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Barack Obama

By Derek T. Dingle | Published December 21, 2011 | Full size is 620 × 480 pixels

Job Creation: Obama introduced the American Jobs Act, which seeks to expand opportunities for the unemployed to find work, provides tax breaks to businesses and revitalize the nation’s infrastructure and several thousand public schools. Housing: Obama's fighting to confirm a Consumer Financial Protection Bureaudirector to help end predatory lending. His administration implemented initiatives, such as the Home Affordable Modification Program, to help struggling borrowers that have produced mixed results. Tax Reform: In addition to basic tax code reforms, Obama strongly supports an end to the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy. Government Spending: Obama proposes to reduce government spending by eliminating waste and through shared sacrifice that would mean higher taxes on the nation’s wealthiest 1% so lower- and middle-income households don’t bear the brunt of spending cuts. He's also signaled a willingness to consider reforms to entitlement and other social safety net programs.

Job Creation: Obama introduced the American Jobs Act, which seeks to expand opportunities for the…

Official portrait of President-elect Barack Obama on Jan. 13, 2009.

(Photo by Pete Souza)