By Matthew Rusling WASHINGTON, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama is pushing a set of new measures that aim to kick start the economy and boost job growth. But critics said they are unlikely to produce the intended effect, arguing that the package is no different than last year's nearly trillion U.S. dollar stimulus package, which has been criticized for not producing the jobs that many Americans thought it would. The plan comes in the run up to the November Congressional elections and more than two years into the worst recession since the 1930s. The jobless rate still stands near the double digits and many Americans are facing dim employment prospects. The president rolled out the plan in a speech on Wednesday, saying that his administration aims to steer away from past policies that he argued were harmful to the economy. 'Do we return to the same failed policies that ran our economy into a ditch, or do we keep moving forward with policies that are slowly pulling us out? Do we settle for a slow decline, or do we reach for an America with a growing economy and a thriving middle class? That's the America that I see. We may not be there yet, but we know where this country needs to go,' he said in a speech from Ohio. Obama's package contains a 50 billion U.S. dollar plan to upgrade U.S. roads, railways and runways. It also contains 180 billion U.S. dollars worth of tax breaks, including research and development tax credits for businesses and a measure to allow businesses to write off equipment through next year. The president also called for former George W. Bush tax cuts for the country's highest earners to end this year but added that they should continue for those families deemed as low or middle income. Critics said the plan will add to the ballooning deficit, and some experts believe it will not pass before the upcoming November elections, as Democrats will be too busy campaigning in their home districts to vote on the measure. 'Basically it's just a political stunt,' said Daniel J. Mitchell, senior fellow at the Cato Institute. 'This is just more of the Keynesian spending that didn't work for Bush in 2008 and Obama in 2009 and if somehow this political stunt becomes a reality it won't work for Obama in 2010.' He likened the plan to taking money from one pocket and putting into the other. 'If government spending were some magic recipe for growth, you would think that France and Greece would be booming and Hong Kong would be stagnating, but it's just the other way around,' he said. Others noted that corporations are sitting on large amounts of cash but are uncertain about the future economic, political and regulatory environment and are reluctant to hire. So part of this plan is aimed at encouraging companies to invest, some experts argued, but added that the president would be better off giving firms tax breaks for creating jobs. Others, however, expressed optimism about the proposal. Ryan McConaghy, deputy director of the economic program at Third Way, said the proposed infrastructure project will not only bolster the short term economy but will heighten the country's long term competitiveveness. He pointed to a number of statistics that he said demonstrated how improved infrastructure could benefit the economy. In 2007 the amount of waste due to congestion equaled 4.2 billion hours - or about one full week for each traveler - and 2.8 billion gallons of gasoline, costing 87.2 billion U.S. dollars in lost fuel and productivity, according to a report from the Texas Transportation Institute. Bottlenecks are estimated to cost freight trucks about 8 billion U.S. dollars in economic costs per year, according to Cambridge Systematics, Inc. Flight delays cost Americans 9 billion U.S. dollars in lost productivity each year, according to Cambridge Systematics, Inc. In a recent survey, 90 percent of business executives worldwide indicated that the quality and availability of infrastructure plays a key role in determining where they do business, according to KPMG International. Mitchell, took issue with the research and development tax credit - while it could have benefits due to lowering taxes, the president said it will be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes without explaining exactly what those loopholes are. And the plan to allow businesses to write off equipment through 2011 could help the economy somewhat, but the benefits may not last because the plan only lasts for two years, some critics said. If a business, for example, needs to replace certain equipment five years from now, it might do so now instead of later, Mitchell said. That would produce short term benefits but could result in a shortfall of investment later, he said. In the end, what Mitchell referred to as a stimulus plan is unlikely to work. 'It didn't work then, wont work now, didn't work for Hoover and Roosevelt, didn't work for Japan in the 1990s, these things just don't work. But politicians love them.' 