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Meet the Press, Transcript, January 11, 2009
MR. DAVID GREGORY: Our issues this Sunday, the economy infree fall. More than half a million jobs lost last month, makingthe yearly decline the worst in six decades and theunemployment rate now at its highest point in nearly 16 years.The president-elect urges lawmakers to act fast.(Videotape)PRES.-ELECT BARACK OBAMA: For every day we wait or pointfingers or drag our feet, more Americans will lose their jobs.(End videotape)MR. GREGORY: Can his plan prevent an economic depression?When might Americans feel some relief? And is there long-termdanger as government spending and America's debt reach historiclevels? This morning, insights and analysis from a specialeconomic roundtable. With us: economic adviser to President-elect Obama, former Congressman David Bonior of Michigan;editorial page editor of The Wall Street Journal, Paul Gigot; chief Washington correspondent for CNBC and New York Times politicalwriter John Harwood; Vanity Fair contributing editor BethanyMcLean; and chief economist of Moody's economy.com andauthor of "Financial Shock: A 360 degree Look at the SubprimeMortgage Implosion and How to Avoid the Next Financial Crisis,"Mark Zandi.
 
Then, America inaugurates its first black president in just ninedays. We begin an in-depth look at leadership tests for the newpresident. This morning, confronting the challenges in theAfrican-American community. As he inspires the country to breakracial barriers, how can Obama help the black community solvesome of its deepest problems, including inner city violence,unemployment, high incarceration and school dropout rates, aswell as the need for parental responsibility? Our guests: BillCosby and Dr. Alvin Poussaint, two men who have written thebest-selling book "Come On, People: On the Path from Victims toVictories." They've traveled the country delivering this messageto black communities.(Videotape)MR. BILL COSBY: I want you to go back to parenting. You youngmen, when you get married and you have children, you've got toparent. You've got to be parents.(End videotape)MR. GREGORY: We'll also be joined in this important discussionby two strong political leaders on the front lines of this struggle:the mayor of Washington, D.C., Adrian Fenty, and thecongresswoman representing South Central Los Angeles, MaxineWaters. But first, the economy and the president-elect's stimulusplan.Welcome to all of you.
 
John Harwood, you sat down exclusively with the president-electduring a week when he did something unusual, and that was givea nationally televised address to say, "This is the help that I'mprescribing, and it's coming." What is in this stimulus plan?MR. JOHN HARWOOD: Well, he's got a couple hundred billiondollars for states and cities to try to keep them from laying off people, providing services that people need more of now thatwe're losing half a million jobs a month. He's got a hundredbillion dollars of infrastructure, try to spend on roads, bridges,electricity grid, green jobs, alternative energy spending. He's got$300 billion worth of tax cuts, most of which he campaigned on,some of which he's added to try to lure Republicans to supportthis package on the Hill.MR. GREGORY: Mark Zandi, as an economist, what's your bigquestion about it?MR. MARK ZANDI: Is it big enough? Is $750 billion, a trilliondollars enough? The economy is in great trouble. We lost500,000 jobs in December, 2.6 million jobs in 2008. That's themost since 1945.MR. GREGORY: Mm-hmm.MR. ZANDI: Unemployment's 7.2 percent. So is 750 billion, atrillion going to be enough to jump-start the economy, to get theprivate sector back in the game?MR. GREGORY: Congressman, is that--that's a pretty amazingstatement that we're talking about something, at least $775
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