STEVE INSKEEP, host:
Gas and oil prices are falling because consumer demand is slowing down along with world economies. And on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, President-elect Barack Obama warned Americans not to expect our economy to turn around quickly.
(Soundbite of NBC show "Meet the Press")
President-elect BARACK OBAMA: This is a big problem, and it's going to get worse...
INSKEEP: And to help the country climb out of the recession, Obama called for the most ambitious stimulus program since the 1950s. NPR's Ted Robbins reports.
TED ROBBINS: Stimulus packages in the last few years have been aimed at getting consumers to spend more. That's not what President-elect Obama is talking about. He told reporters in Chicago, Sunday, that his economic team is working on a stimulus package that would create jobs to rebuild roads and bridges and go far beyond.
(Soundbite of NBC show "Meet the Press")
President-elect OBAMA: Making our economy more energy efficient, school construction, laying broadband lines, instituting medical information technologies that can drive down costs.
ROBBINS: Skeptics have questioned just how fast these projects could begin, but Obama says a number of governors tell him they have projects that are, as he put it, "shovel ready." Other projects, Mr. Obama said, could have long-term economic payoffs beyond the recession.
(Soundbite of NBC show "Meet the Press")
President-elect OBAMA: We can emerge leaner, meaner, and ultimately more competitive and more prosperous.
ROBBINS: Congressional leaders say the emerging stimulus program could cost between 400 and 700 billion dollars. The Obama team has not disputed those figures, but the president-elect says now is not the time to worry about a growing deficit. Ted Robbins, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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