In Op-Ed Obama Calls For Patience On Current Stimulus

In a Sunday op-ed piece in the Washington Post, President Barack Obama addressed recent chatter of a second economic stimulus package, saying the current stimulus plan needs time to develop and create jobs.

Obama stated that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has served its purpose to stop the free fall in the economy. He said it is a two-year program and will steadily save and create jobs as it ramps up over this summer and fall. Obama said, "The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was not expected to restore the economy to full health on its own but to provide the boost necessary to stop the free fall. So far, it has done that. It was, from the start, a two-year program, and it will steadily save and create jobs as it ramps up over this summer and fall. 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 said we must rebuild the United States economy better than before with a stronger foundation. Obama said to build that foundation, "we must lower the health-care costs that are driving us into debt, create the jobs of the future within our borders, give our workers the skills and training they need to compete for those jobs, and make the tough choices necessary to bring down our deficit in the long run."

Link to Obama's Op-Ed