Obama Takes Jobs Message to Allentown

(CBS/ AP)  Even as he trumpeted a slowdown in the country's job losses Friday, President Barack Obama put finishing touches on a proposal he'll unveil next week to "jump-start" business hiring across America.

In a speech from Washington on Tuesday, Obama plans to send Congress a list of ideas he supports for a new jobs bill. He will endorse sending the biggest chunk of fresh money to cash-strapped state and local governments to stem their layoffs and on expanding a program that gives people cash incentives to fix up their homes with energy-saving materials, a senior administration official said.

Obama will also endorse new tax breaks for small businesses that hire workers, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the package, and Obama's speech, are still being crafted. The president will support some new spending on construction of roads, bridges and other construction, but prefers to see that as a smaller portion of the package because administration economists calculate it doesn't give as quick a boost to job creation as the other measures, the official said.

"We need to grow jobs and get America back to work as quickly as we can," Obama said Friday at a metal works plant in Allentown, where he visited with workers. "On Tuesday, I'm going to speak in greater detail about the ideas I'll be sending to Congress to help jump-start private sector hiring and get Americans back to work."

Job losses in the U.S. have been the worst since the 1930s, but new statistics out Friday showed a relatively moderate shedding of 11,000 jobs last month. The unemployment rate dipped from 10.2 percent in October to 10 percent in November.

The Labor Department report showed November job losses were at the smallest monthly number since the recession began.

"As we come to the end of this very tough year, I want to do something I haven't had a chance to do that often during my first year in office and that is to share some modestly encouraging news on our economy," Obama said before detailing the report.

Channeling a campaign style and an upbeat tone, Obama called it "good news just in time for the season of hope" and said it is a sign his plans are starting to improve a battered economy.

But, even with the best jobs report the country has had since 2007, Obama said the situation is still dire and in need of urgent attention. Unemployment is expected to remain high for months.

"I still consider one job lost one job too many," he said. "Good trends don't pay the rent."

Making his pitch - and Americans' pain - personal, Obama said his own family had members who were looking for work. The flourish was not included in his prepared remarks.

At the town hall meeting, the first question asked of the president involved legalizing marijuana and prostitution.

"I appreciate the boldness of your question," Obama said to laughter after a young man asked him if he would consider legalizing illicit but lucrative industries like marijuana sales. "That will not be my job strategy."

While the economic crisis began under Obama's predecessor, it now falls to the first-year president to right a sliding economy that has invited political criticism as unemployment stays high. Obama pointed to 700,000 jobs lost each month before he took office in January.

There is growing concern in the White House that unemployment problems could dwarf all others. Obama hosted a jobs summit at the White House Thursday, scheduled the trip to Pennsylvania for Friday and set the jobs-bill speech for Tuesday.

At Allentown Metal Works, the president adopted a campaign tone, casually chatting with the kind of working-class voters who will be crucial to his plan making its way to Congress and, more daunting, Democrats' chances in the 2010 congressional elections and his own in 2012. Obama has seen his approval rating slide as his promises of change have slammed into governing reality.

The president's motorcade raced past protesters. "Go home," one group chanted. The group also hoisted signs reading "Fail!" and "Republicans work so you don't have to."

In a nod to growing anxiety about federal deficits, Obama is also stressing a need not to increase federal spending too much. During Thursday's jobs discussion with CEOs and academics at the White House, he said it is primarily up to the private sector to create large numbers of new jobs, because "we also, though, have to face the fact that our resources are limited."

The appetite for debt-financed jobs legislation is far higher in Congress, where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress will extend several items in February's $787 billion economic stimulus measure.

After talks with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other administration officials, congressional Democrats are eying up to $70 billion in unused borrowing authority from last year's $700 billion Wall Street bailout for jobs-related legislation, House Democratic aides said.

Democrats say the Troubled Assets Relief Program money would pay for any jobs bill. But the move is largely cosmetic since tapping the bailout money would require issuing billions of dollars in new federal debt. The White House had hoped to lower deficit projections by not using the full $700 billion in TARP authority approved during last year's economic meltdown.

