President Barack Obama is stepping up his campaign to regain the political initiative on the economy, preparing to announce on Wednesday a plan allowing companies to write off all capital investments until the end of next year.
The proposal, the latest in a string of ideas the president is unveiling this week, is aimed at showing voters before the November 2 Congressional elections that he is taking decisive action to repair the economy.
But it is unlikely that any of the measures, which include the extension of a research and development tax credit and $50bn of infrastructure spending, will be passed by Congress before the elections, if at all.