Obama Says Economy Will ‘Get Worse’ Before Recovering

President-elect Barack Obama said the U.S. recession will worsen before a recovery takes hold and that he will offer a plan to boost the economy “equal to the task” without worrying about a widening of the budget deficit. Dealing with the loss of jobs, frozen credit markets, falling home prices and other signs of economic turmoil is “my number one priority,” Obama said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” program, which aired yesterday. Later at a Chicago news conference he said “more aggressive steps” are needed to cope with the housing crisis. Even with the prospect of a federal budget shortfall approaching $1 trillion, “we can’t worry, short term, about the deficit,” he said on NBC. “We’ve got to make sure that the economic stimulus plan is large enough to get the economy moving.” The economy has shown signs of worsening since the Nov. 4 election. The Labor Department reported Dec. 5 that employers cut 533,000 workers last month, bringing job losses this year to 1.91 million. U.S. stocks fell for the fourth time in five weeks as the worsening job market added to concern the recession is deepening. “Things are going to get worse before they get better,” Obama, 47, who takes office on Jan. 20, said on NBC. In Chicago, Obama said the recession is still “rippling” through the economy.