[RobAla]

I agree with tax breaks for small businesses. However, for real job creation there needs to be reduction in taxes and sensible reduction in regulation for all businesses to give all businesses relief. In order to accomplish that without adding to the national debt, the federal government must shrink to a manageable size so that the taxes aren't needed. Only a very small portion of the unused "stimulus" should be used in specific targeted efforts to stimulate "permanent jobs", rather than make work or temporary work. The rest of the "stimulus" really needs to go towards paying off the horrible national debt. We are in serious trouble, with a $12 trillion national debt that is still growing. The only way to accomplish this is to force Washington to stop spending money that we don't have. We must seriously reduce the size of the bloated federal government and stop adding spending for huge new federal programs (like health care - which is a horrible burden on business, senior citizens under Medicare, taxpayers, and 80% of the population who now enjoy fairly good coverage from health care providers). There are no cost/low cost solutions to bring down the cost of health care in this nation. The CBO stated that tort reform would reduce the cost of health care for Americans by $54 billion and that the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines would save us $billions more. Washington isn't interested, because Washington gets nothing out of this. There would be no new expansion of power for Washington, only the American people would benefit. This bunch in Washington is only concerned with growing the power of Washington, at the expense of American taxpayers. Regardless of political party, the growth in government must stop and the out of control spending must stop. There are citizens in this country who behave like spoiled children by running up personal debt. Many are asking Congress to do the same, so they can have things they want at the expense of the next generation. The problem we have is that Washington is no longer run by responsible adults, as members of both parties have been spending money like there is no tomorrow. This has to stop. Where did the adults in Washington go?
As for President Obamas job summit: He called together mainly groups and people who donated to his campaign. He invited academics (who have never run a business or created a single job - but only study theory), unions (who have driven manufacturing jobs from the nation by their behavior), and a few CEOs (better, but whose main strength is management of business - not job creation). He called together people who would tell him what he wanted to hear. He banned the Chamber of Commerce, whose main focus is job creation. This was a farce for political show.

[buildfences]

Here's the mess the globalists made:

You ship US citizen's jobs overseas. But they didn't think far enough ahead, to know if we do not have a good job, we cannot purchase anything!

Now we have Unions, such as SEIU, that want amnesty for illegals and want to unionize the world...all for new members to get more monthly dues.

Now the elite know US workers cannot compete with foreigners that make 50 cents per hr., so they are going to have to find a way, where we make that same salary, or they raise salaries around the world to be the same pay level.

Alan Greenspan said this on C-span...If we keep bringing in foreign IT workers and pay them less...then it will bring down wages for our own IT workers and everyone will be on the same wage scale.

If you do not think this was all planned, think again....it's the UN's plan, the WTO's and our own politicians....it is all an attack on our land of opportunity and our livelyhood.

We must demand an end to FREE trade and only have FAIR trade.
We must demand our manufacturing return.
We must demand no more outsourcing.

And we must demand no more of our tax dollars given to foreign countries, year after year. Foreign aid should only be used in cases of natural disasters.

We must also realize just how much the U.N., the WTO, our own politicians are using and abusing US citizens!

[hartmanlord]

When people like you get some control of our policies, we could get some relief and progress. The politicians know that there is no "WE", it is all I's. No power in that!

[stn_sage]

The plan of the Globalists is to have a one-world government headed through the United Nations.

As part of that plan, income levels and standards of living are being purposefully driven downward, with an eventual eradication of much of the world's population!

Most of the U.S.'s politicians...through policy and the laws they have enacted...are dedicated to dissolving our national identity and turning the U.S. over to the U.N.! Undoubtedly, THEY have been promised protection and survival for the actions they have taken!

That is why...they need to be voted out of office in 2010! And, why policies of the type you suggest, MUST be enacted!

[joadun]

"We need to grow jobs and get America back to work as quickly as we can," Obama said Friday at a metal works plant in Allentown, where he visited with workers. "On Tuesday, I'm going to speak in greater detail about the ideas I'll be sending to Congress to help jump-start private sector hiring and get Americans back to work."

