Speaking in Cleveland, President Obama laid out the details of his plan to boost the economic recovery: $50 billion for infrastructure spending; a $100 billion R&D tax credit; and $200 billion to induce U.S. companies to make capital improvements now rather than later.
Recognizing that voters are worried about the economy, President Obama is offering an olive branch to his critics with a $50 billion infrastructure plan and a deal to make the R&D tax credit permanent. Conservatives say it's too little too late, but the game is far from over for the Democrats.
Government funds will help expand manufacturing to produce up to 500,000 electric cars yearly by 2015, according to the Energy Department. The money, part of the economic stimulus program, will also boost the U.S. share of global battery production to 40% by 2015.
The third quarter's 3.5 percent GDP increase signaled to many that the recession had ended. But that figure was revised downward to 2.8 percent, and then again to 2.2 percent. That calls into question the data collection process and the value of these "headline" numbers.
