President Obama: No Single Solution for Economy

30 August 2010

President Barack Obama leaves the Rose Garden to walk back to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington after delivering remarks on the economy, 30 Aug 2010

President Barack Obama turned his attention to the state of the U.S. economy Monday, in a statement issued at the White House to underscore challenges ahead. In the wake of recent disappointing economic news, the president met with advisers and then spoke to the media to reinforce his commitment to ensuring progress made so far in the economic recovery is not lost.

He said Sunday the economy is not expanding fast enough to trigger a more rapid decline in unemployment. Addressing media gathered in the White House Rose Garden, Mr. Obama did not refer specifically to recent pessimistic news about economic growth. He acknowledged, however, that Americans still face big challenges, despite steps his administration has taken to spur growth and bring back jobs.

"While we have taken a series of measures and come a long way since then, the fact is that too many businesses are still struggling, too many Americans are still looking for work, and too many communities are far from being whole again," said President Obama.

Last week, the Department of Commerce downgraded its growth assessment for the second quarter of this year, from 2.4 percent to 1.6 percent.