Meet the New Republican Plan to Create Jobs – George W. Bush, Recycled
By louisehartmann
Falling behind in the polls – Mitt Romney is expected to lay out his plan for job creation today at an event in Nevada. And like all the other plans put forward by his colleagues on the right – Romney’s job creation plan sounds more like a Christmas list for millionaires, billionaires and transnational corporations, and less like an effective way to get Americans back to work.
The plan is complete with massive tax breaks for US-based corporations - which already pay the second lowest taxes as a percent of GDP in the entire developed world – and are today sitting on more than two trillion dollars in cash and not hiring anyone. Romney will also call for the elimination of the Capital Gains tax so that trust-fund babies like Paris Hilton and Wall Street speculators can get a free ride in American while just sitting on their butts by the pool collecting dividend checks. And of course – Romney will take aim at bringing down those pesky federal regulations that make sure the air we breathe, food we eat, and water we drink are safe. That’s also what House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said are the priorities of House Republicans, as Members of Congress head back to Washington, DC and Republicans begin their assault on the EPA.
So, meet the new Republican plan to create jobs – George W. Bush, recycled.
Comments
#2
whats with the feed, keep getting ustream producer comment, not on local tv.
#3
Sorry about the problem with the new Ustream upgrade, we are working on it.
#4
Way to keep the left vs right false paradigm going Thom. Oh wow, the neo-con Romney is similar to the neo-con Bush, never mind that your boy Obama is pretty much just like them too. I know that freedom is scary to some of you, but if you're not talking about Ron Paul as the only viable person that has effective solutions to actually DO something to change the dire state that the US is in then you're a fraud, or openly anti freedom. Which one are you Thom, a fraud or anti freedom?
#5
Hi Thom. I find ourselves in a very bad way especially when all the Republicans want to give tax breaks to the millionaires and decrease regulation! Didn't work when Bush was in office so what makes them think it will work now? Of course the average person listens to Limbaugh or watches Fox News which makes every idea sound like it would work. By the way, did you know about the Oakland Bay Bridge being outsourced to China where 3,000 workers worked on it for months and has just now been shipped back to Oakland on a voyage of about 6500 miles! Everyone is talking about jobs and here is an in your face story about jobs being shipped overseas.
I would love to see you interview an economist by the name of Manfred Max Neef, author of Economics unmasked, from power and greed to compassion and the common good.
Another suggestion is William R Catton's: Overshoot, the ecolgical bases of revolutionary change.
Thanks Betsy Shipley
I
#6
OK, I noticed that today on my tv in AR via Dish Network/Free Speech. Was wondering if someone was trying to block Thom's signal.
#7
We all know that the rich are very afraid of losing their money. We also know that rich people have ways to make more money easily. They have friends who have friends and they all stick together when it comes to money.
This guy is one more of the bunch who definitely wants to make sure that his $$$$ are going to be kept safe for a long, long time.
I can’t see anything in this person or the promises that he makes that might benefit the working class Americans who struggle to make ends meet.
No good, no good!
Greetje
#8
Mitt Romney said something about President Obama trying to put a nickel in a pay phone and it's the smart phone age, or something of the sort. He said the Presidents plan doesn't work. How would he know? The Republicans keep proposing the same old plan that was in effect under GW Bush and we can all see where that's gotten us. If we had a "free and truthful press" the majority of Americans would know that. As it is, at least they've learned enough to want most of Congress out of office next year, so that's a start. Now, we just have to Keep Obama in and to do that he will have to be really clear when he speaks to the people about what his proposals are, what they will accomplish and also why the Republican's plans won't work. As far as I can tell, the Republicans haven't laid out anything that would "create" jobs, just more tax cuts for their wealthy buddies, but they are very sly and mainly bash President obama vs saying anything of value and then they applaud them. For what?
#9
I'm hoping the Whitehouse will build a Mangrove Exhibit so we can sell our $7200 crop before our teeth fall out.
XXXXX
#10
That has been the Republican plan for more than 30 years. The only difference is that there is no longer anyone to oppose them. The man we elected to mitigate their publicy stated plans to destroy America just up and disappeared on his country. That man's name is Barack Obama. Has anyone seen him since the Inaguration?
#11
Isn't it funny how we as a society use polling results to tell us anything at all about how the country should govern itself, especially when one considers that a poll involving a bunch of sleeping Americans reveals only their dream world.
