Obama, crowd applaud stimulus plan passage

FORT MYERS, Fla., Feb. 10 (UPI) -- The breadth of the recession requires a big, bold plan to help right the U.S. economy, President Barack Obama told a Fort Myers, Fla., crowd Tuesday.

If nothing is done, economists of all stripes have warned of double-digit unemployment rates, more home foreclosures, more people losing health insurance to a point where "our nation will sink into a crisis that at some point is going to be that much tougher to reverse," Obama told about 1,500 people at the Harborside Event Center.

"So we cannot afford to wait," he said. "We can't wait and see and hope for the best. I believe in hope, but I also believe in action."

When he announced that the Senate passed its version of an economic stimulus package, the auditorium erupted in applause and cheers.

"That's good news," Obama said.

Obama's town hall meeting to discuss his stimulus plan in Fort Myers -- which saw 12 percent of hits homeowners get foreclosure notices last year -- is the second in as many days in areas of the country particularly hard hit. He is scheduled to visit Peoria, Ill., on Thursday.

"We need to get credit flowing again to families and businesses," he said. "We need to stem the spread of foreclosures that are sweeping this country. "

The problems that pulled the United States into its crisis "are deep. They're widespread, and so we're going to have to do a lot of different things to get the economy moving again," Obama said.