JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — President Bush, eager to reassure a rattled country, said Tuesday that his administration is ready to intervene again to stabilize the economy.
“If there needs to be further action, we’ll take it, in a way that does not damage the long-term financial health of our economy,” Bush said along the docks of this port city.
It was the second signal in two days from Bush about the possibility of more government action to help hurting consumers and a shaken financial market. Much of his agenda these days is meant to show he is engaged in fixing the economy but still confident in it.
Bush was not specific about other steps he might take.
For now, he has championed the upcoming tax rebates for millions of people and tax breaks for businesses. And he has embraced action by the Federal Reserve, which keeps slashing interest rates and has helped finance the buyout of a collapsing financial giant.
The president has rejected other ideas from the Democratic Congress. Those include extending unemployment and food-stamp benefits, and sparing homeowners from foreclosure by allowing bankruptcy judges to adjust loan rates.
Juxtaposed against the economic concern, Bush had a good day for the Republican Party.
In wealthy neighborhoods in Jacksonville and Palm Beach, Bush raised more than $1.4 million for the Republican National Committee. Both fundraisers were closed to the media.
In between, during a speech largely focused on trade, Bush said the American people should have confidence in the economy. He chose his examples carefully — low unemployment, rising productivity, a strong agricultural sector, fresh advances in technology.
“I understand there’s short-term difficulty,” Bush said. “But I want people to understand that in the long term, we’re going to be just fine.” In the meantime, the economy has taken a punch in the gut.
A collapse of the subprime housing market led to a credit crisis that has shaken the financial system to its core. Consumer confidence has tanked, gas prices are high, foreclosures are up, home values are down. The same economy that produced jobs for most of Bush’s presidency is now shedding them.
Bush has embraced those steps by the Fed, including helping JPMorgan Chase and Co. take over Bear Stearns, a collapsing investment giant. The Fed agreed to guarantee and assume all risk on $30 billion of the bank’s riskiest mortgage-based assets.
“It was action that was necessary,” Bush said Tuesday of the Fed’s moves.
