More Americans to lose jobs, face tough times: Obama

I / Washington April 30, 2009, 15:16 IST

As the US clears the meltdown "wreckage", more Americans will lose jobs and face tough times before the recession is out, President Barack Obama said today after completing 100 days in office.     

"Millions of Americans are still without jobs and homes, and more will be lost before this recession is over," Obama said at a press conference here.      

While his administration was "off to a good start..., the government is not as efficient as it should be," Obama said. Millions of Americans are without jobs and homes. Credit is not flowing as freely as it should. "Countless families touched by (the) auto industry still face tough times ahead", he said.     

While the "wreckage of this recession" is being cleared, Obama vowed not to go back to an economy "built on a pile of sand, on inflated home prices and maxed-out credit cards, on overleveraged banks and outdated regulations that allow recklessness of a few to threaten the prosperity of all".      

By the year-end, he will sign legislation that sets new rules for Wall Street and prevents "short cuts and abuse".      

The President, who has become chief shareholder in several US firms, said, "I don't want to run auto companies. I don't want to run banks. So the sooner we can get out of that business, the better off we are going to be".