President Obama said that if economic prescriptions of the type he supports to increase economic growth and reduce “income inequality” are not adopted, then race relations in the United State may deteriorate further.

“If we don’t do anything, then growth will be slower than it should be. Unemployment will not go down as fast as it should. Income inequality will continue to rise,” Obama said in an interview published Sunday by the New York Times. “Racial tensions won’t get better; they may get worse, because people will feel as if they’ve got to compete with some other group to get scraps from a shrinking pot. If the economy is growing, everybody feels invested, ” he said.

Obama said Americans in recent decades have lost a sense of security, feeling that a chance at upward mobility is being denied them. He railed against the deficit hawks in the Republican Party, suggesting cuts were being made to quickly and without proper discretion, and that “vital investments” must be preserved.

The president in recent days has suggested he will back massive new spending outlays, including funding for vast programs like infrastructure projects and early childhood education.

Obama vowed to act unilaterally if Congress blocks him.

“I’m not just going to sit back if the only message from some of these folks is no on everything, and sit around and twiddle my thumbs for the next 1,200 days,” he said.