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Obama Adviser: Economy To Worsen Before Turnaround

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Feb 15, 2009 1:00 pm US/Pacific

Obama Adviser: Economy To Worsen Before Turnaround

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WASHINGTON (AP) ― President Barack Obama's senior White House adviser says Americans will soon see positive effects of the massive economic stimulus plan passed last week by Congress.

Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," David Axelrod said signs that the $787 billion economic stimulus program is working will be obvious as work begins on infrastructure and other programs that are ready to begin around the country.

Yet, Axelrod warns, it's going to take time for the effects to register in employment statistics and the economy is likely to get even worse before it begins to rebound.

He says he expects the rise of unemployment to be slowed by the bill's passage and implementation.

When asked how long it would take to see the effects of the president's stimulus plan, Axelrod said, "The president has said it's likely to get worse before it gets better. It is true that without this program, it could be -- it could be much, much worse."

He added, 'I don't expect the arrow to bend down by the end of the year, but I do expect the rise in unemployment to be retarded by the things that were done this week."

Axelrod shied away from giving any kind of timetable, saying "... in terms of the overall economy, we're in the worst recession since World War II, and it's going to take -- it took us a long time to get into this mess. It's going to take us a while to get out of it."

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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