allotment of funds in, 94–96
as art of the impossible, 128–39
augmentation of, 344
as big, 10–11, 80–81, 94, 98–99, 102–4, 106–7, 111, 115, 121–28, 129, 237, 427
catastrophic mitigation in, 276–77
caveats about, 111–12, 117
competing plans for, 61–68, 76
cost and size debate in, 113–39
counterfactual problem of, 276, 408
Democratic skepticism about, 154–57, 339
free-spending philosophy of, 165–67
goals of, 2–3
labeled as controversial, 155
messaging failure of, 18, 75, 105, 108, 126–28
miscalculations in, 119
misimpressions of, 19
as nonplan, 133–39
Obama’s readiness for, 92
opportunistic uses of, 162–63, 168–70
politics in, 63, 81–82, 109, 125–28, 380–401
precursors of Recovery Act in, 18, 63–64, 75, 79–80, 107
speed as essential to, 78, 81, 93, 97, 109, 117, 129, 238, 243, 269, 303, 397–98
test for, see three Ts
as toxic term, 8, 107, 338, 341, 382–83, 398, 447–48, 452
2011 stalemate in, 418–24
see also American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; Keynesian stimulus; second stimulus
Stossel, John, 316
Strange Death of Republican America, The, 140
Strickland, Ted, 126, 400
student loan reform, 349
subsidized wage initiative, 397
Summers, Larry, 54, 69, 77, 78, 93, 110–12, 154–55, 159, 168, 172, 199, 333, 402, 420, 487
big stimulus philosophy of, 60, 63, 98–99, 102–3, 107, 111–12, 116–17
combative persona of, 99–100, 102, 339–40
in cost debate, 116–18, 120–21, 126, 129, 136
on deficit reduction, 335–36
on government loans, 388–89
as head of NEC, 100, 163, 405
pessimism of, 57, 61, 79, 127, 341, 364, 376
SunEdison, 308
Suniva, 373
SunPower, 373, 374
Sunrun, 372
SunShot, 440
Sunstein, Cass, 127
Super Bowl party, 215
Supreme Court, women on, 349
Suskind, Ron, 103, 474
Swearengin, Ashley, 410–11
synchrophasors, 304, 313–14
synthetic biology, 5
Szabo, Joe, 328, 353, 357–59
Tampa-Orlando-Miami train, 329, 352–56, 358, 392, 407–9
Tarullo, Daniel, 29, 69, 78
tax credits:
carryback, 230
child, 232
for homebuyers, 230, 390
for new hires, 75, 340–41, 343, 344
tax cuts, 188, 194, 238, 243, 245, 263, 281, 345, 398, 403–5, 420, 421, 423, 431, 449
Bush, 53–54, 60, 62, 92, 100, 182, 218, 334, 399, 403–4, 406, 428, 432, 449, 474, 490
for business, 186, 213, 343
for middle class, 11, 74, 91, 126, 161, 281, 403
refundable, 53, 62–63, 404, 447
for rich, 15, 92, 100, 162, 182, 213–14, 217, 218, 403
tax incentives, as stimulus, 10, 13, 54, 60, 62, 67, 76, 91, 95, 107, 108, 118, 126–28, 151, 154–56, 179, 218, 312, 341, 343, 345
tax increases, 108, 423
tax reform, 349
Taylor, John, 426
Tea Party movement:
in 2010 midterm election, 399–400
as anti-Obama, 291, 299, 419–20
as driven by anger and fear, 346–47
fiscal conservatism of, 281, 288, 290, 292, 300, 342, 375
growth of, 18, 279–81, 296
obstructionism of, 348–49, 409
power of, 285, 286, 382, 423, 437, 450
in primary debates, 422
retribution by, 346–49, 399
Romney and, 454
Tea Party summer, 300, 302, 348, 415
technological advancements, 16–17, 311
for future, 375–79
green, 43
in health care, 46–48, 318
in smart grid, 41–42, 314–15
of Solyndra, 273
see also specific technologies
Tedisco, Jim, 283–84
terrorism, 278
as counterfactual exception, 423–24
Tesla Motors, 42, 324, 373
Think, 363
ThinkProgress, 183–84
Third Way, 32
13(c) rule, 264, 445
1366 Technologies, 376–77
Thomas, Bill, 479
Thomas, Clarence, 120
3–C line, 392, 407
three Ts (timely, targeted, and temporary), 60, 62–64, 94–95, 123, 134, 164, 172, 222, 340, 449
Thurmond, Strom, 289
TIGER grants, 178–79, 222, 255, 282, 328, 358, 413, 419
Time, 6, 104, 119, 487, 490
Time.com, 26
Toledo, Ohio, 74–76
Toomey, Pat, 284–85, 399
Toone, Eric, 5–6, 379, 445, 455
torture, 291
Tos, John, 411
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, 196, 409
Transportation Committee, 295
Transportation Department, U.S., 108, 259, 263, 301, 408
transportation initiatives, 11, 46, 95, 178, 199, 236, 238, 239, 255, 259, 265, 268, 281, 296, 327, 398, 471
competitive innovation in, 328
