PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA has proposed a $775 billion economic stimulus package intended to create 3,675,000 jobs over the next two years, say two members of the incoming administration’s economic team. Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein report that Obama’s economic recovery plan will create jobs in industries hard-hit by the recession, including construction and manufacturing.
The plan will “more than meet the goal of creating or saving 3 million jobs,” and will supply “many jobs paying good wages and providing full-time employment,” they conclude. A disproportionate share of the jobs are expected go to women and union-represented workers.
They also warn that, if Congress fails to enact the stimulus package, 3 to 4 million more jobs could be lost before the economy turns around, in addition to the 2.6 million jobs eliminated since late 2007. The two economists used what they term as a “relatively conservative rule of thumb” to estimate the economic and employment impacts of the package being discussed by Obama and congressional leaders. The proposal includes infrastructure improvements, energy projects, tax cuts, state aid, and increased assistance to workers and families.
Critics of the proposal have said the package will not do enough to stabilize and strengthen the financial system. Speaking in London, Ben Bernanke, chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, said the recovery package should give more money to troubled financial institutions.
