Obama's 'green deal' will need to be self-sufficient to work
US President-elect Barack Obama and Congress need an economic-stimulus plan big enough to blunt a prolonged recession.
The new leaders need a "Green Deal" that focuses quickly on jobs, housing, education and financial security. The economy can be bolstered while making the US industrial base globally competitive, fixing infrastructure and tackling climate change.
Yet Obama's plan needs to go beyond his campaign promise of a $150 billion investment for clean energy, hybrid cars and renewable power. It can be a fiscally sound approach that pays for itself or derives funding from cutting wasteful tax shelters. For now, though, jobs have to be the top priority. Rising unemployment is plaguing the US and stifling consumer spending. The October jobless rate climbed to the highest level since 1994 and payrolls dropped by some 240,000 workers.
