Obama Introduces Plan To Create 2.5 Million Jobs By 2011

By MARY GILBERT

President-elect Barack Obama used his weekly radio address (now also recorded on video and posted on YouTube) to flesh out his plan to revive the stagnating economy. He opened by acknowledging that the crisis is growing worse: "We now risk falling into a deflationary spiral that could increase our massive debt even further." But he said the transition between administrations represents a potential turning point: "January 20th is our chance to begin anew -- with a new direction, new ideas, and new reforms that will create jobs and fuel long-term economic growth."

Obama said he has directed his economic advisers and Democrats on Capitol Hill to begin crafting an economic recovery plan that is focused on creating jobs -- 2.5 million by January 2011. "We'll be working out the details in the weeks ahead," Obama told listeners and viewers, but he said that he plans on signing this new legislation "soon after taking office." The president-elect wants to stimulate the economy by creating jobs in sectors he emphasized during his campaign -- rebuilding infrastructure, generating new "green" energy jobs and rebuilding and modernizing crumbling schools.

"These aren't just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis; these are the long-term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long," Obama argued. He attempted to reach out to Republicans by soliciting ideas and suggestions from people on "both sides of the aisle." But he insisted on the need for "immediate action."

The president-elect put no price tag on his new stimulus plan, but experts agree that these steps signal the new administration's intention to go beyond the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and to inject perhaps hundreds of billions more into the economy.

Obama is set to announce his economic team at a noon press conference today. Timothy Geithner, the current president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is expected to be named Treasury secretary, while former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers is to be the director of the National Economic Council in the White House and Peter Orszag, head of the Congressional Budget Office, will become the next White House budget director. By putting his team in place early, Obama hopes to demonstrate that he is serious about acting quickly on fixing the economy and calming investors' fears before conditions get even worse.