Obama was a bit more lively than usual (which wouldn’t be hard) in presenting his plan. What do you think of it? Will Republicans vote for it? Will it work or will it be more money down the stimulus drain? Will it help 50+ year old office workers for whom construction work isn’t an option? Will it help laid off factory workers whose jobs are never coming back no matter how much money is pumped in? Will this help companies who don’t hire more and produce more because demand is gone because of the recession? And so on? Or is the fed gov doing anything pointless at this point with this being an attempt to prop up Obama’s low ratings for next year’s election? Sound off!
The much-anticipated jobs plan President Obama laid out Thursday evening borrows a page from the tax package he negotiated with GOP leaders in December. In order to get the stimulus spending he wants, Obama proposed to give Republicans tax breaks they’ve supported in the past — with a promise not to increase the deficit. The $447-billion plan isn’t particularly novel, relying on familiar tax breaks, infrastructure projects and grants to state and local governments. The details, though, may not matter as much as how lawmakers respond to them. The bitterly partisan brinkmanship in Washington over the debt ceiling weakened the public’s already shaky confidence; reaching bipartisan agreement on even a modest jobs plan could help undo that damage. It’s a rare moment of political convergence for the president and his critics.
Here’s the text of the speech.
Isn’t that just the way?
Mid-week you are begging the bank to extend your overdraft, come the weekend you find $500bn in an old pair of jeans and go out partying.
Summarized: spend now and I’ll tell you later how lesser increase in spending sometime down the road will pay for it.
Beats perpetum mobile hands down.
Ok, let the grandstanding begin.
Its Washington folks.
Nothing’s going to happen with this bill.
It’s just going to kicked around while they all try to claim they’ve got a better idea.
I’ve got a great idea.
Lets empty out Washington for four years so we don’t have to pays for this party induced paralysis.
Lets try electing people not parties.
Nuke the site from space, I’ll expect the SS in the morning.
The election season is officially open! Let the BS flow.
Why does “same old same old” warrant a speech to a joint session? Oh, that’s right. It wasn’t a policy speech. First stump speech of his reelection campaign.
You know, I’m beginning to believe McCain might NOT have been worse…
If Obama wants it and Dems want it the GOP are against it even if they came up with it first.
The GOP doesn’t give a rats patoot what we need, they only want to get rid of Obama and get their man in office.
Why do we always have to wait for the plan?
Congress is asked to pass this jobs bill “tomorrow”, but the details on how to pay for it won’t be out until a week from Monday.
After agreeing to $1 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years, (where nothing was actually cut) we should now spend another $477 billion right now, and figure out how to pay for it next week. Presumably by more spending non-cuts over the next 10 years again.
Ok, I’m being a bit cynical. Do we at least get to read the bill before we pass it? Or do we have to pass it first to find out what’s in it?
Finally, does the President have the guts to veto the bill if it comes with earmarks attached?
i am far from Obama’s biggest supporter, in fact i was and am a Ron Paul man myself. however, i think Obama may have hit the nail on the head with the $4,000 credit to any business that hires someone that has been out of work for more than 3 months thing. even if the new hire proves to be incompetent, at least they still make a profit giving him or her a shot as long as they fire them before they make 4K. i’ve been out of work for over a year myself because they want 4 year degrees to sweep floor in an old folk’s home. i sold electrical supplies for 11 years, and lost my job in August of 2010. not much need for my training now as-such. half the properties i see are for sale, no new construction anywhere in CT. even on the homeowner front in Fairfield County (one of the richest areas of the country) its all remodels at best. anyone in the trade can tell you there is very little profit there.
as far as i’m concerned, Obama has done nothing right thus far, but at least this bill would be a step in the right direction.
as little faith as i also have in the GOP, i can only hope they get on board with this plan…
Why would you want one of 0bama’s tax breaks when next year he and the Democrats will single your company out in their usual whining about corporate tax breaks?
Will the infrastructure spending be shovel-ready this time?
Yawn.
More of the same from the tired has-been in the White House. He has become an irrelevance.
We have spent and spent and spent and spent, and we have absolutely zero to show for it except some extremely well paid off unions. It’s obvious now that Obama is completely and totally economically ignorant. The only thing he has done at all is supported unions and sustained financially strained government programs. In other words, in his entire presidency, he had only protected his own at taxpayer expense. Robbing peter to pay paul is not the way to govern.
just correcting a typo in my original statement in post #10, that should read ” i think Obama may have hit the nail on the head with the $4,000 credit to any business that hires someone that has been out of work for more than 6 months thing.” not 3 months.
