December 03, 2008

Governor Riley Says Tax Cuts, Help for Medicaid are the Best Options for an Obama Stimulus Plan

MONTGOMERY - After returning from Philadelphia where he and his fellow governors met with President-elect Barack Obama, Alabama Governor Bob Riley said his message to the president-elect was clear: cutting taxes and helping states deal with burdensome federal mandates are the best ways to stimulate the economy.

As the incoming president and nation’s governors discussed the prospect of a stimulus package for states, some governors focused solely on spending hundreds of billions of dollars on transportation infrastructure projects as a way for the federal government to boost the economy. Governor Riley, however, offered a more reasonable approach, saying that providing targeted tax cuts and lowering states’ Medicaid costs are the best ways to immediately boost the economy and help states meet their budgets in a difficult time.