By Mike Caggeso
Associate Editor
Money Morning
Warning that more pain will precede the positive, President-elect Barack Obama said in a weekend interview and press conference that he plans a massive investment in infrastructure to create jobs and stimulate grounded and long-lasting economic growth.
Speaking at a Sunday news conference and on"Meet the Press," Obama didn't specify projects beyond roads, bridges and"other traditional infrastructure." Nor could he give a price tag. But just his mention of the infrastructure projects was enough to kick start the markets Monday.
On"Meet the Press," Obama said his transition team and advisers are"busy working, crunching the numbers, looking at the macroeconomic data to make a determination as to what the size and the scope of the economic recovery plan needs to be. But it is going to be substantial," Bloomberg reported.
Obama also referred to his meeting with U.S. governors last week, saying that many job-producing state projects are"shovel ready."
The auto industry, Obama said, had made"repeated, strategic mistakes," but allowing it to go under would only add to our 12-month-running recession and the millions of jobs it's taken from the U.S. economy.
Obama also said that his economic team is coming up with solutions to the housing crisis.
If there's a common thread between his opinions on what to do with each troubled industry, it's that Obama is trying to create a broad economic package that both creates jobs and fills in the holes where the U.S. economy had been falling short - as opposed to writing a check to taxpayers and hoping it adds to the gross domestic product (GDP).
While he expects to deliver change, it might take another year for it to show, statistically speaking, the Chicago Tribune reported.
"I am absolutely confident that if we take the right steps over the coming months, that not only can we get the economy back on track, but we can emerge leaner, meaner and ultimately more competitive and more prosperous," Obama said at his news conference, The New York Times reported.
News and Related Story Links:
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Chicago Tribune:
Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan gains steam
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New York Times:
Obama Warns of Further Economic Pain