Right on President Obama. We need work in Western Kentucky and we need it now not after some T-Party committee.
I have no money to spend and my wife works part-time at Walmart. I am retired and useless as far as a job goes unless you count websites as work.
If I added right about 34% approve. That doesn’t suggest Congress critters that want to get re-elected should touch this “plan”.
Well things certainly do need fixing up and improving, in the good old USA. But that’s been true, like forever. The thing is, why fix all the nation’s roads and bridges, if nobody has a job to go to, and needs these to drive on to work? It’ll just make it easier and cheaper for imported goods to reach Americans. Goods that cost them jobs, unless they work at the Ports, the stuff arrives at. Or the big box stores that sell it.
The thing is (again) that any significantly large job increase in America, is gonna bring down the DOW average. Because so much corporate profit is based on (or tied to) not having as much US labor costs, for its goods or services. Investment institutions have been screwing over the nation’s job market. But favoring businesses that use overseas labor. The VCR was invented in the US, by the Ampex Corp. But they couldn’t get banking for manufacture. So they sold the patent to JVC, in Japan. Then the banks were happy to loan JVC the capital they needed. So the story goes.
That’s the kind of “Stimilus” that America needs. Capital that the damn banks won’t supply American businesses, with American labor. And they’ll oppose any stimulus that competes with how they invest. So don’t expect Congress to pass any such think as an American Labor Capital Investment bill. That only works for Aerospace and defense corps. Weapons and planes. And there is already as many of those jobs, as there is likely to be. No new defense contractors need apply.
Does anyone ever take notice of Congress’ Tie fashions. These iridescent tie they now wear, are very probably pure silk. You don’t see ties like that being worn by anyone else except millionaires and billionaires. Even many of our foreign heads of state, don’t sport ties like these. Congressmen are really good to themselves these days. With all those shiny ties. And yes, the Prez and VP too. Maybe someone should look into the national tie budget. If money is so tight.
My Bosses reaction: There was nothing in that campaign speech that’s going to encourage or cause me to hire a single person.
Cherry On Top: He gave me a list of 3 more people to shit can tomorrow so he can fill the positions with 1 guy at minimum wage for part time.
Don’t really expect much of this. It creates no jobs unless you happen to be a union construction worker. I am not.
Why not say that he is suspending H-1B visas until American tech workers are back to work? That will create jobs for regular IT people.
I got another idea to let people keep their jobs:
1.) Give Gibson Guitars their wood back and stop this ridiculous investigation. Also repeal the Lacey Act.
2.) Drill oil. Obama’s EPA is still keeping American oil workers out of work.
3.) Repeal Sarbanes-Oxley. It costs companies billions to keep records on this.
If I was President, I would solve all problems. I would do nothing but veto BS my entire time in office.
As for war, if we are attacked, I will only recall all military personnel to their bases and wait for Congress to declare a war, not rush into Libya like Obama did. (We weren’t even attacked by Libya.)
We need a man like Calvin Coolidge in office today.
A friend’s reaction that has been unemployed for 1 year 4 months: So, this jackass wants me to go build a bridge or school. Okay, how the fuck am I going to do that when there is no vocational training in that plan?
He’s worked in an office his entire life and the most complex experience he has with manual labor is taking the garbage out.
If companies only get a $4,000 bonus by hiring people who have been out of work 6 months, what chance do you think you will have getting a job in the first six months?
Unintended consequence #1 is a guaranteed minimum length of time people will be on unemployment. Will people need to bother looking prior to six months?
Half of your unemployment benefits will be used up before any company will consider you for an interview. Doesn’t that sound like an idea only a politician would come up with.
well,
lets see..
1. the USA, raises material prices when we ship stuff over seas..Metals/wood, and so forth..
2. This affects prices in the USA..its not based on any logic or the INTERNATIONAL price of goods.
3. this has a STRANGE effect, mostly on the goods SHIPPED BACK to the USA.
4. why arent we basing our COSTS on international prices?
But we cant do that can we?
It would mean so much to those RICH persons to take a cut in pay. bUT THEY WOULDNT DO THAT, THEY WOULD RATHER cut EMPLOYMENT.
