Pledging to create 11.5 million jobs over four years, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney unveiled a 59-point economic plan on Tuesday.
Speaking in Nevada, battered by 12.7 percent unemployment, the former Massachusetts governor said he would cut all federal programs, except for entitlements and defense, by 5 percent.
Romney's plan differs sharply from President Obama's approach of larger government spending and higher taxes on "millionaires and billionaires" -- a theme the president is expected to reiterate in a speech before a joint session of Congress on Thursday.
"I don't have all the answers, but President Obama has never worked in the economy," Romney said, touting his 25 years of experience as a businessman.
A closer comparison to Romney's proposals is rival Jon Huntsman's job plan, which was praised by the Wall Street Journal. Huntsman, a former Utah governor and, until recently, Obama's ambassador to China, embraced the president's deficit commission's recommendations to cut budgets and close tax loopholes.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who has surged into the lead in some polls, attempted over the weekend to undermine Romney's message by pointing out that his state ranked No. 1 in job growth while Massachusetts was 43rd under Romney's tenure.
On previous occasions, Romney chided Perry for being a career elected official.
Unveiling his 160-page blueprint, Romney said he would toughen trade regulations against China and get government "out of the way."
"The right course for America is to believe in growth. Growing our economy is the way to get people to work," he told a cheering Las Vegas audience.
Read Romney's plan here.
Contact Kenric Ward at kward@sunshinestatenews.com or (772) 801-5341.
