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Subscribe to RSS“Republicans quickly criticized President Barack Obama’s $447 billion jobs package for emphasizing short-term measures over long-term reforms, but they cautioned that they need to see the details and held out hope they could work with the president on pieces of his plan,” Roll Call writes. “The GOP’s response was unusually scattershot — hamstrung in part by the lack of details laid out by the president, particularly on how he intends to pay for the plan. And, as Obama and Congressional Democrats repeatedly noted, many of the ideas he put forward — like a proposal to cut the payroll tax for employees and small businesses — have previously been backed by Republicans in one form or another.”
“A little more than an hour before President Obama’s address to Congress on job creation, the Senate passed and sent him an overhaul of the US patent system that Obama has long endorsed as a way to promote innovation and put Americans back to work,” the AP writes. “Proving that Congress can, on occasion, put aside partisan differences, the Senate voted 89-9 for legislation that supporters say will streamline the patent process, reduce costly legal battles, and give the US Patent and Trademark Office the money it needs to process patent applications in a timely fashion.”
The Boston Globe: “A special congressional committee charged with reducing the growth of the federal debt by $1.5 trillion gathered for the first time yesterday, a largely ceremonial meeting that was big on displays of unity and commitment amid intense pressure to reach a bipartisan agreement.”
Rep. John Dingell (D) pens a Washington Post op-ed entitled: “Congress needs a fresh, bipartisan start.”
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Bachmann said...?
Why does anyone care anymore what 'Bachmann said', any more than we care about 'Palin said'?
Two zeros in the grand scheme of things.
Let's see the some balanced-approach media headlines, such as:
When will Republican leaders stop obstructing the recovery of our nation?
DO REPUBLICANS CARE ABOUT OUR NATION?
When will Republicans agree to create jobs? One job?
Republican Governors like to cut jobs, for example 600,000 public employee jobs, and shift the cash to their benefactors.
Rep. Bachmann wasn't even present for the President's address to the joint members of Congress, and yet she had her rebuttal all prepared....
It is time for the GOP obstructionist to go. Vote them out of office and let's get this country moving. The Democrats need to take a leadership role from now on or your job is in trouble too. The people want this country to succeed but the politicans are obstructing growth for working class americans.
I agree JoAnn Moundsville, it's time all the Democrats got on board with trying to turn this economy around.
right joanne, just like we had to vote out all those lefty fools in 2010 who weren't fulfilling the voters expectations. good thing the potus was on a four year election cycle.
Mo - I see your operative word is TRY. neither obama or congressional democrts did much in 2009 and 2010 to keep a focus on the economy. To bad for them.
american - I suspect the same thing will happen to all those obstructionist Republicans that were voted in in 2010. The people will vote them out for doing nothing to create jobs in this country. Their answer to this jobs crisis is to do nothing except cut taxes further. Well, we've had huge tax cuts now for going on 10 years and it isn't creating any jobs. Demand creates jobs. Since almost 10% of our populations is unemployed (with that percentage being closer to 17% real unemployment) demand is way down. So a tax cut will not get an employer to hire one more person.....customers will however. So go ahead and be smug about the 2010 elections. Those elections are not a predictor of the 2012 elections. I predict Democrats recapture the House and President Obama is re-elected. Additionally, if Perry is the Republican nominee, the president wins by a landslide and the Democrats gain over 50 seats in the House and another handful in the Senate. Perry is a dangerous outlier who will destroy this country with his crony capitalism.
The Rumored $300 BILLION "Jobs plan" ballooned to $447 BILLION overnight.
And yes, the big questions are:
1.) Will it work???
Lack of detail at this point tells us that there isn't much detail available. In other words, let's just throw money at the problem and hope it does something. I also notice the fact that this seems to center on infrastructure spending.
Know up front that you don't build bridges and highways with a shovel. this is highly skilled labor. Heavy equipment operators, welders, ironworkers, cancrete finishers, carpenters, engineers.
So who gets this work?? Only those who have the expertise to do the work. That seems to leave a lot of Americans on the outside looking in.
2.) How on earth are we going to pay for an additional $447 BILLION in deficit spending?? Obama wants to pay for it years from now. (when he is long gone) His spending is so out of touch with reality, he is actuially stealing from future administrations to shore up his failed policies. This crap needs to be stopped now.
Congress should demand immediate cuts to pay for this "plan". Dollar for Dollar right now...immediately.
You're freaking out about $447 billion in a jobs plan? Puleeze, it should be larger -- We could raise $6 million from the top 25 hedge fund managers just from ending capital gains loopholes. As the president said, we must get priorities in order. For progressives (and hopefully everyone) that should include drawing down the wars. The daily cost of the Iraq war was $720 million, it's gone down, but you can see how easy it would be to get $447 billion.
The real story is the Teapublicans have been caught off guard. They are being offered the olive branch once again. But they want time for "strategery" on how they can obstruct without taking on more water after things like the Paul Ryan Hood plan and the Tea Party Downgrade. Of course they need the details before they can figure out how to take without giving.
The way this should go down is what ever is required to pay for something, cannot be separated from that something. If the GOP/TP want the corporate tax rate decreased from 35% to 25%, they must agree to ending loopholes and subsidies (corporate welfare) first.
If they want adjustments to Medicare, it's likely to be negotiating power for lower prescription drug prices. Big Pharma isn't going to like that.
