Obama: We must take action now
Barack Obama will make the case for quick action on a fiscal stimulus package
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Thursday, 08, Jan 2009 05:07
Barack Obama has declared action must be taking immediately if the United States is to recover from its current recession.
Speaking at George Mason University in Virginia on Thursday, the president-elect outlined his new course for the economy and urged Congress to move as quickly as possible for the sake of the American people.
As part of the recovery plan Mr Obama said he planned on creating three million new jobs as well as investing in infrastructure and health care
Mr Obama will take over from George Bush as US president in less than two weeks and is set to inherit an economy firmly stuck on a downturn.
Manufacturing is currently at a 28-year low, with unemployment at two million and expectations that figures released tomorrow will show unemployment is at its highest since the second world war.
"We start 2009 in the midst of a crisis like none other we have witnessed in our lifetime," he said.
"It is not too late to change course but it will be if we don't take dramatic action."
Mr Obama warned the current crisis could linger for years and unemployment reach double digits if plans were made immediately.
"We arrived at this point due to years of profound irresponsibility," the president-elect declared.
"We must end the culture of 'anything goes'… it's time to trade old habits for a spirit of responsibility."
As part of the recovery plan, Mr Obama said the majority of the new jobs would be within the private sector while measure made to protect jobs in the public sector.
A doubling of investment in alternative energy production would be set out, as well as the rebuilding of schools and road, Mr Obama said.
Middle class families across the country will also receive tax break as part of the plans.
The key, Mr Obama stated, was to lay the foundations for long-term economic growth, warning the situation may well get worse before it gets better.
Echoing John F Kennedy's iconic speech, he ended by calling on all American citizens to put the interests of their nation ahead of their own.