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Stimulus Details Aired

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The New York Times

Published: January 11, 2009

WASHINGTON - One day after the nation's unemployment rate jumped to a 16-year high, President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday again raised the estimate of how many jobs would result from his economic recovery plan, saying it would create or save 3 million to 4 million jobs, nearly 90 percent in the private sector, by the end of 2010.

Obama, in a weekly radio and Internet address, sought to inject a positive note into the economic outlook by releasing a report from his economic advisers that broadly estimated the jobs that could be created with his plan.

The report noted, however, that at least 5 million jobs, and probably many more, will have been lost during the downturn. So even if Obama's most optimistic projections bear out, unemployment in December 2010 will still be higher than it was in December 2007.

Obama's address was his latest effort to sell a $775 billion proposal to members of Congress, where leaders have pledged to adopt a stimulus bill by mid-February, as well as to Americans stung by the recession.

Without an economic recovery plan, the report warned, the unemployment rate could hit 9 percent, up from 7.2 percent now. If the plan is adopted, unemployment is still expected to rise, but the rate is predicted to begin falling in the second half of 2009.

The 14-page report, prepared by Christina D. Romer, Obama's pick to lead his Council of Economic Advisers, and Jared Bernstein, an economic adviser to Vice President-elect Joe Biden, was released to provide specific examples for the first time of the types of jobs that could be created. It was intended to counter criticism that Obama's plan would create new bureaucracies rather than put people to work.

Even so, some conservatives argue that jobs that exist only as a result of temporary government spending should not be viewed as providing real long-term growth.

On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are engaged in fierce debate over how best to stimulate the economy and to create jobs. Some Democrats say Obama's plan would be more effective if it focused fewer dollars on tax cuts and more on government spending.

Some top Republicans, meanwhile, are pushing for even broader tax cuts. "We want to make sure it's not just a trillion-dollar spending bill, but something that actually can reach the goal that he has suggested," said the Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Obama transition officials have said the president-elect's proposed middle-class tax cut, "Making Work Pay," which would provide $500 for individuals and $1,000 for couples by reducing payroll tax withholdings, is "non-negotiable." McConnell is pushing an alternative to cut the tax rate for most middle-income workers to 15 percent.

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