House Republicans signal openness to some of Obama's jobs plan
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, left, shakes hands with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia as they leave a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington Aug. 1, 2011.
/ AP PhotoHouse Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor wrote to President Obama today and said that his American Jobs Act provisions "merit consideration." The top House Republicans maintained their conciliatory tone of the past week in the letter, but did not endorse any of the President's proposals, demanded more details and made clear they won't just sit back and "pass the bill" as the President urged Congress to do so many times last night.
After receiving legislative text and a Congressional Budget Office analysis of the president's bill, "the House and our committees will immediately begin the process of reviewing and considering your proposals" they wrote. But Boehner and Cantor warned that House members will also "identify modifications and additional ideas that could achieve economic and job growth in a manner that may be more impactful or effective."
They wrote that in addition to reviewing Obama's proposals, the House will continue to move forward with its fall agenda which includes removing regulations that they say are a burden to American businesses.
Mr. Obama began his tour of the country today in Richmond, Virginia, the home district of Majority Leader Eric Cantor, to sell his plan that would include tax cuts to small business for hiring new workers, an extension and expansion of the payroll tax holiday, new infrastructure spending and the passage of free trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama so that more American goods could be sold in those countries.
With the exception of the House Republican conference chairman, top leadership Republicans have held their fire on the American Jobs Act so far saying that they are waiting to see the actual legislative language and the President's deficit reduction proposal.
But the letter from Boehner and Cantor makes clear that House Republicans will likely cherry pick items from Obama's proposals that Republicans can stomach, like some of the business tax breaks, but leave most of the new spending out.
"As we are certain your advisers have told you, not all your ideas should be packaged in a single legislative vehicle" they wrote. "We share your desire for bipartisan cooperation, and assume that your ideas were not presented as an all-or-nothing proposition, but rather in anticipation that the Congress may also have equally as effective proposals to offer for consideration."
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FOR FULL CHART SEE LINK ABOVE
Secret Fed Loans Gave Banks the $1.2T Kid-Glove Treatment
By Erik Sherman | August 22, 2011 Everyone knows that the big Wall Street banks got bailed out of the mess they put the world's economy into. But even the infamous TARP funds were small beans
Banks doubled down on their borrowing by taking extra money through subsidiaries to bloat their low cost cash tills.
The fed kept easing standards for collateral until it was taking junk bonds against a promise of payment.
Some of the banks may have used the funds to bolster their profits because the cost of money was so cheap. compared to the $1.2 trillion that the Federal Reserve lent to financial institutions, both domestic and foreign, during the financial collapse, according to recently available data that Bloomberg analyzed. That's almost twice what the $700 billion TARP program managed.
Can anyone say "moral hazard"? One big danger stemming from government bailouts during the long financial freight-train wreck — a disaster that keeps on going — was that the Captains of Paper Industry would learn exactly the wrong lesson. Instead of being chastened by the wreckage they wrought, they'd see that, no matter how shortsighted and greedy they were, governments would bail them out. But that's exactly what happened. Only federal officials have been so embarrassed by how completely they've been used, they haven't wanted to admit it in public.
But the gross numbers alone don't put the extent of the Fed's bailout into perspective:
Given that half of the borrowers were from foreign-based banks, the Fed was rescuing the world, not the U.S.
At peak borrowing time, when the number hit $1.2 trillion, the amount was more than all the earnings of all federally-insured U.S. banks for the first decade of this century.
The Fed made some profit — $13 billion over 2.3 years, which works out to less than 0.5 percent interest per year. At the time, inter-bank rates were 3.8 percent, or more than seven times higher.
Were it up to the Fed, and not Congress, no one would ever have learned that such institutions as Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Royal Bank of Scotland, Societe Generale (GLE), and UBS (UBSN) were among those bellying up to the cash bar. The bank regulatory agency didn't want any of them stigmatized for having borrowed money to cover their inept management practices.
Even as the inexpensive money flowed in, banks refused to make loans that would have helped jumpstart the economy, starting with small companies that don't have billions in the bank to invest.
The federal budget for fiscal year 2010 is due next week. The Obama Administration announced today the president has banned the use of four accounting tricks widely used during the Bush Administration to hide the size of deficit projections.
But prepare yourself - revealing the true deficit might stop your heart.
