Obama speaks out on stimulus plan
TEXT OF STORY
Scott Jagow: Barack Obama will unveil more details about his stimulus plan today.
Marketplace’s Janet Babin reports from North Carolina Public Radio:
Janet Babin: Barack Obama’s speech will add more urgency to his top goal: a giant economic stimulus package he wants implemented by mid-February. He says the recession could “linger for years” unless Congress acts quickly.
The President-elect says the plan will cost around $800 billion:
President-elect Barack Obama: It will be on the high end of our estimates but will not, will not be as high as some economists have recommended because of the constraints and concerns we have about the existing deficit.
Those comments came just before a report yesterday that said the federal deficit for this year could hit a new record of $1.2 trillion. The stimulus plan includes tax relief to spur investment, and help for cash-depleted states. It also aims to save or create 3 million jobs.
The new administration promises to take unprecedented actions to reign in spending. That includes a new approach to entitlement programs like Social Security, that eat up so much of the nation’s budget.
I’m Janet Babin for Marketplace.
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