I should have figured that it would be impossible to keep the lid on Obama’s jobs plan until Thursday. It appears that Obama will be proposing a $300 billion package, bigger than I had expected, but not as big as I had hoped. Here’s what we know.
President Barack Obama plans to propose boosting job growth by injecting more than $300 billion into the economy next year mostly through tax cuts, infrastructure spending and direct aid to state and local governments.
Obama would call on Congress to offset the cost of the short-term jobs measures by raising tax revenue in later years. This would be part of a long-term deficit reduction package, including spending and entitlement cuts as well as revenue increases, that he will present next week to the congressional supercommittee charged with finding ways to reduce the nation’s debt.
Almost half the stimulus would come from tax cuts, which include an extension of a two percentage point reduction in the payroll tax paid by workers due to expire Dec. 31 and a new decrease in the portion of the tax paid by employers.
Obama is set to lay out his plans in a Sept. 8 address to Congress as unemployment remains at 9.1 percent more than two years after the recession’s official end. Payroll growth stalled last month… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Bloomberg>
Keith Olbermann covered the jobs crisis and discussed Obama’s plan with Sam Stein on Countdown.
I’m withholding judgment until I see exactly how much goes for what and when and just what “entitlement cuts” means. It must not reduce benefits for present or future recipients.
9 Responses to “Will $300 Billion Be Enough?”
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If there is even a hint of raising taxes on the elite, the Tea-publicans will reject it outright.
In Keynesian economics yes that would be enough. Depending on what the multiplier is (determined by the number of times the money is projected to purchase new goods and services) , that would turn into anywhere from $600B to $1.8T in new money.
I predict it will go absolutely nowhere. For all of their sabre rattling and talk about cooperation and working together, the GOP will shoot it down. Cantor and Bonehead want to meet with Obama ahead of time to “discuss it” and frankly, I hope he tells them to go to hell, but nor one single Republicans representative or senator will vote in favor of it.
I, too, am waiting for all the details of the proposal. If this figure includes little more than a whopping new round of tax cuts, I WILL BE PISSED! We need FEDERALLY-FUNDED, WORK-SPECIFIC, SHOVEL-READY JOBS for right NOW, not more timid incentives to try to get private industry to hire more!
When will the President- or anybody,If he prayed for realize — no matter what he plans– they will raise hell and refuse to accept—If he opens with prayer for rain in Texas– they would blast him–So why the heck is he even trying to placate the people who are his enemies–
Companies are cash rich, which means tax incentives to hire people will not be a motivating factor, to hire. Private corporations will not hire, so the government must. We need people working, with cash in their pockets to spend, to boost the economy. Early releases of the speech say (to me) that the President is counting to much on tax cuts to motivate a change. A Republican philosophy, which has failed to produce positive results, for 30 years.
If Congress doesn’t pass this, there is going to a serious uproar against the Repubs.
There comes a time when the collegial manager has to become a dictator in order to manage a crisis in a timely fashion. For Mr Obama, the time is NOW! He can’t fire the Board of Directors (the Congress) of this company (The United States of America)because that is up to the shareholders (the People), but he can sure fight tooth and nail for the majority shareholder’s (the People) rights. The obstructionist Republicans have to go!
And Cantor and Boener (sp?) wanting to sit down to discuss his plan? What a pile of crap. Mr President, respectfully, tell them to put their heads where the sun don’t shine! Don’t give them a preview — they’ll just have more ammunition readily available and try to wear you down. Let them find out the details when the rest of the country hears it.
The sooner Americans realise that they need to support their country by obstructing the Republican obstructionists right out of Congress, the sooner things can get on track. If you don’t vote in 2012, that is a vote for the Republican obstructionists. The Republicans have insulted you by calling you incapable of making decisions — make a decision and vote for a better country in 2012 with the Democrats. The Republicans have called you stupid and low-information voters — show them who is low-information (Republicans because they “misunderstood” or ignored your concerns in favour of their fatcat buddies). And it can’t just be at the federal level. You have to hold your state and local politicians accountable, and if necessary, take any legal means to put them in their place.
OK, I think rant is over for now.
It’s pocket change! Sort of like what I do at the end of each month to eat – I take my used recycling bottles in and buy a can of tuna – it keeps me alive, but just barely!