Reply #83: Link to ABC Text Highlights of interview

[RamboLiberal]

http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/Economy/story?id=6619291&page=1

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Viewer questions for Obama came in by the thousands prior to the interview, the overwhelming majority of which focused on the economy. When asked if he feels he will be able to repair the economy, Obama said, "I think we can fix this. But it's going to take some time. It's not going to happen overnight."

"It's going to take some time to fix it. But what we tried to do was put forward a plan that says 'let's act boldly, let's act swiftly.' Let's not only provide a jumpstart to the economy and immediately or save 3 million jobs, but let's also put a down payment on some of the structural problems that we have in our economy," he said.

Obama has received some pushback on the tax break portion of his economic stimulus package, particularly the effectiveness of business tax cuts in stimulating economic growth and job creation. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, expressed concerns that Obama's plan amounted to "trickle-down" economics.

"Well, let's look at the package as a whole. The bulk of the package is direct government spending... Now there is no doubt that that probably gives you the most bang for the buck in terms of stimulus, in terms of getting the economy started, putting people back to work," he said. "But there are only so many projects that you can do quickly of that sort. And so then the question becomes, do tax cuts also provide a stimulus? Do they also help? And they may not help as much as some of the direct spending projects do, but they still provide a stimulus, especially if they are targeted towards people who are really in need."