The President comes to Wisconsin to talk about the economy.
Racine has the 2nd highest unemployment rate in the state, at 14.2-percent, but President Barack Obama says it could be much worse. At a town hall meeting, Obama defends his nearly $800-billion stimulus package, saying it helped to avoid another Great Depression.
“It put a break on the collapse of the economy, we avoided a Great Depression, we are now growing again.” Obama continues, “It’s hard to argue sometimes, ‘things would have been a lot worse.’ So, people kind of say ‘unemployment’s still at 9.6.’ Yes, but it’s not 12 or 13 … or 15.”
Or even catastrophic, he says. Obama tells the crowd that 95-percent of workers in the country got a tax cut, but most folks didn’t even know it, because it automatically appeared in their paychecks.
“It wasn’t a good way to advertise the tax cut. So if I had been just thinking politics I would have sent you one big check with my picture on it and said ‘here’s your tax cut.'”
Obama also told the crowd that the debate is not about big government or small government; it’s about responsible government.
AUDIO: Jackie Johnson report 1:19
