Text size:

Obama releases his economic stimulus plan

BY MARTIN C. EVANS | martin.evans@newsday.com

January 14, 2008

Saying the nation's economic downturn makes it urgent to act now, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama urged the adoption of a short-term stimulus package he said would inject $75 billion in tax cuts and direct spending targeted at struggling homeowners, working families, seniors and the unemployed.

"We can't wait for the next president to act," Obama said in a release e-mailed to reporters yesterday. "I'm announcing a plan to jump-start the economy by putting money in the pockets of those who need it most and who will spend it quickly."

Obama called for providing an "immediate $250 tax cut for workers and their families," and a temporary $250 "bonus" in Social Security checks, aid he said should be repeated if the economy worsened.

His plan also called for increased aid to states, whose property tax revenue has been slashed by a decline in home values. He further called for an expansion of unemployment insurance.

Obama's package was released two days after Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, his chief rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, released an economic stimulus package of her own Friday. Obama has been accused of basing his appeal on optimistic speeches, without providing many details on how he would govern.

Clinton and Obama are dueling over stimulus packages as some economists say it may already be too late to prevent the country from edging toward a recession.

But with war receding as an issue among potential voters, the two campaigns appear to be seeking an edge by addressing growing anxieties over home foreclosures, rising unemployment and shrinking earning power.

Former Commerce Secretary Bill Daley, who spoke to reporters on behalf of the Obama campaign, said that by relying on tax cuts and Social Security bonuses, the Obama plan would have a greater stimulus effect than the Clinton proposal. He said that was because it would get money into the hands of people more quickly.