#12
Reply to Madbeats. Nothing is so simple as just a yes or no. Your comment is full of sarcasm and self-serving arrogance. It serves no useful purpose, except to you. The ignorant always attack those with different points of view. That attack dog mentality only leads to fanaticism and delusional reasoning. It's not about Mr. Hartmann. It's about America which has been betrayed by all three branches of government as well as the fourth estate. At least Mr. Hartmann believes in what he says. What do you believe in besides vindicitive divisiveness?
#13
@ scarrino,
Actually some things are as simple as a yes or a no. How is my comment full of self-serving arrogance??? You said: “the ignorant always attack those with different points of view.” The implication being that I attacked someone, but as you can clearly see there was no such attack just an honest question to someone I believe contributes to the status quo and to someone I believe is not as interested in solutions as he is his own Ideology . You seem to be the one doing the attacking.
And actually my question was about Thom. But it's good to see your acknowledgement of the failure of government and the media.
In my opinion Thom pretty much only believes in what he says if it benefits himself or his ideology, which I think is just fine, people are free to express what they believe. What do I believe in besides vindictive divineness??? LOL! The “vindictive divisiveness” is funny. Anyway, I thought it was pretty clear what I believe in, but not clear enough for you apparently, I believe in freedom to life, liberty and property. What about you?
#14
I just don't get it, why are you complaining about there not being jobs, when there's jobs all over the place? I mean, kids can join the military and help it wage illegal wars on innocent people all around the world. I mean, what's wrong with that? They give you free ammunition for crying out loud, how cool is that? And they spray insecticides on you that might deform your unborn children, thus creating high-paying jobs for doctors. You do want to create high-paying jobs, don't you? But if the military isn't your thing, you could get a job working in the porn movie business that Texas Governor Rick Perry put his money into. He's a Christian, so it must be a Christian porn business and that can't be bad. But if you're just too holier-than-thou to work at Governor Perry's Porn business, you can work in the fracking industry, poisoning people's groundwater. Don't like the oil and gas industry? I don't see why, but fine, no problem, you can get a job posting republican and tea party talking points on liberal web sites and blogs. Not into politics? Still no problem, you can be gainfully employed working as a greeter at WalMart. Not into cheap plastic crap made by slave and prisoner labor in China? That's fine, you can be a civilian contract employee of the military in one of the sunny paradises where we wage war, such as Iraq. But if you are too good to make $500,000 a year plundering foreign countries and killing more innocent people, you can get a job for Halliburton- they have cheated and defrauded our government out of so much money that even if they don't get one more contract they will be solvent for a thousand years. Don't want to work for Halliburton because you're afraid Dick Cheney will ask you to go duck hunting? I don't blame you, I'd be afraid of that, too, especially now that he's gone so senile that he's published a book bragging about all of the crimes he has committed. Not smart. Anyway, I tell you what, you can get a job with Monsanto, cheating poor people around the world out of the simplest of all rights- forcing them to pay a huge corporation every time they drink the water that falls on their roof when it rains. Afraid the little people will get mad and riot the way they did in South America? Chicken. But I suppose there is a case to be made for that. Ok fine, you can get a job for Archer Daniels Midland creating genetically altered foods. Don't want to raise your kids in a world where a few huge corporations own the rights to all food and all of the food is toxic? Fine, you can get a job with Phizer, creating asthma medications that help asthmatics in the short term but make asthma worse in the long term. What, a few of your relatives have asthma and you resent the fact that the inhalers they use are purposely designed to be addictive and unsafe to get off of? Well, I really don't get why that's a problem, but ok, I'm very easy to work with even though I don't see what you're complaining about. Let's get you a job somewhere else. You could work for the government, snooping into everyone's emails to make sure they're not terrorists. Don't like the internet? No problem, neither do I, I never use the internet. How's about this, you could work for one of the private contractors with the American government, shipping innocent prisoners all over the world to be tortured or killed just for the fun of it. What's that, you don't think torture is all that much fun? I have to tell you, the way you're complaining and finding fault, I'm beginning to wonder whether you want a job. But I'll keep trying to help you out, because I'm a fair and balanced republican. Ok, how's this: you can get a job for any huge corporation, firing and laying off people and offshoring their jobs. What's that, you say the reason you're out of work is because some republican laid you off and offshored your job? Careful there, bubba, you're treading on very thin ice: you don't want to criticize the job creaters. I could get you a job in a lawyers office, running fake signature machines to help banks illegally reposses houses to which they have no legal right. What's that, the reason you're homeless is because your house was illegally foreclosed? Ok, now you're just flat irritating me with all your whiney complaining. But I want you to know that I am not prejudiced against homeless people and other lazy, shiftless, morally bankrupt people like all of your relatives. I will still try to help you find work. How's about a job supplying hookers, drugs, and underage girls to democrat congressmen so we republicans can blackmail them into voting our way? No, don't tell me, you don't want that job because you have made up some phony moral reason why you think blackmail is wrong. Ok, that's it, I just realized that Karl Rove was right: you don't want to work.
