U.S. President Barack Obama repeatedly urged Congress to pass his jobs plan during a town-hall meeting on Monday in the U.S. high-tech capital, Silicon Valley in California.
Mr. Obama said passing his $450 billion job bill is the most important thing that can be done to get Americans back to work. He said Americans can not afford to wait any longer, as the U.S. unemployment rate hovers around nine percent.
The U.S. president answered questions from an online and live audience at an event called “Putting America Back to Work” hosted by professional networking site, LinkedIn.
Mr. Obama reassured unemployed audience members that they will get back to work and told another that assistance programs for the elderly – Medicare and Social Security – will not disappear.
One audience member indicated he was not opposed to higher taxes for himself, indicating he was behind Mr. Obama's calls for higher taxes on wealthy Americans.
Congressional Republicans are critical of the president's debt reduction plan, saying higher taxes hurt investment and economic growth. They want deficit reduction to come entirely by cutting spending, including Social Security and Medicare.
The president is on a three-day West Coast campaign tour where he is expected to rack up millions in donations ahead of a Friday quarterly fundraising deadline that will show how he is faring against his Republican competitors.
Speaking at a fundraising event on Sunday, Mr. Obama said 2012 will be an especially tough election because Americans are discouraged and disillusioned with the government.
But he said he is determined because too much is at stake. He said the Republican alternative would “fundamentally cripple” the United States in meeting the challenges of the 21st century.
With his approval rating falling and his reelection campaign underway, Mr. Obama has introduced a new aggressive tone on the campaign trail and has taken a firm stance against his critics in Congress, calling on them to pass his jobs plan “right away.”
The Silicon Valley is just one of the stops on the president's national tour aimed at garnering support for his $450 billion jobs plan. Mr. Obama says his plan will boost the struggling U.S. economy by helping small businesses and creating nearly 2 million jobs, including for teachers and construction workers.
