WARREN, Mich.
Conceding unemployment will get worse before it gets better, President Barack Obama on Tuesday unveiled a $12 billion plan to help community colleges prepare millions of people for a new generation of jobs. Challenging critics, he said he welcomed the task of turning around the economy.
“I love the folks who helped get us in this mess and then suddenly say, ‘Well, this is Obama’s economy,'” the president told an outdoor crowd at Macomb Community College. “That’s fine. Give it to me. My job is to solve problems, not to stand on the sidelines and harp and gripe.”
Obama did not identify his target for those comments, but he has been under increasing fire from Republicans over the pace of the economic recovery and the soaring deficit. He brought his message to a state reeling from the loss of auto jobs. Michigan’s unemployment rate is 14.1 percent, the nation’s worst.
“The hard truth is that some of the jobs that have been lost in the auto industry and elsewhere won’t be coming back,” Obama said. “They are the casualties of a changing economy.”
To that end, he proposed an “American Graduation Initiative” to bolster the two-year community college field that serves millions of students as a launching point for careers or a step toward expanded higher education.
Competitive grants would be offered to schools to try new programs or expand training and counseling.