Recovery Act effectiveness in, 327–30, 416
spending cuts in, 295–96, 433
see also high-speed rail
Treasury bonds, falling rates of, 70
Treasury Department, U.S., 54–55, 60, 99, 101
threatened default of, 419–20
Triana, Bob, 313
trickle-down economy, 52, 54, 74
Tropos Networks, 315
Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), 71–73, 75, 81, 92, 109, 111, 116, 117, 149, 150, 194, 210, 213, 215, 240, 281, 297,
346
TRT-909 (Track Renewal Train; yellow beast), 412–13
Trump, Donald, 422
Turanchik, Ed “Choo Choo,” 329–30
24M, 362, 375
Tyson, Laura, 78
Ugly Mug, 6
“Undercounting Concerns Stimulus Investigators,” 321
unemployment:
counterfactual problem in, 294
drop in, 423
failure of Recovery Act to prevent, 8, 14, 425–29
GOP argument on, 428
as Obama’s number one problem, 421
rate, 8, 52, 56, 69, 157, 227, 234, 293–95, 336–39, 341, 342, 390, 393, 410, 416, 421
in Recovery Act, 94
rising, 68, 292–94
Romer-Bernstein forecast of, 157–60, 293–94, 325, 423, 426, 476
underestimation of, 8, 15, 331, 426
unemployment benefits, 62, 63, 82, 106, 185, 403, 421, 425, 433, 435, 491
unemployment insurance, 11, 169–70, 187, 287, 344, 403–4
Unilever, 367
unions, 50, 54, 118, 120, 195, 225
teachers, 49, 326, 395
in weatherization, 306
United Airlines, 366
universal health care (Obamacare), 11, 18, 233, 291, 292, 295–96, 335, 343, 346, 348, 422, 423, 430, 433, 443, 454
Obama’s accomplishments in, 349
Obama’s shift from economy to, 333, 382–83
as public relations failure, 299–300
Upton, Fred, 195, 240–41, 437, 439
UQM Technologies, 380
USA Today, 321, 322
USEC, 387
U.S. High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Association (USHSR), 354
van Ark, Roelof, 411, 412
Van Hollen, Chris, 200–201
“vast right-wing conspiracy,” 183
Vaswani, Raj, 312, 315
Veterans Administration, 172
Virgin Green Fund, 272
Visco, Steve, 378
Voinovich, George, 19, 149, 208–9, 221, 345, 475
volcano monitoring, 278–79
Volker, Paul, 102, 114
vote pairing, 210, 225, 481–82
Wagle, Sanjay, 266, 324
“walk back” strategy, 189–90
Walker, Scott, 392, 400, 407–8
“Wall of Shame,” 321
Wall Street, 56
bailout of, 12, 71–73, 281
crisis, 68, 71–73, 75, 91
Main Street and, 54–55, 68, 71, 73, 116
oversight of, 51, 240, 246, 392
Wall Street Journal, 30, 62, 91, 98, 102, 105, 150, 235
Warner, John, 481
Washington Post, 9, 54, 64, 66, 70, 76, 80, 101, 106, 203, 221, 324, 426, 449
Washington Times, 76, 183
waste-to-fuel biorefining, 367–69
water management, 170–71, 478
Watson (computer), 442
wave disk engine, 377
Waxman, Henry, 130, 167
“We Are One People” speech (Obama), 33
weatherization, low-income, 40, 95, 164, 166, 270, 323, 341, 370, 435, 445
Beck’s attack on, 315–17
bureaucratic folly of, 305–11
impossible goal of, 305
welfare-to-work project, 332
Wellinghoff, Jon, 313
WellPoint, 442
Werfel, Danny, 396
Westly, Steve, 385
“What You Might Not Know About the Recovery” (Biden), 301
Williams, Peter, 368
Wilson, Joe “You lie!,” 247, 282, 320
wind power, 26, 39, 40, 41, 43, 165–66, 240, 311, 372, 373, 376, 383, 388, 405, 435, 441, 447
Wolfson, Jonathan, 365–66, 368
Woolard, John, 373
Workforce Innovation Fund, 446
World War II, economy salvaged by, 14, 37, 192
Wurzelbacher, Samuel J., 74
Yellen, Janet, 84
Yes We Can, 2, 4, 37–38, 84, 393, 451
Young, Don, 56
“Young Guns,” 142, 202
Zandi, Mark, 62, 69, 157, 297–98
Zichal, Heather, 164, 166, 414, 436
Zoi, Cathy, 266, 307–8, 310, 316–17, 370
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Copyright © 2012 by Michael Grunwald
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Grunwald, Michael.
The new New Deal : the hidden story of change in the Obama era / by Michael Grunwald.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. United States—Politics and government—2009– 2. United States—Economic conditions—2009– 3. United States—Economic policy—2009–4. Obama, Barack. I. Title.
E907.G78 2012
973.932092—dc23
2012016458
ISBN 978-1-4516-4232-2
ISBN 978-1-4516-4234-6 (ebook)