Obama unveils economic plan for Main Street

October 13, 2:29 PMBoston Young Democrats ExaminerDan McDowell

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Obama unveiled details of his economic plan live this afternoon. For long term help to the Main Street Obama mentioned a multitude of plans.

• Tax cut- Obama again championed his tax cut for 95% of Americans
• Eliminate the income tax for seniors making less than fifty grand a year
• bring down the cost of health care
• Give credit towards a college education to those who perform community service
• Invest in energy technology to create more jobs
• Invest in infrastructure- create millions of jobs rebuilding our own nation

For the shorter "economic emergency" Obama proposed a rescue plan for the middle class. The highlights of his plan include:

• Temporary tax credit for businesses that hire American workers
• An end to the capital gains tax
• Invest in energy efficient cars made here in the USA to create technology and jobs
• Provide money to state and local governments to fund infrastructure-building projects
• A tax rebate check ASAP implementing the first round of tax cuts
• Extend and expand unemployment benefits
• The ability to withdraw 15% (up to $10,000) from IRAs and 401ks penalty free
• A 90 day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners acting in good faith who's banks received bailout funds
• Modifications to mortgages and bankruptcy laws
• Pressure the Treasury to unfreeze the credit market and
• Promote responsibility and living within your means

Now, all this is well and good. I think they are great ideas and should certainly be worked towards. However, I have to ask how the U.S. can afford this. I agree if we can bailout Wall Street, we should be able to help out Main Street, but how do we do it without further digging ourselves into debt. If Congress acts on this now, the government deficit will only grow. Even if this matter is set aside until after the election, I'm not so sure cutting government programs and forcing them to run efficiently will recover enough funds to pay for all this. It is an expensive plan, even if it does seem to be beneficial. Even should this go through and the economy recovers, will the taxes gained during this time of prosperity come anywhere near covering a significant portion of the cost of these programs/initiatives?

I love the theory and ideas, but I'm hesitant when it comes to their final cost. Our deficit is already huge, and China owns much of our debt. Do we really want to risk add more debt on top of the current crisis?

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