WASHINGTON — The government’s bailout of the financial
system has been cheaper than expected and some savings may go to job creation
and deficit reduction, President Barack Obama said Monday.
The Treasury is estimating that the government’s troubled
asset relief program, or TARP, will cost $141 billion at most over the next
decade, down from the $341 billion the White House projected in August.
“TARP has turned out to be much cheaper than we had
expected, although not cheap,” Obama said at the White House on Monday.
He said some of the money can be devoted to deficit
reduction and that the government may be able to use some of it to create jobs.
“The question is, are there selective approaches that
are consistent with the original goals of TARP — for example, making sure that
small businesses are still getting lending — that would be appropriate in
accelerating job growth,” Obama said.
He noted that small and medium-sized businesses are facing
“a huge credit crunch” and that helping with credit is “a
particular area where we might be able to make a difference.”
Obama will speak more about the economy and job creation in
a speech scheduled for late Tuesday morning in Washington.
He spoke after the government released a
better-than-expected jobs report on Friday, showing that the U.S. economy shed
11,000 jobs in November. Economists were looking for a loss of 100,000 jobs.
Obama said that the U.S., “for all practical
purposes,” has stopped losing jobs but that the challenge is to make sure
that job growth matches economic growth.
Via McClatchy-Tribune News Service.
