Barack Obama on Future
← Back to Barack Obama ProfileSpeaking amidst the 2009 financial crisis, Barack Obama urged against prioritizing short-term economic anxieties over long-term investments and progress.
“Don’t shortchange the future, because of fear in the present.”
Amidst the 2009 economic crisis, President Obama urged decisive action and a rejection of past irresponsibility in a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
“Our immediate task, however, is the critical work of confronting the economic crisis. As I've said, we've passed through an era of profound irresponsibility; now we cannot afford half-measures, and we cannot go back to the kind of risk-taking that leads to bubbles that inevitably bust. So we have a choice. We can shape our future, or let events shape it for us. And if we want to succeed, we can't fall back on the stale debates and old divides that won't move us forward.”