#15
Bit by bit and inch by inch, more and more people are realizing that businessmen have too many conflicts of interest to be trusted running the government. When given a choice to cater to profits or do what is best for the government, they'll consistently flip for business. The only conversations the leash holders have allowed their politco minion to conduct involve disparaging change or offering us "Heads I win - Tails you lose" solutions that are designed to make some well positioned, well conected business a bundle more of our cash.
What we most need to hear is about adopting a single-rate/across-the-board import tariff on all goods and services that is comparable to pre-Reagan era import tariffs. We need to scrap the FTAs and cull the pro-business tax codes addopted from Reagan on. Then comes the cat fight over the Glass-Steagle Act, the Sherman Act, the Wagner Act, and boatloads of legislation to bolster the voice of labor. We've ignored the economic axion of "Wages = Demand" for far too long.
We live in a country rich with natural resources, hard working people, and an established infrastructure. We're faltering now because banks and multi-national corporations steadfastly refuse to ante up and pay their share. They're too fixated on fleecing the lot of us. We need to change things around so that they'll make better profits by bringing production back to the states. That's when they'll invest here and we'll see us rise as a self-sustaining economy.
The GOP's plans have consistently been about shooting more holes in the bottom of our jobs boat. The Democrats were right to patch the hole with borrowed funds yet that alone is unsustainable. Paying businesses to repatriate their monies is idiotic. They'd set up a peanut shell game to pick up some cash and still not invest in local production. We need to tighten up on imports and make domestic production look more attractive. That costs Uncle Sam nothing and actually generates revenues through both imports and the resulting domestically produced products.
Businessmen who boastfully say, "Forget about those jobs. They aren't coming back. They're gone forever!" are economic terrorists and should be regarded as such. Look at the items on our shelves. Even if we're bringing robotic lines back to the states, at least we'd be producing some of the stuff we use while stimulating our own economy. Against common belief, Americans can actually be trained to run automated lines as well as the guys in Guam, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc.
#16
I swear the Republicans will cling to their trickle down madness until the top 1% have 99.9% of everything. I'm gonna find a clay pot and bury some coins in my back yard, the self-serving economic barbarians like Romney are getting to close for comfort.
Any assault on the EPA is an assault on our FREEDOM.....by FREEDOM KILLERS. The Republicans have already proven their ability in killing our jobs, might as well go after the FREEDOM to breath clean air and eat safe food, after all if the Koch's wallets buldge a little more....mission accomplished.
#17
You know, Reagan was right: big government IS the problem. And here's the solution: our government should stop paying all of the republicans in congress- AND all of the democrats who vote republican, which is almost all of them. No paychecks, no benefits, no retirement, no health care, no paid parking, no vacations and junkets, no free phone service, no free mailing service, no paid staffers, no free meals, no free water, no free gym. In fact they should be charged $15,000 every time they pray in the Congressional Chapel. And free air to breath while they are in session? No ____ing way! They can pay for that air, to prove how much they hate big government. In fact, in our friendly willingness to bend over backwards for the republicans, let's confiscate all of the their back pay, too. That way they can undeniably claim the moral highground: "I have not accepted even one penny from big government. (Nearer my God, to Thee.)"
#18
An Alternative to Capitalism (if the people knew about it, they would demand it)
Several decades ago, Margaret Thatcher claimed: "There is no alternative". She was referring to capitalism. Today, this negative attitude still persists.
