Today is Wednesday and The Obama’s have the prescription for success when it comes to social engagement. I am looking forward to an invitation to participate in one of the Wednesday events!
Obama welcomed the Democratic chairmen of congressional committees and the ranking Republicans on those committees, along with their spouses, to a packed East Room for dinner. About 200 people joined Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and their wives. Obama joked to his guests, that such events were among his only ways to lobby them, yeah I am sure to get that ‘ginormous’ budget passed! The new administration wants to increase agency spending by 8 percent, something fiscal conservatives including his own party caution is not prudent in the current times we are living in.
Obama’s approach adopts the Keynesian economic theory: Keynes argued that the solution to depression is to stimulate the economy (“inducement to invest”) through some combination of two approaches: a reduction in interest rates (We are near the bottom of the curve on interest rates), and government investment in infrastructure. Investment by government injects income, which results in more spending in the general economy, which in turn stimulates more production and investment involving still more income and spending and so forth. The initial stimulation starts a cascade of events, whose total increase in economic activity is a multiple of the original investment. I wonder what Obama’s father would advise if he were alive today, since he was an economist. I am still formulating my ideas around this proposed budget and will comment in future blog posts.
“It’s hard to move around out there sometimes so I’ve got to bring the world to me,” Obama said to laughter. They dined on mushroom crisps, steelhead salmon, and saffron couscous. What a great menu! As Obama took the soft-handed approach, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel laughingly warned nearby Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who has been a critic of Obama’s spending plan: “Don’t be a jerk.” Rahm Emanuel is true ‘gansta’ with his comment!
Let’s turn to First Lady Fashion. My favorite segment of writing my blog posts. I adore her look at the Arlington Cemetery on Tuesday for the military women. The sweater, belt, blazer combination coupled with the striped blouse is a definite copy for me as I assemble my pieces together for work and church in the upcoming weeks. Who needs to buy a magazine or go to a fashion show for the latest trends, just look to First Lady Michelle Obama to know what’s HOT!!!
The fancy palazzo pants today inspire thoughts of a genie in a bottle. Work your magic First Lady! You are what the Fashion industry has been wishing for!
I love the fact First Lady Elect Michelle Obama is fashion forward with her choice of clothes. I adore the fact she doesn’t mind showing off “what her mama gave her” and wearing clothes that accentuate her daring shape and not opting for the traditional conservative look of the most recent first ladies that have come before her. It is interesting to read that designers are excited about the marketing prowess of designing signature pieces inspired by the soon to be first lady. Will these pieces and lines be targeted for the African American woman? Or will the designers tactfully market the pieces and lines inspired by Michelle Obama for the American woman? It will be interesting see what fashion models will be wearing these newly created Michelle designs. Will these models look like me? While reading the WSJ- Saturday, 6 December 2008 – the article entitled Over-40 Finds a Muse. Talks about how difficult it is to dress women over 40, I am not 40 yet, however I do work in an industry where business appropriate clothing is the standard. Not in the office I tend to be trendier opting for designer jeans, fitted t-shirts and fashion forwards blazers and accessories. So why it so difficult to dress the woman over 40? After years of unsuccessful attempts to satisfy middle-aged women — a high-spending but difficult-to-please demographic — the U.S. apparel industry is rejoicing that it has finally found its muse – Mrs. Obama.
Women over 35 spent an estimated $53.2 billion of the $109 billion in women’s apparel purchases for the 12 months ended in September, according to market researcher NPD Group. By comparison, women from the ages of 18 to 34 spent only $37.3 billion (girls from 13 to 17 spent the rest).