Obama lays out fresh economic proposals
Posted
Jobs creation: Barack Obama (Reuters: Jason Reed, file photo)
Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama proposed four steps to create jobs and cushion Americans against the effects of the economic downturn as he campaigned in an area hit hard by the slowdown.
The proposals, costing $US60 billion ($86 billion) over two years, include tax credits for firms that create new jobs, penalty-free withdrawals from retirement accounts and temporarily barring banks from foreclosing on people trying to pay their mortgages.
Senator Obama also called on the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department to set up a facility to lend to state and municipal governments, similar to the steps recently taken by the Federal Reserve to inject liquidity into the commercial debt market.
The Illinois senator outlined his ideas in Ohio, a battleground state that has suffered from the US economic downturn and that is central to his campaign against Republican candidate Senator John McCain.
Recent national opinion polls show Senator Obama extending his lead over Senator McCain, in some cases to double digits.
In Ohio, however, polls show a statistical dead heat with Senator Obama slightly ahead.
Analysts view voters' anxieties about the global financial turmoil as one factor behind Senator Obama's rise in the polls just over three weeks before the November 4 US presidential election.
"I'm proposing a number of steps that we should take immediately to stabilise our financial system, provide relief to families and communities and help struggling homeowners," Senator Obama said in remarks prepared for delivery at a Toledo rally.
"It's a plan that begins with one word that's on everyone's mind, and it's spelled J-O-B-S."
-Reuters