I would like to offer an alternative to capitalism for the American people to consider. Please click on the following link. It will take you to an essay titled: "Home of the Brave?" which was published by the Athenaeum Library of Philosophy:
http://evans-experientialism.freewebspace.com/steinsvold.htm
John SteinsvoldPerhaps in time the so-called dark ages will be thought of as including our own.--Georg C. Lichtenberg
#19
Hi Thom,
I haven't read or heard Romney's whole speech, but what I heard on NPR was that he was going to cut taxes on interest for savings & eliminate the Captital Gains Tax for......the middle class. I don't know if this was a clever ruse for giving the plutocrats more money, but NPR usually doesn't let the politicos manipulate them.
Speaking about manipulated, I was unhappy with your reporting about the supposed Republican shutdown of airport construction & cessation of airline taxes bytheir refusal to pass the Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2011, Part IV. I was extremly disappointed & disillusioned whe I found out that the TRUTH of why these aspects of the Federal Govt were frozen was NOT due to short-sided Republican refusal to approve unions (yes, the Republican dominated HR's language didn't reaffirm unions, but it didn't overtly prevent them either), rather it was the Democratic dominated Senate that froze these govt operation because of a pique about some restrictions, which turned out to be OPTIONAL, as SECTrans LaHood could ignore the Republican directive. The House never came back into session, as you repeatably demanded in your show, because it was the Senate DEMOCRATS that shot themselves in the foot. That was one reason Lahood & Obama could never "shame the Republicans" to return to Washington. After the Democratic dominated Senate had an adult moment, it simply past the legislation & everything went back to normal.
I am a Progressive. In fact, I believe in many socialist ideas & I am an activist. But I didn't watch your show after your presentation of this misinformation, for over a month because I felt you violated a trust with your viewers; to report accurately & truthfully about the news & make honest commentary. I like you Thom. I believe in almost all the same ideals & visions you do. I belive in the good work you & your wife is doing with abused children, especially those with ADD/ADHD. I have helped to raise children that have had disabilities due to abuses to infants. The propaganda of the right-wing media & how so milions of Main Street Americans believe that shit sickens me. However, if you believe in a idea so strongly that you'll bend the truth to match your views & manipulate your watchers, you're no better than Fox or Limbaugh. I promise you if you EVER blatently misrepresent the truth, I will never give you another chance. You've been warned (& you should thank me & apologize to your viewers!).
#20
The more things change, the more they remain the same.
#21
GOP plan ? Same old same old More corp cuts, loopholes. More deregulation. More wealth favoring policies. ALl that led us to Bush global crash 2008 & TARP joke on taxpayers, 799 Billion in Corp Welfare along with 28 yrs under Reaganomics Bush 1-2 GOP Cheney's unfunded huge debt and 2 long failed wars based on lies & war profits, jobs sent overseas with big Bush tax . 2 yrs 7 months is NOT enough time to undo all that toxic greeed. .
#22
There is only one way to grow an economy. That is for people to buy goods and services.
We gave money to the corporations. They gave big bonuses to their top executives. They paid off their creditors, the banks. NO JOBS CREATED!!!
We gave money to the BANKS. They gave big bonuses to their top executives. They put it in their vaults. NO CREDIT EXTENDED!!! NO JOBS CREATED!!!
If they had taken those hundreds of billions that they used to bail out corporations and banks and divided it evenly among all the people in this country that made less than $100K. That money would have done more to grow the economy than all their corporatist 'stimulus' plans.
If every time a corporation packs up and abandons a community. The local industrial development agency siezes their assets by right of imminent domain and forms an employee owned corporation out of the workers that were laid off and set them into competition with the company that abandoned them. That would grow OUR economy.
Every suggestion that has been put forward by liberals and moderates has been labeled 'socialist.' I say,"IF YOU ARE GONNA WEAR THE NAME THEN PLAY THE GAME!"
~;^}>
Superstition is harmful to Children and other living things
#23
Pulladigm, what you're talking about is trickle-up economics, where when the poor and middle class are helped out, the money still trickles up to the rich people, but on the way there, it helps the poor people and the middle class. Great idea! It'd be cool if we could take back the bailout money and do exactly that with it.
#24
Tell you what, madbeats: I will answer your question about whether Thom is a fraud or openly anti freedom, if you answer this question for me: do you still beat your dog?
