Locals call for Obama to generate jobs, bring home troops

LYNN – Ike Clayton just got laid off from his manufacturing job but he was not thinking about himself Tuesday as he talked about his hopes for President-elect Barack Obama.”Bring the troops home,” said Clayton as he started a day of job hunting.Clayton is laid off but people with a job like Ron Young are hoping Obama will relieve the economic strain on them.”I have two kids in college,” said Young as he expressed optimism for the new president’s ability to tackle the nation’s economic challenges.The Democratic-dominated Congress convened today with promises of swift action on an as-yet-unveiled $775 billion economic recovery program that is the first order of business for the Obama administration.Democratic control of both houses of Congress lays the ground for Obama to win congressional action on his economic agenda and other goals, but U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s goal of giving the new president an economic recovery bill to sign on his first day in office is now postponed.Marlene Whitfield hopes Obama, Pelosi and other Washington leaders won’t wait too long to prime the economic pump.”They’ve got to make sure people get good jobs,” Whitfield said.Nancy McKie and Sarah Petty hope Obama’s focus on the economy will not leave their respective concerns out in the cold. McKie wants more attention paid to the needs of Social Security recipients and Petty said mental health-oriented social services need more public money.Obama promises “very concrete, serious plans for midterm and long-term fiscal discipline” as he prepares to tackle yet another national challenge: The spiraling budget deficit. New projections from congress indicate the deficit could exceed $1 trillion.To view video related to this story visit www.itemlive.com