Obama: Economy will get worse before it gets better

TAKING his economic pitch on the road yesterday, US President-elect Barack Obama promoted his plans to create long-lasting, well-paying jobs in cutting-edge industries like alternative energy as part of his mammoth plan to pull the country out of recession.

“It’s not too late to change course — but only if we take dramatic action as soon as possible,” the president-elect said as he sought an early victory on his stimulus programme.

He pledged: “The first job of my administration is to put people back to work and get our economy moving again.”

Heading into his weekend preceding his triumphal oath-taking as 44th president, Obama visited with workers at a chilly Midwestern factory that makes parts for wind turbines. It was a fitting backdrop as he talked of alternative energy dollars included in a sweeping $825 billion (€622bn) House spending and tax-cut package that could reach $1 trillion (€753bn) by the time congress sends it to him.

Citing an economy in crisis and getting worse, Obama has spent the past two weeks securing lawmakers’ backing for the eye-popping plan that has drawn scepticism from both Republicans and Democrats because of its price tag and tax provisions.

The stakes are enormous for the country’s next president; passage of the plan — and bipartisan passage in particular — would mark a significant achievement at the outset of his administration. Obama is inheriting a deep recession from President George W Bush.

“The need for us to act is now.

“It’s never been more urgent,” Obama told workers at the Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co in Bedford Heights, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb. However, he repeated a warning that he has given often in the two months since his election: “Given the magnitude of the challenges we face, none of this will come easy.

“Recovery won’t happen overnight, and it’s likely that, even with these measures, things will get worse before they get better.”