Obama Urges Steps to Strengthen Economy

09 September 2010

President Obama discussing the economy at Cuyahoga Community College West Campus in Parma, Ohio, Wednesday

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

This week, President Obama proposed new measures to lift the economy. The central bank in its latest report said there was continued growth in the past several weeks, but with "widespread signs" of slowing.

Congressional elections are November second. One new survey showed that forty-nine percent of likely voters think Republicans should control Congress. Other polls find that about sixty percent of Americans think the country is going in the wrong direction.

President Obama gave a speech Wednesday near Cleveland, Ohio. He proposed a tax plan for businesses that make capital improvements, like buying new equipment.

BARACK OBAMA: "And I'm proposing that all American businesses should be allowed to write off all the investment they do in 2011. And this will help small businesses upgrade their plants and equipment, and will encourage large corporations to get off the sidelines and start putting their profits to work in places like Cleveland and Toledo and Dayton."

Mr. Obama also proposed to permanently extend a tax credit for research and development.

And on Monday he offered a plan for "rebuilding and modernizing" America’s roads, rails and runways. He said it would create jobs and improve transportation. The plan would cost fifty billion dollars, but he promised it would not add to the budget deficit over time.