"We can't tackle healthcare until we get the economy working," he said. "If the economy is weak, how can you make good on the promises you made?"
Other proposals, by contrast, may move to the front burner. Obama proposed a national infrastructure reinvestment bank to be funded with $60 billion in federal money over 10 years. But congressional leaders have said they may incorporate as much as $150 billion of infrastructure spending in an economic stimulus package that may be enacted before the end of this year.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday, November 13, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 3 inches; 105 words Type of Material: Correction
Presidents and the economy: An article in Section A on Nov. 6 about the financial crisis included a chart showing U.S. financial performance under various presidents. A column labeled "U.S. deficit or surplus" should instead have been labeled "increase or decrease in deficit." Here are the amounts by which the deficit went up or down during the terms of these presidents: Kennedy, up $1.4 billion; Johnson, up $20.4 billion; Nixon, down $19 billion; Ford, up $67.6 billion; Carter, up $0.1 billion; Reagan, up $81.4 billion; George H. W. Bush, up $135.2 billion; Clinton, down $527.3 billion; George W. Bush, to the present, up $691.7 billion.
Such a program is known to be favored by former Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin, perhaps Obama's most influential economic advisor, on the grounds that it would have a more lasting effect than simply handing out rebate checks to taxpayers.
That's especially so if the program is designed to make grants to state and local governments that already have bridge repairs, highway improvements and other local projects on the drawing board.
On the stump and in campaign material, Obama laid out an economic program focused on government investment and on strengthening the financial safety net for the poor and middle class.
In addition to the infrastructure bank, Obama proposed investing $150 billion over 10 years in alternative energy by doubling federal research and development funding and providing job training and tax credits for that field.
He also proposed to provide college tuition assistance in the form of a tax credit of up to $4,000 and an expansion of Pell Grants, which aid low-income students.
Obama made the elimination of President Bush's tax cuts for upper-income taxpayers a centerpiece of his campaign, proposing to restore the top marginal tax rate to the Clinton-era 39.6% from the current 35%. The tax cuts are scheduled to expire in 2010, but Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain proposed making them permanent.
Obama has also proposed a tax credit of as much as $1,000 aimed at low- and middle-income households, eliminating income taxes for taxpayers older than 65 earning less than $50,000 a year, and raising the federal minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2011 and indexing it to inflation (it is currently scheduled to rise to $7.25 by 2009).
He also plans to strengthen protection for union organizing by fighting state right-to-work laws and employer efforts to classify permanent employees as "independent contractors." The latter is often a device to avoid paying health and pension benefits.
