Where Obama Stands on Economy

Well, with all but a few close Senate races still too-close-to-call, election 2008 has come to an end.

The most important issue facing our new president-elect, Barack Obama, is obviously the economic crisis.

While Obama and John. McCain talked about their economic plans during the debates (when they weren't discussing Joe the Plumber), we thought it might be a good idea to check in one more time on the current economic policies of our president-to-be. Keep in mind that the president doesn't have the magical power to implement these policies at will (he has to work with the legislative branch), but one can get a sense in what financial direction he wants to lead the country.

A good place to start is this CNN article, What Obama Stands for on the Economy, which covers five key areas: Financial crisis, Housing and mortgages, Taxes, Health care, and Energy.

Here's an excerpt from the Financial crisis section:

Among the temporary measures he proposed: exempting seniors from having to make withdrawals from retirement savings; exempting jobless workers from having to pay income taxes on unemployment benefits and calling for an extension of those benefits; and offering a tax credit to businesses for every new hire they make in the United States.

One of the most important appointments our next president is going to make is Secretary of the Treasury. While no one has been named yet (and remember, pundits like to speculate), an article on the ABC News website goes over some likely candidates: Obama's Priority: Chief of Staff, Treasury Secretary.

According to the article, Timothy Geithner, president of New York's Federal Reserve Bank, and Larry Summers, the former treasury secretary in the Clinton administration, are believed to be the leading contenders.