JOIN US Faced with rising unemployment numbers and criticism from Republicans who labeled the US$787 billion stimulus a failure, Obama reminded voters that reversing job losses takes time. He criticised Republicans for opposing the stimulus but offering few alternatives to the worst recession since the Great Depression.
He rejected talks of a second stimulus, stating: “We must let it work the way it’s supposed to, with the understanding that in any recession, unemployment tends to recover more slowly than other measures of economic activity,” Obama, who is visiting Ghana, said in his recorded message on radio and Internet.
The stimulus included US$288 billion in tax cuts, dramatic increases in Medicaid spending, about US$48 billion in highway and bridge construction and billions more to boost energy efficiency, shore up state budgets and improve schools.