US must still spend way out of recession
Source: Agencies |
December 9, 2009, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
PRESIDENT Barack Obama says staggering job losses mean the United States must continue to "spend our way out of this recession" with a round of new incentives for hiring.
In a speech in Washington, Obama proposed a package intended to stimulate job creation and bring down the country's 10 percent unemployment rate. The measures include more money for infrastructure projects, tax cuts and credit access for small businesses. It also includes rebates to consumers who make their homes more energy efficient.
Obama said yesterday it is a "false choice" to claim that the government must pick between paying down the deficit and investing in economic growth.
He said spending in the short-term to create new jobs will help reduce the deficit over the long-term.
The final measure has been dubbed the cash-for-caulkers program.
"We don't think there is one silver bullet, one plan, one speech or a singular piece of legislation that alone will solve double digit unemployment," the official said in a statement.
A deficit-wary White House has also said that this will not amount to a second stimulus package, implying any price-tag associated with the additional measures will be modest.
US unemployment dipped slightly to 10 percent last month but Americans remain anxious about the economy, nudging Obama's approval ratings to 50 percent or below and potentially dimming his Democratic party's prospects in mid-term congressional elections next November.
Under fire from Republicans for bailouts created when they in fact held the White House, Obama has been pressured by Democrats in Congress to review using some money previously earmarked for a US$700 billion bank rescue fund that has been returned to the public purse.
Obama said that some of the money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, will be used to pay down the record US budget deficit, but he was open to other options. The Treasury said on Sunday that TARP will cost taxpayers about US$200 billion less than previously estimated.
Obama is aware of the perils of not tackling the country's record budget shortfall, which hit US$1.4 trillion in the financial year ended September.
In a speech in Washington, Obama proposed a package intended to stimulate job creation and bring down the country's 10 percent unemployment rate. The measures include more money for infrastructure projects, tax cuts and credit access for small businesses. It also includes rebates to consumers who make their homes more energy efficient.
Obama said yesterday it is a "false choice" to claim that the government must pick between paying down the deficit and investing in economic growth.
He said spending in the short-term to create new jobs will help reduce the deficit over the long-term.
The final measure has been dubbed the cash-for-caulkers program.
"We don't think there is one silver bullet, one plan, one speech or a singular piece of legislation that alone will solve double digit unemployment," the official said in a statement.
A deficit-wary White House has also said that this will not amount to a second stimulus package, implying any price-tag associated with the additional measures will be modest.
US unemployment dipped slightly to 10 percent last month but Americans remain anxious about the economy, nudging Obama's approval ratings to 50 percent or below and potentially dimming his Democratic party's prospects in mid-term congressional elections next November.
Under fire from Republicans for bailouts created when they in fact held the White House, Obama has been pressured by Democrats in Congress to review using some money previously earmarked for a US$700 billion bank rescue fund that has been returned to the public purse.
Obama said that some of the money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, will be used to pay down the record US budget deficit, but he was open to other options. The Treasury said on Sunday that TARP will cost taxpayers about US$200 billion less than previously estimated.
Obama is aware of the perils of not tackling the country's record budget shortfall, which hit US$1.4 trillion in the financial year ended September.
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