In a CBS news article they are saying that the economy may have grown at the end of last year for maybe the second straight quarter and possibly at the fastest pace in nearly four years?

 They ask the question has the recession ended. Some economists are saying yes but the ones that count officially are staying quiet.

We know that the economy has been “juiced” by the stimulus money so when that dries up where will we be? In fact will we even fell the effects of that when it happens or a few months later when we are behind the curve yet again?

They say that the housing market is creeping back and that was the cause of the recession in the first place. I have heard from some new home sales leaders in the Northwest that sales have picked up. Is that due to the spring market springing early this year or the fact that people are really out there ready to buy? I think a little of both which is easy to say but I have seen this type of behavior before. The buying cycles are real and affect the market and the economy.

In addition some markets like the Columbia River Gorge have too many home sites developed for the market to adequately absorb them in a timely manner. That creates stalling in the minds of buyers as they have no urgency to purchase, no fear of losing that “home site” to another.

It will take quite some time for this economy to crawl out of the hole it is in and that may be a few years? We need to be prepared for that and if you are in the market to buy  most anything you may find many compelling “deals” out there that you just can’t  pass up!

The President also stated that the Recovery Act saved 2 million Americans from unemployment by the creation of jobs in the new construction and clean energy fields and by the end of 2010 we would be adding another one and one half million jobs.

Another point was that he cut taxes in 2009 for 95% of working families.

Also Obama announced a goal of doubling exports over the next 5 years which should equate to about 2 million jobs.

Education
With this statement – “because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they chose to go to college” Obama said that we need to invest “in the skills and education of our people” and to back that up he proposed a $10,000 tax credit to families paying for four years of college. Obama also wants to increase Pell Grants that assist lower income college students.

In addition, the president proposed requiring graduating students to pay only 10% of their income on student loans, and forgiving their debt after 20 years – 10 years if they chose a career in public service.

Clean Energy
Obama challenged congress to provide incentives for energy efficiency and clean energy by saying – “the nation that leads the clean energy economy will lead the global economy”.

He wants a new generation “safe” clean nuclear power plants, opening offshore areas for oil and gas exploration, continued investments in biofuels and clean coal technologies.

Health Care
Obama said that his administration’s proposal would protect Americans from the insurance industry, provide small business and uninsured Americans with affordable plans and cover preventative care. He urged congress to not walk away from reform and further joked that “by now it should be fairly obvious that I didn’t take on health care because it was good politics”.

Trust
The president stated that there was a “deficit of trust” on both side of Pennsylvania Avenue and we need an action to reduce the influence of lobbyist in Washington. He also announced that he would begin monthly meetings with both Democrat and Republican leadership to keep the communication flowing on the hill.

Security
Obama spoke of having all our combat troops out f Iraq by the end of August. On Afghanistan he stated his hope that the transition of duties to the Afghan Security Forces will begin by July 2011, allowing US troops to begin coming home.

Obama also warned Iran it would face “growing consequences” if it continues to violate international agreements in pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Don’t ask, don’t tell
The president said that he will work with Congress and the military to repeal “the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.