The four tricks include
- Removing the revenue from the Alternative Minimum Tax reform. Despite the yearly and almost certain Congressionally authorized "patch" to the AMT, the White House would always presume the AMT would not be corrected for that fiscal year, overstating revenue.
- Excluding the cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
- Not counting as spending the Medicare reimbursements to physicians
- Failing to include expenditures related to disaster response and relief. The Obama Administration estimates those changes will result in budgets that are $2.7T deeper in the red over the next ten years. "The president prefers to tell the truth," (Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag) said,
"rather than make the numbers look better by pretending."
http://www.examiner.com/progressive-politics-in-national/obama-to-ban-budget-gimmicks
Increasing the deficit by $450,000,000 to expand the federal government to the culmination of a short term boost in jobs will do nothing but make more Americans rely on the federal government for support. We must not rely on the federal government to expand any further, it is already out of control.
$14,500,000,000,000 of deficit excess that will have to be repaid eventually shows America is on the wrong track.
Americans do not want the expansion of the federal government to employ a greater percentage of the unemployed. Americans do not want unemployment compensation to extend beyond a 6 month maximum period. Americans do not want Obamacare. Americans do not like the way Obama manages the federal government.
Americans are ready for a change of direction away from Obama's farfetched solutions.
American voters want the federal government to contract and restrict spending in all departments. American voters want a balanced budget in 2012 and beyond. American voters want fiscal responsibility in the correct collection of taxes to support the correct intended use. No more robbing Peter to pay Paul. No more IOU's in the Social Security Trust Fund.
Unemployment Compensation has continued way beyond realistic limits. A person can work for a company for 1 month and get unemployment benefits for over 2 years. Continuing unemployment benefits beyond 6 months is an expansion of the federal & state governments. America is not built on these farfetched solutions based on unlimited government expansion and unlimited borrowing. Nevada owes the federal government $750,000,000 due to unemployment benefits being exploited as an economic repair.
Social Security & Medicare has been pre-paid in advance through our payroll deductions for all workers. Upon retiring each covered participant must continue funding monthly Part A Hospitols & Part B Doctors. Optional prescription drug plans also need additional funding to be covered. If these plans are maintained by actuarial adjustments every 3 years, then the participants have paid in full for the benefits they are receiving.
Social Security Actuarial costs should be re-assessed yearly to retain the integrity of the trust fund to be able to support well defined retirement benefit limits. Changing the cost of Social Security & Medicare which is based on 7.35% employee and 7.35% employer contributions, will offset the fiscal integrity of the plan. How can Obama lower the employee contribution to 5.35% when the trust fund is already under funded to meet its long term obligations. Actuarial analysis is the only guidelines that will save these plans if it is implemented every year to maintain the funding of the current and future obligations based on the age of the current population.
Confidence will only be achieved when the American Voters are satisfied that the country is following the right track, including correct fiscal management and direction that a majority of the voters believe in.
Do we want 4 more years of this?
Gary Cruiser CRUISER4NEWS Facebook & Twitter
BTW. Boehner got 98% of what he wanted with the ceiling deal. This plan (largely tax cuts) is another 65+% Republican plan.
In short, the Republican did stand because the did not know the details of what was behind the words or President Obama. If President Obama really wanted the support and if this was a real "Presidential address", he would have reviewed with Republicans the details of the speech. Then Republicans would have applauded the parts they agreed with and remained silent for the parts they did not like. Instead, Republicans waited until they received the details of the plan, and now some of them are voicing agreement with parts of the plan. They needed to be able to know the details in order to show approval or disapproval. It was that simple.
Obama, is doing his best to work with business to create a fair tax system so they can do business. It is not us employees that give the highest percent of taxes--just do your research--it is a fact.
Yes, the military has to be shaved down but not National Security. I think a little less, giving of American troops to aid foreign countries that have no desire to be democrate is in order.
Why die, so some religious nut thinks he will go to heavan and screw 72 virgins--is that not a Heavan of perferts. Let the loons kill each other, let's find a way to live without their oil. They would soon be begging us for trade.
But back to the main topic I don't trust the Republicans to support anything that shows how 'empty' they are with ideas. They want Obama to fail, that is there mission. F' those that voted them in to represent their needs, the R party is only interested in supporting it's rich benefactors. They have shown it over and over again.
Why not just rename themselfs the United Lobbist of America, it is more truethful.