Orszag: Obama inherited economic woes

WASHINGTON, March 8 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama inherited an economic mess from his predecessor, White House Budget Director Peter Orszag said Sunday.

But even so, Orszag said he remains confident the new administration can tackle the nation's economic woes.

"We are like a relief pitcher stepping into the ninth inning and we can't just redo the whole game," Orszag said on CBS' "Face the Nation," noting that the nation's economic woes have been "eight years in the making."

Orszag took aim also at recent Republican plans to help put the U.S. economy back on track. He said the senior Republican on the House Budget Committee, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, has proposed $3 trillion dollars in tax cuts "for the wealthy and corporations" as a way of jumpstarting the economy.

"As Ronald Reagan once put it, there they go again," Orszag said. "We have had eight years of one approach, did not work."