Summary

NAME: US OBAMA 20081122I TAPE: EF08/1176 IN_TIME: 10:57:29:01 DURATION: 00:03:43:12 SOURCES: CHANGE.GOV DATELINE: Washington DC, 22 Nov 2008 RESTRICTIONS: SHOTLIST: 1. SOUNDBITE: (English) Barack Obama, US President-Elect: "Good morning. The news this week has only reinforced the fact that we are facing an economic crisis of historic proportions. Financial markets faced more turmoil. New home purchases in October were the lowest in half a century. 540,000 more jobless claims were filed last week, the highest in 18 years. We now risk falling into a deflationary spiral that could increase our massive debt even further. While I'm pleased that congress passed a long overdue extension of unemployment benefits this week, we must do more to put people back to work and get our economy moving again. We've now lost 1.2 million jobs this year, and if we don't act swiftly and boldly, most experts now believe that we could lose millions of jobs next year. There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis, which has been many years in the making, and it's likely to get worse before it gets better. But January 20th is our chance to begin anew, with a new direction, new ideas, and new reforms that will create jobs and fuel long term economic growth. I have already directed my economic team to come up with an economic recovery plan, that will mean 2.5 million more jobs by January of 2011, a plan big enough to meet the challenges we face, that I intend to sign soon after taking office. We'll be working out the details in the weeks ahead but it will be a two year nationwide effort to jump start job creation in America and lay the foundation for a strong and growing economy. We'll put people back to work, rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges, modernising schools that are failing our children, and building wind farms and solar panels, fuel efficient cars and the alternative energy technologies that can free us from our dependence on foreign oil and keep our economy competitive in the years ahead. These aren't just steps to pull ourselves out of the immediate crisis. These are the long term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long, and they represent an early down payment on the type of reform my administration will bring to Washington. A government that spends wisely focuses on what works and puts the public interest ahead of the same special interests that have come to dominate our politics. I know that passing this plan won't be easy. I will need and seek support from Republicans and Democrats, and I'll be welcome to ideas and suggestions from both sides of the aisle. But what is not negotiable is the need for immediate action. Right now there are millions of mothers and fathers who are lying awake at night wondering if next week's paycheck will cover next month's bills. There are Americans showing up at work in the morning only to have cleared out their desks by the afternoon. Retirees are watching their life savings disappear and students are seeing their college dreams deferred. These Americans need help. They need it now. The survival of the American dream for over two centuries is not only a testament to its enduring power, but to the great effort, sacrifice and courage of the American people. It has thrived because in our darkest hours we have risen above the smallness of our divisions to forge a path toward a new and brighter day. We have acted boldly, bravely, and above all, together. That is the chance our new beginning now offers us, and that is the challenge we must rise to in the days to come. It is time to act. As the next president of the United States, I will. Thank you." STORYLINE President-elect Barack Obama on Saturday outlined his plan to create 2.5 (m) million jobs in coming years to rebuild roads and bridges and modernise schools while developing alternative energy sources and more efficient cars. "These aren't just steps to pull ourselves out of this immediate crisis; these are the long-term investments in our economic future that have been ignored for far too long," Obama said in the weekly Democratic radio and web "YouTube" address. The economic recovery plan being developed by his staff aims to create 2.5 (m) million jobs by January 2011, and he wants to get it through Congress quickly and sign it soon after taking office. He called the plan "big enough to meet the challenges we face" and said that it will jump-start job creation but also "lay the foundation for a strong and growing economy." Aides said the economic plan outlined on Saturday went further that the president-elect has gone before. A trio of crises - housing, credit and financial, have badly damaged the economy, and financial analysts have projected the country's economic hardships will continue through much of 2009. Obama acknowledged on Saturday that evidence is growing the country is "facing an economic crisis of historic proportions." He noted turmoil on Wall Street, a decrease in new home purchases, growing jobless claims and the menacing problem of deflation. He said he was pleased Congress passed an extension of unemployment benefits this week, but added, "we must do more to put people back to work and get our economy moving again." Figures out this week showed new claims for jobless aid had reached a 16-year high. "If we don't act swiftly and boldly, most experts now believe that we could lose millions of jobs next year," Obama said. He cautioned, "there are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis, which has been many years in the making, and it's likely to get worse before it gets better." But Obama said Inauguration Day, January 20, "is our chance to begin anew." Obama said getting congressional approval for his broad economic plan will not be easy. "I will need and seek support from Republicans and Democrats, and I'll be welcome to ideas and suggestions from both sides of the aisle,» he said. "But what is not negotiable is the need for immediate action." Across the country, Americans "are lying awake at night wondering if next week's paycheck will cover next month's bills," people are showing up at work to clear out their desks and retirees are watching their life savings disappear, Obama said. On Thursday, the Labour Department reported that claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to 542,000. That marked the highest level since July 1992 and provided fresh evidence of a rapidly weakening job market that is expected to get even worse next year. "In this country's darkest hours, the American people have risen above their divisions to solve their problems," Obama said. "We have acted boldly, bravely, and above all, together," Obama said. "That is the chance our new beginning now offers us, and that is the challenge we must rise to in the days to come. It is time to act. As the next president of the United States, I will."