Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Sam Wechsler - Talk Radio News Service

On Monday, Vice President Joe Biden held a teleconference with reporters across the country to detail what the federal government has planned for the second 100 days of the Obama administration.

During its first 100 days the Obama administration created or saved over 150,000 jobs, Biden said.

“The measure of our progress here...is that as every month goes by we should be not merely incrementally but geometrically [increasing] the number of jobs we’re creating” said Biden.

The Obama administration is also trying to be transparent about its efforts to revitalize the economy, Biden said. He listed www.recovery.gov, and www.whitehouse.gov/recovery as two new websites that detail the public how government is spending the stimulus funds. The latter website provides a feature for citizens to share thoughts, observations, and stories with the government on its recovery plan.

Biden stated that even though the unemployment rate remains high, and while many jobless citizens question the stimulus packages, there would be 1 to 1.4 million more unemployed people were it not for the recovery acts. The current unemployment rate is 9.4 percent.

New stimulus-related jobs are focused more on alternative energy, education, health care, and creating a new infrastructure for the country. Biden stated, “We’re trying to lay a foundation for a new economy...We are investing not in digging more oil wells but in building more wind farms, investing in solar energy....We are going to have an economy that [is] not based on a bubble.”