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| Obama glosses over jobs figures to attack Republicans in radio address | Obama glosses over jobs figures to attack Republicans in radio address |
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| In the wake of much worse than expected jobs numbers, Barack Obama took a swipe at his Republican opponents on Saturday as he prepared to release a budget that he claimed would boost employment. | In the wake of much worse than expected jobs numbers, Barack Obama took a swipe at his Republican opponents on Saturday as he prepared to release a budget that he claimed would boost employment. |
| In his weekly radio address, the president described the triggering of recent cuts to government spending, known as sequestration, as a "self-inflicted" wound and warned that the measure could cost hundreds of thousands of jobs in the future. | In his weekly radio address, the president described the triggering of recent cuts to government spending, known as sequestration, as a "self-inflicted" wound and warned that the measure could cost hundreds of thousands of jobs in the future. |
| "We need fewer self-inflicted wounds from Washington, like the across-the-board spending cuts that are already hurting many communities – cuts that economists predict will cost our economy hundreds of thousands of jobs this year," Obama said. | "We need fewer self-inflicted wounds from Washington, like the across-the-board spending cuts that are already hurting many communities – cuts that economists predict will cost our economy hundreds of thousands of jobs this year," Obama said. |
| On Friday, the monthly jobs figures for March showed just 88,000 new jobs being created, less than half the figure economists had been expecting. The figure reanimated fears that the still lacklustre recovery after the so-called Great Recession would suffer a "spring swoon". The unemployment rate dipped slightly to 7.6% but only because 496,000 people stopped looking for work and fell out of the workforce. The number was far worse than expected. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast that 200,000 new jobs would be created in March. | On Friday, the monthly jobs figures for March showed just 88,000 new jobs being created, less than half the figure economists had been expecting. The figure reanimated fears that the still lacklustre recovery after the so-called Great Recession would suffer a "spring swoon". The unemployment rate dipped slightly to 7.6% but only because 496,000 people stopped looking for work and fell out of the workforce. The number was far worse than expected. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast that 200,000 new jobs would be created in March. |
| In his radio address, Obama largely skipped over the impact of the bad numbers by saying "we've got more work to do" to get the economy growing healthily again. He did say that a planned budget proposal this week would have job creation at its heart. However, the president's proposals are unlikely to be met with universal acclaim. According to reports, Obama's budget plans will seek a "grand bargain" on deficit reduction with Republicans by including cuts to benefits and entitlements programmes. | In his radio address, Obama largely skipped over the impact of the bad numbers by saying "we've got more work to do" to get the economy growing healthily again. He did say that a planned budget proposal this week would have job creation at its heart. However, the president's proposals are unlikely to be met with universal acclaim. According to reports, Obama's budget plans will seek a "grand bargain" on deficit reduction with Republicans by including cuts to benefits and entitlements programmes. |
| It is expected that the budget will propose changing the cost-of-living calculation for social security in a way that would reduce benefits for most recipients. It is a move that Republicans have demanded but which has already infuriated many liberal Democrats. There will also be cuts to medicare and only limited tax changes – also issues that will be seen as placating Republicans and outraging Democrats. | It is expected that the budget will propose changing the cost-of-living calculation for social security in a way that would reduce benefits for most recipients. It is a move that Republicans have demanded but which has already infuriated many liberal Democrats. There will also be cuts to medicare and only limited tax changes – also issues that will be seen as placating Republicans and outraging Democrats. |
| Obama painted the budget proposals as necessary deal-making. "While it's not my ideal plan to further reduce the deficit, it's a compromise I'm willing to accept in order to move beyond a cycle of short-term, crisis-driven decision-making, and focus on growing our economy and our middle class for the long run," he said. | Obama painted the budget proposals as necessary deal-making. "While it's not my ideal plan to further reduce the deficit, it's a compromise I'm willing to accept in order to move beyond a cycle of short-term, crisis-driven decision-making, and focus on growing our economy and our middle class for the long run," he said. |
| One area, however, that is likely to get a boost is veterans' programmes. The budget is set to include $63.5bn set aside as discretionary funds for 2014 – a jump of 4% over the current budget. The move comes after several weeks of intense criticism over the government's handling of a backlog of claims by injured veterans, which angered veterans' groups. The issue has prompted withering media criticism, from Time magazine to satirical TV programme The Daily Show. | One area, however, that is likely to get a boost is veterans' programmes. The budget is set to include $63.5bn set aside as discretionary funds for 2014 – a jump of 4% over the current budget. The move comes after several weeks of intense criticism over the government's handling of a backlog of claims by injured veterans, which angered veterans' groups. The issue has prompted withering media criticism, from Time magazine to satirical TV programme The Daily Show. |
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