Economic policy of Barack Obama

The economic policy of the Barack Obama administration is a combination of tax increases on the wealthiest Americans and investment in myriad public services such as scientific research, infrastructure, health care reform, and education that is meant to boost the American economy and future prospects. Barack Obama himself is a proponent of using government regulation to stem crony capitalism, and tax revenue to stabilize and promote economic growth. Current economic advisers are Jason Furman of Harvard University and Jeffrey Liebman of Harvard University. In 2006, Obama wrote: "We should be asking ourselves what mix of policies will lead to a dynamic free market and widespread economic security, entrepreneurial innovation and upward mobility [...] we should be guided by what works." Speaking before the National Press Club in April 2005, he defended the New Deal social welfare policies of Franklin D. Roosevelt, associating Republican proposals to establish private accounts for Social Security with Social Darwinism. By 2016, most Americans knew at least one person living in poverty, with a slight increase in individual financial distress since 2012.