WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama would be open to a second stimulus package if needed to boost the economy, but at the moment it doesn't look like more money is needed, a top White House adviser said on Sunday. "We have not broken the back of the recession," senior adviser David Axelrod told NBC Television's Meet the Press program. "We are going to have to sail through some very difficult times here."
President Barack Obama quickly pushed through a controversial $787 billion emergency stimulus package after taking office in January, and the White House said at the time this would keep unemployment from pushing into double-digits. However, the economy weakened by more than expected and the White House warned last week that the jobless rate could reach 10 percent in the coming months, up from 9.4 percent in May.
Axelrod acknowledged unemployment was bad. But he said it would have been even worse without the stimulus, and added that at the moment, it did not look like more money was needed.
(Reuters)
President Barack Obama quickly pushed through a controversial $787 billion emergency stimulus package after taking office in January, and the White House said at the time this would keep unemployment from pushing into double-digits. However, the economy weakened by more than expected and the White House warned last week that the jobless rate could reach 10 percent in the coming months, up from 9.4 percent in May.
Axelrod acknowledged unemployment was bad. But he said it would have been even worse without the stimulus, and added that at the moment, it did not look like more money was needed.
(Reuters)
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