In what other nation is the BASE wage and top wages so WIDE..
But, they like the CHEAP wages over seas..MAYBE we can fix that..as many of those BOSS’s in other countries make a HELL OF A LOT LESS… And the prices of materials are lower..anyway.
Putting the USA market on the WORLD standard could Balance out many things..
I haven’t seen/heard/read the speech yet and I don’t plan to. This jobs issue has become a political issue. Everything said about it is a political issue now.
The government cannot create “real” jobs by direct spending programs that encourage hiring. Take the 4000 credit. You already saw the calculation by an employer: can I fire the guy before I spend 4000? Same with all the other direct support government programs. Its all a form welfare. Ok, on its own terms, but that term is welfare–not jobs.
Creating/repairing infrastructure is an exception==we get something in return for the money. All such programs should be supported. Not pork programs with bridges to no where but real infrastructure improvements. Coast to Coast–our Interstate Structures.
analysis: a Millionaire is currently employing 3000 people making a widget. He needs 3000 people to make those widgets based on the demand for those widgets in the economy. Now give that Millionaire a tax break or a subsidy to “create jobs.” How many more employees “should” that millionaire hire? The answer is zero. Tax breaks do not create jobs. Demand for the service product do. Yes, there can eventually be some kind of trickle downandaround stimulus but it is not direct.
What is needed is the creation of “new” industries that create new services or widgets that the public wants: like new green energy, like making our own clothes, toys, consumer goods instead of importing them from China. Supporting these types of activities is the only way to get America back to work.
I don’t see it happening. The PUKES in their personal avarice to extract their wealth in this fight to the bottom win with the failure of america as they have invested their capital funds in international markets.
You can’t fight the Borg until you understand the structure of their cube. Find the heart as blowing up unessential peripherals might be satisfying, but won’t stop them.
Eat the rich. VOTE ALL “NO NEW TAXES” POLITICIANS OUT OF OFFICE.
# 7 dcphill said, “The GOP doesn’t give a rats patoot what we need, they only want to get rid of Obama and get their man in office.”
Unlike the beneficient Dems who always vote for the best person to run our country. As long as that person is a Dem.
As discussed above, when government designs tax breaks and spending programs, they think that people and businesses will only use what they ‘need’ in the sense of fairness. In reality of course, they will make an effort to get every crumb + the other person’s crumbs.
My solutions are to begin a national campaign to educate every man, woman and child on home gardening/sustainable living to ease the pain of not having a two full-time income household with lower food costs. Secondly, I would encourage and provide free lifetime access to technical training that involves computers.
It was a good speech on what needs to be done.
Unfortunately, Boner decided to undermine the speech by tearfully having a press conference telling people not to watch it. What a fucking tool. Wish I could punch the mofo on the head.
Nevertheless, looks like a good plan but I fear the GOP is winning the effort to stop the recovery so they can sell their ‘greener pasture’ to the sheep.
Basically, make your pasture look greener by setting the neighboring ones on fire
The problem I see with the “get $4,000 credit if you hire someone who has been out of work 6 months” plan is that whenever I hear of a government plan that has a special requirement, I immediately think of how people with abuse the system.
In this case, I wonder about people who have only been out of work 3 months. Employers may now ignore them. In effect people are being told that it’s better to stay unemployed.
Will an employer, choosing between a better candidate (who has only been unemployed 1 month) and another who has been unemployed 7 months, choose the less qualified candidate?
Why the 6-month qualification? Why not just say anyone who is unemployed? Or pro-rate the tax credit according to the # of days unemployed?
If a large company laid off 5,000 employees a year ago, will it now get a big tax credit if it re-hires them?
Nice picture of the three crooks stealing your money, culture, liberty and future.
Am I wrong here? All this money is going into union jobs?
I didn’t watch the Sock Monkey. Can’t stand the sight of him.
Just wondering.
Liberals attack Rick Perry for calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme, and now Pres Obama gives him support by taking money from Social Security with another payroll tax cut.
Not sure how he can ask for more money when he wasted the last stimulus that had mostly the same things but with twice as much money.
The tax credit for finding a job. Perhaps the current recession is different, but generally employers are not going to look enthusiastically at workers who say Noone wants to hire me so the government will pay you $4000.