Barack Obama alerted Americans that the economic crisis in the United States is only going to get worse in the next year. He made this statement while he was revealing the first part of his large stimulus package that could be involve as much as $1 trillion.

In his most detailed interview after becoming the President-elect, Obama announced the largest public works construction programme since Dwight Eisenhower's interstate highway system over 50 years ago.

In his 'things are going to get worse before they get better' philosophy, President-elect Obama was not just stating the obvious about the struggling US economy, but was also hoping to gain a political advantage from the financial crisis.

If he is able to make the recession appear worse than it is, the expectations people have for him in the upcoming year will be lowered and he can justify spending the largest amount of federal money to boost the economy since the Depression-era New Deal.

The crisis is so big that President-elect Obama and his economic team believe that the only thing that can help is a very large stimulus package. The extent of the worsening recession has given him the opportunity to spend a lot of money to solve the problem, something that could not have been done even a few weeks ago, and he also has the chance to finance his very expensive legislative agenda.

The economic conditions and a Democratic-controlled Congress make President-elect Obama one of the most powerful Presidents since Lyndon Johnson (1963) in terms of the his ability to pass legislation quickly.

The scope of the plan, which is thought to become law early in the new year, is growing daily. Obama is planning for a nationwide road and bridge-building plan; to make public building more energy-efficient by updating old heating systems and replacing light bulbs with energy efficient ones, to renovate school and install computers in every classroom, to increase the availability of high-speed internet throughout the nation and to give hospitals access to electronic medical records.

Obama claims that this will be the single largest investment in America's infrastructure since the highway program in the 1950s. It is thought that the plan will also include spending on electrical grids, public transport, dams and alternative fuels.