Michele Bachmann is right when she says gas prices are killing people; I've interviewed a college grad who went without lunch to pay for gas to get to work and keep her job, and to a man in Maine who works a second job just so he and his wife can afford to commute to their other jobs. Alas, we can't reduce the price of gas to $2 a gallon, as Bachmann has pledged, but we can reduce the amount of gas we burn.  In addition to the stimulus Obama suggests, the U.S. should be working aggressively to reduce the amount of money Americans spend on gasoline. One way: The government could lend middle-class families money at low interest to buy cars that get more than 35 miles per gallon. In one swoop, we'd be increasing those families' disposable income, making more jobs in Detroit and reducing oil dependence, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. And a loan guarantee program will not draw down the Treasury.  We should use tax breaks and more direct incentives to encourage more companies to start van pools, carpools, bus services and telecommuting programs for their workers.  Finally, it wouldn't cost anything to make it easy and legal for jitneys and other for-profit bus services to carry workers on routes where there are no city services.  Despite the recent bankruptcy of green companies like Solyndra, which received government-guaranteed loans, and the disappointing results of government spending aimed at creating green jobs, Obama must not abandon the idea of a greener economy. Better to realize that environmental protections and thoughtful regulation by themselves can create jobs in the long haul.
Unlike in previous jobs speeches, where he's been a cheerleader for clean energy and a green economy, President Obama didn't say the word "green" once in his address to a joint session of Congress