After President Barack Obama held his first summit in early December, which focused on job creation, he has decided to move forward with a plan to build on his current stimulus package to create more jobs.
While some in his own party have opposed a new stimulus plan because the last one was deemed ineffective by lawmakers and business owners, he has nonetheless decided to push ahead with a plan.
What’s in the New Plan?
Obama has not yet defined his new plan as a stimulus, instead saying that it will take some elements of the previous stimulus package that work. Some of these elements include putting an additional $50 billion toward infrastructure spending, having the Treasury Department lend more to small business through TARP, extending tax credits for business investment and offering state and local governments more money to function.
Some other ideas coming out of the new plan include a tax credit rewarding companies for hiring new workers, as well as tax rebates for individuals who make their homes more energy efficient.
New Plan, New Criticisms
While Obama posed a lot of interesting ideas on Tuesday regarding his new plan, some who were beneficiaries of the first plan have expressed uncertainty in his ability to make this one work. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter recently said that the Obama administration need to take different approaches to create jobs, such as doing more direct hiring and creating job programs aimed at high-unemployment urban areas.
2010 Job Outlook: Lukewarm
While Obama is working out ways to create jobs, a new survey from Manpower released Tuesday revealed that 73 percent of the U.S. companies surveyed don’t plan to hire in the first quarter of 2010. Only 12 percent say they plan to hire and another 12 percent plan to make cuts. Three percent were undecided.
With nearly 85 percent of employers not expected to hire new workers for at least four months, one can only hope that Obama’s stimulus plan is able to make a difference.
Democratic aides expect two new bills to surface soon - one containing Obama’s job creation plan. The other bill would help sustain unemployed workers by extending unemployment insurance and increasing temporary food stamp payments and health-care purchases.
The initiatives aren’t expected to hit Obama’s desk until early 2010.
What else can the government do to help with the job situation?