Chandler gives business leaders good news, bad news on economy

Local News

November 13, 2009

Bill Robinson The Richmond Register Fri Nov 13, 2009, 07:08 PM EST

The good news about the U.S. economy is, “we have no inflation,” and the gross domestic product (GDP) has started to expand, U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler told about 80 Madison County business leaders Friday.

The bad news is unemployment is still rising, even if at a slower rate, he said.

Chandler spoke at Arlington House for the Richmond Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon.

While he ended his remarks on a positive note, Chandler spent most of his time talking about the nation’s struggling economy and federal government attempts to revive it.

Although unemployment continues to increase, the rate of increase has slowed, Chandler said.

“Instead of losing 700,000 jobs a month, we’re down to losing 200,000 jobs a month,” he said.

Chandler said he voted against the “Wall Street bailout” proposed by the Bush administration because he thought it “did too much to help the Wall Street folks who caused our economic troubles” and not enough for ordinary Americans.

The stock market has begun to recover, Chandler said, (the Dow Jones index closed Friday at 10,270) but, “the Wall Street bailout has done little to help Main Street,” he said.

Chandler voted for the Obama administration’s economic recovery package, which he said has helped local economies.

“The recovery program wasn’t nearly as much money as the Wall Street bailout, but still a lot of money,” the congressman said.

Without it, unemployment would be much worse, he said, and states such as Kentucky would face even greater budget woes.

The federal economic stimulus program, which the Chamber of Commerce supported, was “absolutely crucial” in getting the GDP to grow again, as well as improving the housing and automobile markets, Chandler said.

When private spending lags, the public sector must increase its spending as was done during the 1930s, he said.

Not all of the stimulus money has been spent, but Chandler said he would like to have seen more federal funds go into “roads, bridges, schools and our energy future.”

Eastern Kentucky University President Doug Whitlock, who introduced Chandler at the luncheon, thanked him for obtaining $1.3 million in federal funds for EKU’s new science building and $4 million for its bio-fuels project.

Asked where the money for the bailout and stimulus “was going to come from,” Chandler said inflation was the biggest danger posed by increasing the federal debt.

“Of course we already had quite a bit of debt before we got into this,” he said, caused by tax cuts and budget deficits in the prosperous year prior to 2008.

With virtually no inflation at present, he said the greater danger to the economy was from private debt.

In addition to households which have run up huge mortgage and credit-card debt, many U.S. corporations borrowed nearly 100 percent of their net values to finance mergers and acquisitions.

Despite the challenges, “We’ll come through this with flying colors,” Chandler said. “I understand you’re starting to get better numbers here in Madison County.”

Most of the questions posed to Chandler focused on the health care bill that recently passed the House of Representatives without his vote.

The United States spends twice as much money on health care as most industrialized counties, he said, but with poorer results.

Several other countries have better longevity and infant mortality rates.

“If you’re spending twice as much money, you should get better results,” Chandler said. “That’s why we need reform.”

He voted against the House bill because he said the Congressional Budget Office estimated that would not reduce the nation’s overall health care costs.

The legislation also would raise, rather than lower, the cost to employers for their workers’ health care, he said.

“We’re paying twice as much as other countries for health care, and most of that is being paid by employers,” he said. “That makes our goods and services less competitive on the global market.”

President Obama’s goal is to broaden health care coverage while lowering costs, the congressman said, not to socialize medical care, Chandler said. Other nations, such as Australia, have hybrid public-private systems after which he said the United States could pattern its reform.

Bill Robinson can be reached at brobinson@richmondregsiter.com or at 6245-6622.

Text Only

Local News

Measuring education
Brent Ray, a local contractor, helps Kit Carson Elementary third-graders Nathan Buck and Anijah Rembert measure an outside wall Thursday morning during a class project to determine the perimeter of the school. The third-grade class broke into groups to measure sections of the outside walls which they used to find the perimeter.

February 10, 2012 3 Photos
Kiwanis auction Saturday at City Hall
The annual Richmond Kiwanis Club auction will take place Saturday from 9 a.m. until about 5 p.m. with proceedings carried live on TimeWarner Cable Channel 12 and WEKY 1340 AM Radio.
“We have lots of great stuff, as we always do,” said Amanda Stepp, the auction coordinator.
“We have gift cards for almost every restaurant in Richmond as well as two pickup trucks that will be sold,” she said.

February 10, 2012
Man pleads guilty to voyeurism charge
A man accused of taking pictures of a woman showering at a Berea truck stop was sentenced to probation Wednesday in Madison District Court.
Paul S. Byrd, 41, of McKee, was arrested Oct. 29 by the Kentucky State Police after a woman reported the incident at the 76 Truck Center off Interstate 75.

February 10, 2012
Berea one of state’s first five cultural districts
The Kentucky Arts Council on Thursday named Berea one of the state’s first five certified cultural districts.
Although the legislature designated Berea the state’s Arts and Crafts Capital in the 1990s, this newest designation will draw even more attention and tourism to the city, said Belle Jackson, Berea’s tourism director.

February 10, 2012
LRC plans to appeal judge’s HB1 ruling
The leadership of the General Assembly announced Thursday it plans to appeal Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd’s ruling that the legislature’s plan to re-draw state legislative boundaries is unconstitutional.

February 10, 2012
Facebook post leads to arrest
A post on the Richmond Police Department’s Facebook page led to the arrest of a man suspected of stealing two Blu-Ray players from Walmart.
Walmart employees reported to police Jan. 25 that a man had concealed the electronics under his coat and attempted to leave the store without paying, said Richmond Police Chief Larry Brock in a news release.

February 10, 2012
Four indicted in Berea murder case
The death of a Berea man and the attempted murder of another came at the hands of four people, according to indictments handed down Wednesday by a Madison grand jury.

February 10, 2012 2 Photos
Friday at library : Lecturer to portray founder of Berea
John G. Fee, abolitionist and founder of both Berea and Berea College, will be portrayed Friday night by performer Obadiah Ewing-Roush as part of Kentucky Humanities Council Chautauqua performance series at the Madison County Public Library. There is no charge to attend the 7 p.m. event.
As the son of a slave-holding father, Fee witnessed firsthand the benefits of having slaves and the profits that could be made from their labor. When he graduated from college and enrolled in Lane Theological Seminary, he began to understand the inherent wrong and destructiveness of slavery.

February 8, 2012 1 Photo
Berea woman dies Tuesday in Laurel County crash
A Berea woman, Tommie Johnson, 60, died Tuesday evening in a Laurel County crash, according to the the Laurel Sheriff’s Office.
The accident took place about 7 p.m. at the junction of Maple Grove Road and KY 363 south of London, as Johnson was attempting to turn onto the state highway.
Laurel County Chief Deputy Eddy Sizemore said Johnson’s Chevrolet Cavalier pulled out in front of a Dodge Durango driven by Charles Joseph, 19, that was traveling south on KY 363.
After being extricated from her vehicle, Johnson was transported to St. Joseph-London hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Joseph also was transported to the hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries, according to the accident report.

February 8, 2012
Finally February
Ian Rosser, an Eastern Kentucky University student from Lexington, clears snow from his car parked on campus Wednesday
morning after about an inch of snow fell in Richmond. Temperatures are forcast to be in the upper 40s today. Kentucky has seen a lot of rain in the past few months, as was predicted by the Farmer's Almanac, but very little snow has fallen.

February 8, 2012 1 Photo
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Chandler gives business leaders good news, bad news on economy

Have you ever attended a meeting of a local government agency or taxing district?

Site Map