Economy

Obama to Offer Tax Cuts to Spur Hiring

After unemployment rate rises to 9.6 percent.

President Obama says he’ll offer a new package of tax cuts and other incentives for businesses to hire people, as the unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent in August. That’s the first time the jobless rate has risen since April; last month, about 54,000 net jobs were lost. Obama plans to outline his proposal Wednesday, when he discusses the economy in a speech in Cleveland. New incentives include: extending research and development tax credits, boosting spending on infrastructure including highways, and keeping the part of the Bush tax cuts that help the middle class. With only eight weeks till the midterm elections, there’s not enough time for the president’s plan to help the economy much before voting begins. No massive stimulus plan will be offered.