Who won the election? How Barack Obama plans to fix the economy

WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama’s re-election on Tuesday gives him a pathway to pursue an economic agenda that he has argued will put Americans back to work.

The plan, which the president has been touting for months, includes a combination of tax cuts and incentives for businesses as well as investments /in public schools and infrastructure.

One of the cornerstones of the proposal is taxes.

The president has promised to lower individual and corporate tax rates while raising taxes on Americans who make more than $200,000 per year.

To make sure the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share, Obama wants to implement the so-called “Buffett Rule.” Named after billionaire investor Warren Buffet, the proposal would require families making more than $1 million a year to pay a federal income tax of at least 30 percent.

Obama has proposed a 10 percent tax credit for small businesses that hire new workers or increase wages. He has said he will end tax deductions for companies that ship jobs overseas and use the savings to create a new 20 percent tax credit on expenses incurred to move an overseas business back to the United States.

In addition, Obama has suggested allowing companies to immediately write off the costs of new plants and equipment. He has offered a number of proposals to assist Americans looking for jobs, such as requiring states to come up with more rigorous re-employment services for the long-term unemployed.

To deal with the federal deficit, Obama has proposed $4 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade. Defense spending and other programs would be slashed, he has said, but Medicare and Medicaid would be preserved.

The president’s plan also calls for modernizing at least 35,000 public schools across the country and pumping money into roads, rail, airports and other infrastructure projects.