Thom has been quite open in his frequent criticisms of Obama. I guess you're too busy criticizing Thom to listen to his radio show or read his books. But that's perfectly understandable, who has time to make sure their criticisms of other people are true, when they are too busy beating their dog?
I knew Thom over forty years ago and even then he was kind-hearted, incredibly intelligent, insightful, and well-informed, and unlike a certain person I could mention (madbeats)- who I am pretty sure still beats his dog- Thom has consistently made a lifestyle out of helping others. If you could just stop beating your dog for long enough to actually look into Thom's history, you'd find that he ran a shelter home for abused children. So, when's the last time you ran a shelter home for abused children? Oh right, sorry, I forgot you have been too busy beating your dog to do anything to help abused children.
So, how do you like being on the receiving end of flagrantly baseless accusations? By the way, do you still beat your dog? I'm just asking a perfectly fair question, I want to know if you still beat your dog. And don't give me any of that "I don't have a dog" stuff, because I think we all know you have a dog and you beat it.
Freedom is scary to Thom? Dude, if you would just stop beating your dog for long enough to do a tenth of the brave things Thom has done, you still wouldn't have the moral right to accuse him of anything. If you are any reflection of what Ron Paul would be like as president, I'm glad he's not going to get the nomination.
By the way, you still haven't answered my question: do you still beat your dog?
#25
So, madbeats, you say you weren't attacking Thom? Let's take a look at your exact words: "Which one are you, Thom, a fraud, or anti-freedom."
Yeah, you're right, that was just a perfectly nice, friendly, down-home question, the kind of question that friends ask each other all the time.
I agree that you believe in freedom, because you obviously feel free to make silly accusations based in your fantasies. By the way, do you still beat your dog? I'm just asking this perfectly nice, friendly, down-home question because I want to know. I think you probably do, but I would like you to verify it for me if you wouldn't mind answering this question like a friend. And please, try to be civil when you tell me whether you still beat your dog, because I just can't stand it when someone takes offense at my perfectly innocent, friendly remarks and questions.
I hope you don't feel that I'm attacking you. Do you still beat your dog? I like you and I'm sure if we sat down for a beer we'd agree on everything. Do you still beat your dog? I am not giving you contradictory messages here, and I am certainly not making claims about my attitude that aren't true, because I think of you like my best friend. I'm just asking if you still beat your dog, it's a perfectly innocent question, so I hope you won't attack me for asking it. Do you still beat your dog? I am glad to see your acknowledgment that some things are as simple as a yes or a no, so tell me yes or no: do you still beat your dog? I'm sure you agree that it's just an honest, reasonable question. I just want to know if you still beat your dog. I'm only asking because I, too, believe in freedom to life, liberty, and property. And also I believe in my right to ask if you still beat your dog. Well? Do you?
Thom's Blog Is On the Move
By webmaster
Hello All
Thom's blog in this space and moving to a new home.
Please follow us across to hartmannreport.com - this will be the only place going forward to read Thom's blog posts and articles.
Images of Thom
At Mondragon - both the mountain and the cooperative city - in Spain (written about in "Threshold" book)
From Cracking the Code:
"No one communicates more thoughtfully or effectively on the radio airwaves than Thom Hartmann. He gets inside the arguments and helps people to think them through—to understand how to respond when they’re talking about public issues with coworkers, neighbors, and friends. This book explores some of the key perspectives behind his approach, teaching us not just how to find the facts, but to talk about what they mean in a way that people will hear."
From The Thom Hartmann Reader:
"Thom Hartmann is a literary descendent of Ben Franklin and Tom Paine. His unflinching observations and deep passion inspire us to explore contemporary culture, politics, and economics; challenge us to face the facts of the societies we are creating; and empower us to demand a better world for our children and grandchildren."
From Screwed:
"I think many of us recognize that for all but the wealthiest, life in America is getting increasingly hard. Screwed explores why, showing how this is no accidental process, but rather the product of conscious political choices, choices we can change with enough courage and commitment. Like all of Thom’s great work, it helps show us the way forward."
A caller on Friday talked about "voting with your pockebook," and your answer was correct, but I'd suggest a concise comment that can be generalized to many things: "You can't vote with your wallet if it's empty." One corollary would allow a lesson on political spending - you get to vote until you run out of money. "One Dollar; One Vote" and you don't need a voter ID.