Obama Outlines Economic Initiatives

WASHINGTON—This week President Barack Obama is announcing several economic programs designed to spur job growth by building infrastructure. He also took a firm stance against extending the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans. He said Republicans, who oppose letting the cuts expire, “would have us borrow $700 billion over the next 10 years to give a tax cut of about $100 billion to folks who are already millionaires.”

The full set of programs was outlined Wednesday at at the Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Ohio. Obama announced on Monday a program to build new roads, airport runways, and railroads, and establish an infrastructure bank to finance such projects in the future.

Obama took the opportunity of Labor Day to announce and promote the $50 billion infrastructure investment plan while speaking in Milwaukee, Wis., at Laborfest.

"It doesn’t do anybody any good when so many hardworking Americans have been idled, yet so much of America needs rebuilding. That’s why I am announcing a new plan for rebuilding and modernizing America’s roads and rails and runways for the long term,” said the president Monday.

Seen in part as a political move before upcoming November elections, the programs still need congressional approval to be funded; work would not begin until next year.

The president is working to build on job growth and economic gains made in the construction sector through the economic recovery act. Government spending will go into needed infrastructure work. The plan aims to rebuild 150,000 miles of roads, 150 miles of airport runways, and construct and maintain 4,000 miles of railroad.

Some of the first projects to be funded will be highway infrastructure work on roads and bridges that need repair and expansion, a sector that could employ many who are presently out of work.

The long term framework for infrastructure includes moving forward with high-speed rail to begin the process of integrating it into the surface transportation system for the next generation.

The plan also includes streamlining funding for transportation projects, and measuring performance to encourage competition for funding, and ensure funding goes to programs that will best meet policy goals.

Part of the long term plan includes investing in safety, environmental sustainability, economic competitiveness, and livability. The plan seeks to build communities where people have choices for travel that are sustainable and affordable.

The president accused the opposing party of trying to make him fail at any cost to the country. “If I fail, they win.” House Minority Leader John Boehner has called for Obama’s economic team to resign.