obama jobs plan

Even if passed intact, U.S. President Barack Obama's jobs plan, though ambitious, would at most nudge down unemployment by a single percentage point over the next year.

Furthermore, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives will surely object to several provisions in the American Jobs Act - particularly the total $447 billion price tag - further diluting its impact.

President Obama's jobs plan includes:

• Tax breaks for both individuals and businesses.
• Financial aid to states aimed at repairing schools and retaining public sector jobs such as policemen and teachers.
• An extension of unemployment insurance.
• And money to repair and upgrade transportation infrastructure, such as highways, railroads, and airports.

Wall Street, already worried about events unfolding in Europe, seemed less than impressed by the proposals. Stocks started down Friday, the morning after President Obama's jobs speech, and meandered lower throughout the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 2.69%, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 2.67%.

"There was nothing in the president's speech that would inspire the stock market one iota forward, and I think we can see that reflected already this morning," Money Morning Capital Waves strategist Shah Gilani said on the Fox Business Network program "Varney & Company."