Paulson says no interest in second stimulus plan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Monday that he was focused on getting economic stimulus payments to consumers quickly to boost the economy and had no interest in a second stimulus plan.

"The whole idea was doing something that will make a difference this year and there's no doubt that putting money in the hands of people very quickly who can spend it will make a difference," he said on Fox Business Network.

In response to questions, he said the $152-billion stimulus plan could create 500,000 jobs this year but rejected suggestions from Democratic critics that a second stimulus plan may be necessary.

"We're not supporting a second stimulus plan," he said, adding that if the current rebates program was any larger it might make it harder to get the government's budget into balance.

Paulson said the U.S. economy was facing "headwinds" in the form of rising oil prices and commodity costs, but insisted its long-term economic fundamentals remained sound.

He said strong demand from emerging countries and tight supplies were the main cause for rising prices rather than speculators. "I think there's a concern that supply is tight, could get tighter and there's a potential for disruption down the road," he said.

He denied that there was any sign of 1970s-type "stagflation" threatening the economy, in which growth slows and prices shoot up simultaneously.

"We are seeing nothing like that today," he said, "Core inflation is well contained."

He said the economy will regain its footing.

"We have economic weakness right now but the long-term economic fundamentals of this economy are very solid today and I don't think it's fair to compare it to what existed 30, 40 years ago," he said.

In response to questions about what he will do when the Bush administration ends next January, Paulson indicated scant interest in staying on if he was asked to do so.

"I'm going to go 100 percent right up to the end and then I'm really looking forward to the next stage of my career," he said, adding that it been "a rather wrenching decision" to come to Treasury in 2006 from Wall Street.

"I'm glad I've done it but I really am looking forward to being able to take some time and think carefully about what I might do in the future," he said, adding "I haven't had the opportunity to do that in a long time."

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Editing by Diane Craft)