Why Republicans may throw their support behind the President’s job plan...
With the President set to present his job creation plan to a joint session of Congress tonight – he’s already getting some bad news from economists. Early reports indicate the job’s plan will cost between $300 and $400 billion – with less than half going to actually rebuilding our infrastructure – and the rest devoted to tax cuts and an extension of unemployment benefits. But economists are warning the President that his plan will likely do very little to turn the economy around.
The labor economist at the Brooking Institute – Gary Burtless – said, “If we’re talking about whether the package is big enough to…start making a dent, it’s probably going to fall short of that goal.” And Nigel Gault – the chief economist as HIS Global Insight said about the President’s plan, “The kick to growth is going to be pretty small. It will add substantially less than 1% GDP growth in 2012.” Now that they know it will do very little to improve the economy – expect Republicans to suddenly throw their support behind the President’s job plan.
That way they can keep up the illusion they care about jobs – while actually doing nothing to improve the economy before the 2012 election. And it will make it impossible for him to pull a Harry Truman and run against a "do-nothing Congress."
Comments
A wise man surrounds himself with wise counsellors, a foolish man ignores their advice.
A proverb by leighmf
Given sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine.
Pig thrusting sounds like a strange form of animal husbandry to me.
President Obama's plan does not protect our economy and jobs. It merely prolongs the bleeding. Money spent on tax cuts and infrastructure will not return to us the 40,000 manufacturing companies that departed over the past 10 years. Protectionism used to be a patriotic chore.
I think it is unlikely that any Republicans can support the Presidents plan.
Their message is that government is the problem. That Democrats are the problem.
It is an idealogical fight now. No more illusions.
The Aristocracy has decided that it wants it's money back.
there's no reason for a real jobs plan to cost anything. let's do this:
1) stop issuing hundreds of thousands of work visas each year to legal immigrants who, in contradiction to the corporate-conservative myth, don't actually have exotic technical skills that can't be found or developed in the unemployed american population. cost: 0$
2) enforce existing laws against companies employing illegal immigrants. cost: 0$ since enforcement costs would be paid by the fines
3) overturn free trade deals with countries that have much lower labor rates and bring back a fair tariff system based on relative labor costs and pollution penalties. cost: 0$
Enact the entire "Make It in America" legislative package.
I definitely agree with you...........I know that the Democrats tried to repeal the tax cuts given to companies to move their businesses and that was Filibustered.......Unless we get atleast 58-60 Democrats in the Senate, nothing is going to happen - the Repubs will lose the House in 2012..........but, gridlock until the election and who knows what is going to happen after that - Obama needs to get rid of Bill Daly...I think he was brought on to attract the Independents but it hasn't worked..
The only jobs plan that can work, is one involving setting tarrifs on all imported goods. And the tarrifs have to be high enough to accurately reflect the fact that Asian countries use slave labor, prisoner labor, and peasant labor, have no workers rights, no benefits, no paid vacations, no health care or other insurance, and no environmental laws. The plain truth is that if all of these costs were factored into the cost of imported goods, then goods made in America would be cheaper because goods made in America don't have to be shipped halfway around the world.
I know a foolproof way to get the republicans in congress and the supreme court to agree to creating huge tarrifs. And frankly, it baffles me that no one else seems to have thought of it. Here's what we do: every one of the afore-mentioned republicans will be given $200 million in tax-free cash in exchange for voting in favor of America. Oh, and you'll have to give Pat Robertson $200 million, too, and immediately after receiving the payment, Robertson will have a Divine Revelation that God loves gay people. And Rick Perry will also require an additional recognition of his unique contribution to America: he will need to be given the lifetime position of Porn Czar, overseeing the multi-billion dollar porn industry to make sure that it follows strict Biblical principles. Perry will be given a lifetime supply of vitamin E and ginseng, and charged with personally inspecting all porn actresses. That should shut him up for a very long time.
But that's bribery, you say? Oh come on now, bribery is such a controversial word. Let's just call it, lets see now, it has to have just the right sound to it, let's call it, "Cumshaw Reparations for America's Patriots," or CRAP for short.
I think the thing that bother me most is the payroll tax cuts. It's a backdoor way for some future moron in the WH to say with all honesty that SS is broke.
Obama is tricksy SOB.
the fact that most low/no information voters still think it's the republicans going after SS/Medicare/Medicaid just show how little one learns watching the TEEVEE propaganda.
I bet most of America doesn't know that there's a Supercongress with no accountability to the American people sitting right now, ready to slash and burn these programs.
We've been had and are going to continue to be had until people spend as much time participating in this democracy as they do watching their favorite TEEVEE shows. And I'll tell you the network have some loolapoloosahs coming up to titillate our hatreds and esp to entrench misogyny:
10 Revolting TV Shows That Need to DieTelevision influences our culture and mental health. Here are shows that we need to kill like a virus.
