Mellody's Math: State of Your Economic Union

N E W &nbsp Y O R K, Feb. 2 -- When President Bush delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday, he devoted equal time to national, homeland and economic security.

But with recent polls indicating citizens consider the economy a bigger concern than a threat of future terrorist attacks, viewers likely turned up the volume on their televisions for the third leg of this stool.

Here's a look at how some of the things Bush told Congress and the nation may reach into your own pockets:

Deficit But No New Taxes: At the outset, Bush acknowledged that the U.S. economy is in recession, the first since the president's father delivered his own State of the Union address almost a decade ago.

A year ago, things could have not been more different. But due to the terrorist attacks and the ongoing war, what was then a budget surplus is now expected by the White House's budget office to be budget deficits until the year 2005.

Remarkably, Republicans and Democrats alike agree that having a deficit is a necessary means to protect the American people's personal and economic security. Running the country at a deficit means budget cuts will likely be buffered by spending increases in other programs.

White House to Your House: Be on the lookout for cuts in some social programs. For example, the president's new budget is expected to cut $850 million from education and training assistance programs.

Job Creation: In describing his economic security plan, Bush stated that it can be "summed up in one word: jobs." But the president has a serious task on hand, as 1.4 million people have lost their jobs in recent months, while others remain fearful for their own job security.

Over the past year, America has been awash in downsizing. With almost daily announcements of company lay-offs and plant closings, America needs economic growth to help create new jobs. The president concurred the best way out of a recession is to create jobs and to encourage investment in factories and equipment.