What to expect from Obama's jobs speech
President Obama will address a Joint Session of Congress tonight to put forth his jobs and growth package -- a proposal that CBS News has learned could top $400 billion. The plan has been in the works for weeks, but White House Press Secretary Jay Carney hasn't released all the details.
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Here's a rundown of what CBS News expects -- and what it's all going to cost:
An extension of payroll-tax cuts. The current payroll-tax cut expires December 31. A renewal would mean a two percentage-point reduction for employees (from 6.2 percent Social Security payroll-tax to 4.2 percent). That comes to about $1,000 per household.
Cost: $120 billion
An extension of unemployment benefits. Congress has extended unemployment benefits several times before, but expect President Obama to call for another 99 week extension. Sources say the president will also propose a job-training program, similar to one in Georgia called Georgia Work$, where companies can take on workers receiving unemployment for a trial period.
Cost: $50 billion
New infrastructure spending. Obama wants to put job-seekers to work refurbishing roads, bridges and specifically, schools. His speech will likely include a major school renovation program, similar to a proposal that has been floating around Washington called FAST - Fix America's Schools Today.
Cost: $100 billion
Aid for state and local governments and small business tax cuts. The local assistance will focus on keeping both teachers and first responders on payrolls.
Cost: $100 billion
A quick tally puts the proposal at $370 billion - so far. The final plan Mr. Obama puts forward tonight could contain an additional $30 billion or more. That last chunk may include some combination of the following:
A payroll tax cut for employers, targeted to employers who expand their payrolls; an "infrastructure bank" that would finance highway and rail projects; a mortgage initiative that makes it easier for homeowners to refinance and; ratification of pending trade deals in South Korea, Panama, and Colombia.
As for Republican support for the package, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has recognized the need for infrastructure spending and expressed a willingness to compromise on unemployment benefits. But CBS News' Nancy Cordes reports that other Republicans are skeptical: to them, Obama's plan sounds like more stimulus.
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Just prior to leaving office, President Bush had a stimulus package that did not help the economy. For the past 2.5 year, President Obama blew $100s of billions on stimulus packages and bailouts that did not work. Now he proposes a new $450 billion stimulus, and he states that if the Republicans will not "pass this bill, right now" they will be the cause of HIS 2.5 YEARS OF FAILED POLICIES NOT WORKING!
President Obama and other progressives have burdened American businesses with huge oppressive additional regulations and expenses - so that many business owners are having to put money aside for this nonsense rather than hire worker. BUT IF THE REPUBLICANS DO NOT PASS THIS BILL RIGHT NOW, PRESIDENT OBAMA IS GOING TO PUT THE BLAME FOR HIS FAILURES ON THE REPUBLICANS! WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP!!!
President Obama says that the $450 billion package will not add to the national debt, because he is instructing Congress (someone else) to figure out how to pay for it. WHAT A TRIP! He does not have a clue as to how to pay for it, so he is throwing Congress (even other Democrats) under the bus to figure out how to make $450 billion in cuts to pay for it. It is going to be hard enough for this Group Super 12 to come up with $1.5 trillion in cuts. Now they have to come up with another $450 billion?????? WHAT A TRIP - AND WHAT A LOAD OF BULL!!!!!
President Obama meet with union leaders to discuss his plan for two days, but he did not have the bipartisanship (the man does not have an ounce of bipartisanship within him) to even meet with Republicans at all prior to this speech. This was purely a political campaign speech dressed with a Presidential address bow on top. There was nothing Presidential about it - it was a campaign speech. The Republicans showed graciousness to even be in attendance, due to the lack of courtesy President Obama has shown them.
Well to achieve that, they'd have to raise taxes. Which totally negates the usage of stimulus to create jobs - the stimulus to the economy comes from the NET increase in Government spending - if outflows are offset by inflows, then it's merely a redistributive plan, and then there's the question of how many jobs will be LOST with the plan as well. It's all about the NET.
And if the plan doesn't rely in tax increases to pay for it, then the only other way Barack could believe the plan pays for itself is because he believes by spending he's going to generate revenue to the same degree. Which is what he believed he was going to accomplish with the last $4trillion he spent, which didn't happen. Which is what that mathmatical genius Reagan and Shrub also believed - that the LESS money you take in and the MORE the Goverment spends, the MORE revenue that economy will generate ... so much more that it more than offsets expenditures.
That's just wishful thinking for the most part - Government support has only been shown to reap sustained economic benefit when it's used to support an industry that the country wants to grow, that can be competitive on it's own in the global marketplace. Like China did with it's steel industry - it's like venture capital. In contrast, Barack doesn't have a specific plan, except for that stupid ill-defined 'green industry' ... what SPECIFIC jobs was it he envisioned people doing, that couldn't be done for cheaper elsewhere???
I think he does himself a disservice using spin and finger-pointing to try and make it seem like he's got a clue. He said on the campaign trail that he'd identified the source of economy's ills as being faulty trade policy - and then he's done NOTHING about it for 4 years! He deserves to get fired for shirking his responsibilities as President ...
What he's proposing is a 'stimulus' package, not a 'job creation' package, if all he's doing is 'buying' jobs with borrowed Government money - jobs that'll disappear as soon as the funding does.
Stimulus doesn't perpetuate economic growth unless the jobs are those actually demanded by the economy to be done - so it's really crucial to differentiate between 'wants' and 'needs' - the economy doesn't necessarily 'need' road beautification or whatever. The economy MIGHT 'need' retraining IF there were actually sectors if the economy that were in fact growing niches in the global economy - and with current trade policy being what it is, there aren't any. Because everything can be made or done for cheaper elsewhere - Barack has made sure of that.
Look at the track record of Barack's investments in the Green sector - it's widely accepted that those investments didn't pay off in terms of spurring on any new industry, isn't that correct?
In sum - Barack's not proposing anything new that hasn't already been done - which has just shown to need constant replenishment of further funding when the money ran out. That is NOT what people want from Washington. Because there's also a debt crisis with the Standard and Poor downgrade - one that's been borne not out of fear that the US will have trouble finding further lending, but one that's been borne out of fear that the US will never stop having a need for further lending. And Barack is failing to address that fear. FAIL!
I think people who oppose this package will do so for just reason. And I think the people who voted for Barack in 2008 who decide not to vote for him again in 2012 will do so for just reason - his Presidency will fall based on his failure to address the root ills of the economy and successfully engineer a turnaround.
I think it's time he be unleashed into the private sector to go get retraining so he can innovate some economic growth and reduce the trade deficit - go turn yourself into a Steve Jobs there Barack ... go lead by example! :p
I, me, my, back from the brink, previous administration,
inherited, historic, transparent, fair share, corporate jet owners, and save or create to name a few.
http://resume-not-required.com/?p=694
Considering that the President has had a laser focus on jobs creation for nearly three years now; hopefully we will see an written plan with specifics and corresponding budget. Then the American people will have at least have a comparison between Obama's, Romney's, and other candidates (pending) plans to decide how we want plan for our future.