NO GOP will not do a thing for jobs GOP vow # 1 is Break Obama Lets be real !!
President Obama just gave the Republicans their opening to win the next Presidential race. He threw away his argument of a Republican do nothing congress. I was waiting for Preident Obama to declare with the stroke of the pen to require that all government spending be limited to "made in America".
Give the President a break sure it is not big enough its going to pass at least its something and the reboblicons they would just laugh off anything else.. And after its said and done maybe somepeople will get to go back to work and some unemployed can keep theirselves fed for awhile.And maybe we can keep a rational person in the Presidency for another 4 yrs and maybe we can get a majority someday, at least at this point in Americas life it seems to be our only hope for survival.I would have to say it is all the man could ask for without gridlocking their dumbasses again!!! I will get a hold of my congress person and vote for Our President again.........plz do the same!!!!!!
Mr. Obama has not stood his ground on any issue to date. He has compromised every position he says he stands for. Republican leaders in Congress say the destruction of the President is their primary goal. Those members of Congress who believe that destroying a President takes precedence over winning the wars or creating jobs, rational health care, and a stable economy at home have dominated the political agenda for years. The President has yet to show he believes in his own rhetoric enough to stand and deliver. It really doesn't matter what he says. Until now the end product is shaped by the opposition, not the President. Mr. Obama has not put up much of a fight on any issue. He simply disappears after his fine rhetorical speeches and does not follow through. He just hasn't shown he is capable of governing.
They already have their money. They just want all of yours and mine too. It seems the Congress is trying to create a form of economic slavery. The irrational, nation-destroying actions of Congress speak more loudly than the President's words.
Thom's theory is certainly a possibility but given the republican revulsion for anything, "Obama," I think the chance of cooperation is slim to none. These right wing scoundrels know the media will spin the illusion they really care about jobs, no matter how much ECONOMIC VANDALISM they commit.
President Obama's speech was filled with good tone although I have the same concerns about payroll tax cuts as Kassandra, #12.
Why not go epic in economic rescue at this point though? The President has to shake off that current republican stink of....cut, cut, cut and instead spend like the Reagan and the Bush kingdoms did, except spend on peace and prosperity, no more war and share the wealth this time.
David, I think you're on to something here....now if I can only stop laughing long enough to hunt and peck! Seriously though it all makes great sense, we all know the republicans have OCD when it comes to the "God Almighty Dollar" so if this is what it takes to get the SOBs to vote in favor of America and skip the k street job, so be it. Although I think $100 mill is enough, and still tax it...no loopholes. One more thing, given the history of figures like Robertson I think he might like to share in Perry's lifetime position. Great idea!
Personally think Obama used an old method to get the cranks to move. “Give someone enough rope and they will hang themselves.”
The GOP hung themselves with their deficit fiasco. If they don't cooperate, they know, they will NOT be re-elected.
They also know with sour grapes candidate, like Perry, they better clean out their mouths, with some badly needed soap........
Maybe this time, in order to qualify to bid on one of the infrastructure upgrade projects, it is with the understanding that first you are a U.S. company that pays it's business/income taxes, then all of your labor will be U.S. citizens (including the project engineers), next all of the steel will be U.S. manufactured, and the concrete, and the heavy equipment, oh, and the financing, etc.
Then, when everyone starts to spend their wages perhaps they could be "really" encouraged in the various media to buy more "made in America" stuff. Raising a few tariffs up to reasonable levels would help with this.
In rep[ly to scarrino.
It is not that he is not capable
He is just a part of the same corrupt system. Corrupt from top to bottom, from inside out.
I don't beleive anything is going to change as of yet ( or ever) until the money "speaks" the loudest. Sometimes I think what would it look like if a 100 million folks give just $100.00 each to a candidate, could we buy a politician for ourselves?
Nothing will change until the voters buck the system and vote against the dollars this time....If you continue to vote for Republican or Democrat you will lose either way. Make a change this time and try a third party candidate...like Green? But don't keep voting for Obama just because you think he is the lesser of two evils. Obama does not deserve our vote. He is only looking out for the interests of Wall Street and not the majority of other hard working or retired Americans. Actions...not words!
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Well if the Republican't congress was populated with rational members, such an argument is quite persuasive, however, as seen with the debt ceiling debacle, the Republican't's are anything but rational. There seems to be enough Republican't congress members that don't want to do anything the President proposes that it even stymies the Republican't leadership policies. Though on the other hand, Obama has shown that he's reluctant to say anything substantial or confrontational in campaigning or in the Oval Office, so the whole campaign season is probably going to be a year long trial of frustration for the typical American Progressive. The Republican'ts will continue to propose insane policies, get support from the talking heads, and Obama will propose vague phrases that are designed to make voters feel good. However, this time around, there isn't as much faith in Obama as there was in 2008.
N