If the GOP/TP wants more spending cuts, they will have to agree to increased revenue to pay for the jobs plan in the form of letting the Bush tax cuts expire for the richest 2%. I believe it's a 60/40 proposal, once again more in cuts than in revenue, and more than fair.
And if the GOP/TP tries to take and not give, the things they want will be withdrawn. This time the President will excercise his "bully pulpit" rights and will travel the country and take his case to the America People.
Throw the treasonous Teapublicans out.
true - letting the obama tax cuts expire for the top 2% only adds about $800 billion in revenue over 10 years. Eliminating all of the tax cuts will add about $3.5 trillion in revenue over ten years. Not exactly chump change, but does obama have the balls to do it? Or is all he is interested in is re-election?
I am sure that big pharma wouldn't mind lowering drug costs if someone else paid for all the research and development costs regardless of FDA approval.
Please do keep on dreaming about how you will get someone else to pay your bills, charity will only go so far.
Cicero once made the observation on the declining roman empire when he said...
american -- All the president said, and has been saying, is to take a balanced approach. Don't spin it, including your assumptions about me -- I have always provided for myself and even others. BTW, Adam Smith wrote that capitalism only works with ethics and charity.
down with gop and their puppet masters! it's time to stand for america! it's time to do what is right! no more complaining, no more tax loop holes, no more special tax rates for the rich!
let's get this country back to work and let's do it now! and if your rreps don't follow the leader then kick them out!
This is a great Plan, The American Recovery Act. I hope the President just keeps hammering it home. It's time for the Republican-Tea Potty to poop or get off of the pot.
Parts of the act will happen and parts won't. I hope the republican leaders stand strong and do not cave. They can not trust this president, the cost of this thing is growing by the minute and he said himself he is not done.
If they pooped Job1 they'd disappear, because that's what their full of. And if they get off the pot they can't stand on their own they have to have the Kock brothers or Fox (aka tea people GOP republicans) steady them or they'd fall down. So they just have to sit there and take the beating the President and the Democrats are going to give them.
The Republicans are being a little coy about what they say in discussing Obamas speech for they realize that they already have their foot in their mouth and too much talk will bite it off.
How can there be this much insanity in one spot??? Every dime spent by the goverment is either produced by taxation of by borrowing........ This president more than any other in history is breaking the bank of this entire nation; and many of you wish him to continue??? Really??? As a rule - a public sector job takes money out of the tax revenues and returns a fraction back - a private sector job does not take money out of the tax revenue and puts a fraction in. Let us use 2 employees - a puiblic and a private both making 100K a year. The public sector employee takes 100K out of the tax revenues and returns roughly 40K - a net loss of 60K; the private sector job creates a gain of 45K - duh....
Jake - You can't have a private sector job without demand in the economy. The government can create demand in the economy thus setting the backdrop for private companies to hire workers.
The President was conciliatory, he was respectful, he was open to compromise, he was focused on reaching across the aisle to create a plan the Republicans would pass that would help create jobs. There is no reason for Republicans to get in Obama's face. Either they should pass this, come up with their own plan or prepare to lose their seats in 2012. End of story.
Amy - I agree with you but Republicans have a strategized that by not allowing the president a win on any program that would lower the unemployment rate, they will be able to defeat him in 2012. It is not to their advantage to do anything for the millions of unemployed in this country. What the president should do is travel all over the country with his jobs plan and tie it around the necks of the Republicans making it very plain that it is Republicans who are preventing American people from going back to work. It's the president's best strategy againts the Republicans and it puts them on the defensive having to defend their position of doing nothing to help our economy recover.
He was full of s hit and everything that came out of his mouth was a lie
It sure looks that way, doesn't it Laurie? The Republicans still send pork to their home districts, but claim the federal government can't possibly do anything to help lower unemployment across the country.
openmind - Now your comments sure don't promote the open mind approach that your handle denotes. Hmmm...perhaps a change is in order one way or the other.
I was watching Al's show and he had a Congressman (I can't remember from which state) on there and they were discussing the Payroll Tax and the Congressman said that we should do away with it because we didn't have the funding or in others words to borrow the money for it and I thought to myself, if they have money that was borrowed for the big tax breaks for wealthy, then I take it they just want the middle class to do with out. That's pretty sad in my book!!!!!
Politics, schmolitics. What is supposed to be a mundane debate conducted in good faith by public servants from among the common people is instead an exercise in ideological obfuscation. Does anybody remember the headlines from earlier this summer? WE DON'T HAVE ANY REAL MONEY! The entire economy is artificial, fourteen figures' worth, and the Chinese and the Saudis are getting rich off our greed while we flail away just trying to service the interest.
Democracy, my ass. These people are appointed, not elected, by the PACs and the corporate boards, who couldn't give a hoot whether this country is run by socialists or fascists or prestidigitalists, as long as their personal fiefdoms are secure. And the middle class just follows along like a bunch of cattle, punching ballots for cynical anti-democratic operatives who just might help them hang on to their personal advantages, whatever they are. Never mind whether our hyper-inflated way of life is ethically, morally or environmentally defensible, or what shape this old world might be in for our grandchildren to live in.
Democrats are selling big government so the unions and the bureaucrats can keep their baseless perqs. Republicans want us to think it's God's will that we squander everything we touch as long as the bombs keep rolling off the assembly lines until Jesus comes back.
To those of you who say, "love it or leave it", up yours. I sound off like this because I can, and my freedom to do so is worth exercising until these cardboard cutout limelight junkies take that away too.