Obama’s plan to create jobs
President Barack Obama proposed small-business tax cuts, fresh infrastructure spending and energy efficiency rebates to boost jobs yesterday, but there were few details on the scale or cost of the measures.
Battling public dismay over double-digit U.S. unemployment, Obama also called for an extension of unemployment and health insurance benefits for the more than 15 million out-of-work Americans, and stressed that boosting jobs was the best way to tackle the deficit.
“There are those who claim we have to choose between paying down our deficits on the one hand, and investing in job creation and economic growth on the other. But this is a false choice,” Obama said in a speech.
A senior administration official said around $50 billion of fresh money would be earmarked for spending on roads, bridges and other transportation infrastructure, and the money would be spent over the course of a year.
But there was little detail on the cost of the other proposals, which will be shaped in conjunction with Congress, meaning it could be a while before the price tag is known.
GOP sets price tag at $150B
Job-creating legislation being crafted in the U.S. Congress could cost between $75 billion and $150 billion depending on what the components are, House of Representatives Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer said yesterday.
“One hundred billion, 150 billion, 75 billion — those are all figures that are being talked about, depending on what the component parts are,” Hoyer said at a news conference.
“And I don’t think anybody feels that this package will be the only package in terms of jobs that we’ll look at over the next two to three months,” he said.