HERE'S AN IDEA TO SEND TO CONGRESS AND TO YOURSELF: STOP ISSUING WORK VISAS TO MILLIONS OF FOREIGN WORKERS AND GIVE THESE JOBS TO AMERICANS. OBAMA AND CONGRESS ARE ALL SMOKE SCREEN. THEY HAVE NO INTENTION OF GROWING JOBS FOR AMERICANS.

[sleepyric]

we don't manufacture anything anymore...we need to start doing that. Make companies bring back the jobs they sent overseas. Give them tax breaks to do that.

[skeezix06]

I don't think tax breaks are sufficient. I think we need to restrict, tax, or tariff incoming goods.

[skeezix06]

"Republicans work so you don't have to."

I get really tired of this sort of garbage. To date, employment or lack thereof is not divided along party lines. I think an honest look would show that lack of employment tends to blur party lines and solidify opposition to policies that are bad and that harm people's families. In this case there is plenty of blame to go around both the republican party (see 8 years of Bush) and the democratic party (see 11 months of Obama who hasn't changed much of anything).

[independent_midwesterner]

10,000 jobs lost and unemployment going down, sounds like more phoney jobs from the Obama adminstration. He is probably counting jobs created in China, India and Italy!!

[BeckieBest]

You sound like you were hoping for bad news.

Do much teabagging?

[stephand]

"I still consider one job lost one job too many," Obama. Didn't he fire the CEO of GM? Is that not counted as a job lost?

[kluzer12]

CBS, why have you not addressed the ClimmateGate scandal? This is one of the biggest scandals in years and you are choosing to ignore it. You must report the news without concern for your liberal views. If you are still a true independent media source address the ClimateGate scandal.

[erichsh]

Nothing to do with this story, but I completely agree.

[skeezix06]

What you call a scandal....70 degree weather for most of November...I call extremely abnormal for this part of the country. The precipitation pattern also appears to be changing; i.e. very little snow in the winter, and lots of rain in unusual months.

[cattiej]

While we are on the subject of jobs... my last comment is that if you buy Christmas presents, you had better make sure that what ever it is, it's the right color, it fits, it's something the person really wants because after Christmas you are going to see a lot of companies refuse to give you a refund and some will only let you exchange for a product of the same price or a higher priced item. Better read the fine print before signing on the dotted line.

[cattiej]

President Obama: How you gonna give someone cash incentives to make their house energy efficent when people are losing their homes to foreclosure?. How many of these energy efficent products are made in Mexico, China or some other foreign country?
One of the ways you can make America a better country is to make the job of Lobbyist illegal. Outlaw them from our government. These panhandlers are paying our elected officals, including those in the White House to vote they way that will make money and protect their companies..They are not protecting Americans, they are greedy, corrupt companies. How long will it be before some of the medications made in China, India or some other foreign country are made using harmful materials and hundreds of our citizens become ill or die? Every Rx bottle should have the country of origin on it. Not just the manufactured by.....These Rx manufacture companies have outsourced to make money for the big fat CEO's, at the expense and perhaps the health and well being of our people. Our country is falling apart. It's like Nero fiddled while Rome burned. We are probably going to have a major Depression in 2010, so I would like to suggest that you cut up your credit cards folks. Don't buy junk made in China for your kids for Christmas. We have many friends and 25% of them have lost their jobs, many to outsourcing. Is your job next?

[buildfences]

Last year 81 of our citizens died from drugs made in China.

We still do not have the flu vaccines here, not even the seasonal flu vaccine.

Why? Well our government decided that 10% out of every batch should go to a foreign country, not to mention we only have one company here that makes a vaccine...a foreign owned company and the only make the nasal vaccine.

I bet our Forefathers never once thought, that in the future, we would be electing politicians, and have business owners and Union leaders all care more about getting more money for themselves, over what is best for the whole of America.

We used to make everything we ever needed! We no longer are self-sufficient!