Obama touts investment plan on middle America trip
By Ross Colvin
MANITOWOC, Wisc. (Reuters) - President Barack Obama pressed his case on Wednesday for investment to grow the U.S. economy out of its budget woes, a job made tougher by a forecast that the deficit will surge 40 percent this year.
The Congressional Budget Office forecast the U.S. deficit would hit $1.48 trillion this year and the Federal Reserve was downbeat on the prospects for job creation.
Those were sobering reminders the day after Obama's State of the Union address, in which he struck a conciliatory tone towards newly empowered congressional Republicans and advocated investment in some areas and cuts in others to make the U.S. economy more competitive.
Obama's retooled, business-friendly approach is aimed at moving to the political centre, which is key to his 2012 re-election chances.
Stock and oil prices gained on optimism over Obama's offer to cut corporate tax and curb spending.
On a trip to Wisconsin, a political battleground state he won in the 2008 election, Obama pushed his message of innovation and job creation during a visit to renewable energy firm Orion Energy Systems in Manitowoc.
To hold its own against rising powers like China and India, the United States should be "winning the future" by investing in high technology, Obama said.
"China's making these investments and they have already captured a big chunk of the solar market, partly because we fell down on the job. We weren't moving as fast as we should have. Those are jobs that could be created right here that are getting shipped overseas," Obama told workers. Continued...
