>>>
president. "night new begins now.
>>>
good evening. it's become painfully obvious, unemployment is about 10% in this country. it's the
economic indicator
more americans feel personally, acutely and painfully. even though there are signs of a slow recovery, jobs always lag behind. jobs have become a big political issue for this
white house
. the president came at it again today with his plan. it's where we begin tonight with our
white house
correspondent
savannah guthrie
. good evening.
>>
reporter: good evening, brian. they don't like to use this word around here, but this amounts to a second stimulus. not as expensive as the first one, but expensive. by some estimates, at least $150 billion, the latest effort to do something about jobs. addressing the economy at a washinon
think tank
today, the president assumed a somber tone, taking pains to demonstrate he feels the pain of the unemployed.
>>
sometimes it's hard to bak out of the bubble here in washington and remind ourselves that behind these statistics are people's lives, their capacity to do right by tear families.
>>
reporter: politically vulnerable as unemployment remains in double budgets, the president addressed jobs five times in the last week. today, a new round of proposals.
tax breaks
for
small businesses
, including a one-year elimination of the tax on
capital gains
,nd a
tax cut
for
small businesses
that hire. more spending, approximately $50 billion on infrastructure projects. and
tax incentives
for americans who make their homes more
energy efficient
. the administration wants to extend unemployment and
health care
benefits for thejobless. the president didot put a price tag on hisroposals today, but some in congress estimate a cost of at least $150 billion.
>>
those who claim we have to choose between paying down our deficits on the one hand and investing in
job creation
and
economic growth
on the other. this is a
false choice
.
>>
reporter: so where will the money come from? the administration says the $700 billion fund to stabilize the
financial system
, the t.a.r.p. program, wasn't as expensive as projected. the government will lose $200 billion less than it orinally thought. some of that money will be spent to help
small businesses
. something republicans were quick to criticize.
>>
the idea of taking this money and spending it is repulsive.
>>
reporter: well, the truth is the administration is planning to do a little bit of both. some of the t.a.r.p. money, that bailout money that never got spent will go back t government coffers and likely be used to fund some of these job initiatives. as for the money
wall street
pays back, likely $240 billion in the end, that will be used to pay down the deficit.
>>
savannah guthrie
on the north
“ ”