The U.S. could be just months away from “the toughest economic times of our lifetime,” U.S. Rep. Mike Ross. D-Prescott, said today in a conference call with reporters.

Ross said things could be worse. The $700 billion financial bailout plan approved by Congress last month should prevent another depression like the one that followed the 1929 stock market crash, he said.

“I think the actions we took in the financial sector back in October will avoid a 21st century Great Depression, but I do think we’re headed for the worst recession in our lifetimes, and I don’t think we’re anywhere near hitting the bottom,” Ross said. “I think we’re probably six months to perhaps a year and a half away from seeing the worst times that are ahead of us.”

Asked if the nation needs another “New Deal,” the economic recovery plan that Franklin Roosevelt initiated in the 1930s, Ross said it past time time for something similar.

“If you think about it, President Roosevelt and the WPA (Works Progress Administration) program and President Eisenhower and the interstate (highway) program were the last two presidents, one Democrat and one Republican, that made any significant investment in our nation’s infrastructure. I think it’s past time that we do that, and I think it’s a great way to jump start the economy,” he said.

Tags: Dwight D. Eisenhower, Franklin Roosevelt, Mike Ross

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