Obama plans tax cuts, other provisions to spark job growth

WASHINGTON - Eager to jump-start the economy ahead of crucial midterm elections, President Barack Obama said Friday he intends to unveil a new package of proposals, likely including tax cuts and targeted spending, to spark job growth.

The August jobs report was better than expected, showing the private sector adding 67,000 new jobs last month. But unemployment ticked up to 9.6 percent as more people entered the job market, and the president said it wasn't good enough. "That's why we need to take further steps to create jobs and keep the economy growing, including extending tax cuts for the middle class and investing in the areas of our economy where the potential for job growth is greatest," Obama said.

Obama's package could include some provisions that have languished in Congress for much of the year, including infrastructure bonds for municipalities and extensions for a series of tax breaks for businesses and individuals that expired at the end of 2009.

Obama is continuing to prod the Senate to pass a bill that calls for about $12 billion in tax breaks for small businesses and a $30-billion fund to help unfreeze small business lending. - AP