Obama holds Calif. town hall meeting

WASHINGTON, March 18 (UPI) -- President Obama used a town hall meeting in California Wednesday to explain the financial mess facing the country and his efforts to right the economic ship.

Speaking at the Orange County Fair and Event Center in Costa Mesa, Obama started out telling his audience that, like a lot of them, he is "outraged" by the bonuses AIG paid out to its executives after taking a massive taxpayer bailout and that he would work to make sure regulations are put in place to prevent future abuses.

He also touted the job-creating aspects of the economic stimulus package, saying Orange County will be getting about 2,000 jobs by building a new lane of a state highway, and that 396,000 jobs will be created or saved statewide and 3.5 million nationwide "over the next two years."

"We are also taking unprecedented steps to unlock our frozen credit markets so families can get the loans they need to buy a home or a car, and businesses can pay for inventory or make payroll," he said.

He outlined his plans to reduce the budget deficit while reforming healthcare, improving education and reducing the nation's dependence on foreign oil through development of alternative energy.

Asked by a community banker if regulations could be changed so responsible small banks are not penalized for making loans to strapped businesses, Obama said the Treasury Department was doing just that.

Asked about the immigration system, Obama said he doesn't think the problem can be fixed piecemeal and outlined how it needs to be addressed.

A teacher from Santa Ana told Obama she had just received a layoff notice and asked for more money for urban districts "that need it the most." The president responded that money needs to be invested to reduce class sizes, improve teacher training and reward good teachers.

One woman asked if credit card interest rates could be capped below the 30-40 percent some are charging. Obama said he supports a "bill of rights" for credit card users.

Obama spent a good deal of time explaining the AIG situation and the rest of the financial crisis that has sent the economy into recession. He told people they have to put aside the anger and understand the banks needed to be bailed out to prevent a catastrophic collapse of the system.

"This is a very complicated, difficult task. It's not easy," he lectured. "We're talking about a huge system that's not just national, but international.

"And so we're not going to unwind this all in a day, but what I do have confidence in is that with the plans that we're putting forward, slowly you're starting to see the system stabilize, you're starting to see more loan activity taking place, some of the security markets are coming back."

And he told one man, an ex-convict who has been laid off from his auto industry job, "I have confidence that you will find a job. I have confidence in you."

The town hall is part of the president's two-day tour through Southern California, which includes a town hall meeting in Los Angeles, an appearance on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno" and a tour of an electric vehicle plant in Pomona.