jobs bill

As GOP Primaries Numb Your Brain, Congress is Up to More Tricks

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clockworkorganbraineyedropsWhile inane campaign rhetoric lulls you to sleep, forcing you to watch reruns of shipping wars until your brain melts and flows into that puddle of lost dreams and promises, Congress has been up to some things.

Remember those outrages du jour, such as using Stimulus funds to hire foreign guest workers? Remember your hard earned taxpayer dollars being used to bring in Chinese foreign workers and Chinese steel to build the Oakland Bay Bridge in California?

A very important amendment passed the Senate and was entered into Bill S.1813, MAP-21, alternatively known as the Transportation Bill. The amendment strengths the Buy America provision by closing a loophole.

Senator Sherrod Brown on the Senate Floor:

How Obama is Going to Pay for a $245 Billion Cut to Social Security Contributions

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out of work free cardWe all know the United States needs jobs. We need jobs right now! Last week Obama proposed a new Stimulus plan, which we did a first pass on. Unfortunately most press is busy covering superficial politics instead of what is in the bill, how it would be paid for and most importantly, the effectiveness, or lack thereof.

USA today claims the plan is to tax the rich as they put it, or as we put it, close loopholes and tax hedge fund managers, currently living living high off the hog at a 15% tax rate.

Here's the gist of how Obama plans to pay the $447 billion his plan costs.

  • Limit on itemized deductions ($200,000 individuals, $250,000 families) - $400 billion
  • Carried interest would be treated as "ordinary income" rather than at capital-gains rate - $18 billion
  • Oil- and gas-company tax breaks - $40 billion
  • Corporate-jet depreciation would change - $3 billion

First Pass on Obama's Jobs Stimulus Redux

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President Obama introduced his so called jobs plan, spending $447 billion. 51% of this is tax cuts, 31% is infrastructure and local aid and 14% of unemployment insurance. Firstly, it has been shown time and time again, tax cuts do not create jobs. We just showed one would be better off hiring people to cut grass with scissors than enact a payroll tax cut. The payroll tax cuts alone are $240 billion, or over half of Obama's plan.

Any Jobs Bill Must Have Buy American and Hire America Mandatory Requirements

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arra signPaul Krugman shows the 2009 economic stimulus was not enough.  We've shown as have many others, tax cuts for the rich do not create jobs.   Yet, many criticized the $787 Billion Stimulus bill as spending, loaded with political favors and misdirected funds.  For example, 84% of the green jobs went offshore and build America bonds were yet another gift for Goldman Sachs.

The problem with the original stimulus wasn't that it wasn't big enough.  It was not smart enough.  What we need is true domestic stimulus.  If you're going to spend our money to stimulate our economy, stop shipping our dough to China instead.
buy american
Is this possible?  Can one stop the offshore outsourcing of jobs, especially jobs created with our hard earned taxpayer dollars?  Is there anything that can be done which actually goes to American workers?   Why yes there is.  First and foremost, all stimulus funding should have two mandatory requirements, Buy American and Hire America.  If a government is enacting Keynesian economic stimulus, they must keep that spending within the domestic economy they wish to stimulate.  The last thing America's workers need is stimulating China's economy and generating more jobs for them.

Jobs Program Redux

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Obama put forth some elements of a second jobs bill. With that, I strongly suggest all those who were disappointed, disgusted with the first Stimulus, start right now pushing for legislation we need.

Here are the main elements, laid out in the State of the Union Speech.

  • Take $30 billion of the [TARP] money Wall Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small businesses the credit [Subsidized Small Business Loans].
  • Small Business tax credit - one that will go to over one million small businesses who hire new workers or raise wages
  • Eliminate all capital gains taxes on small business investment
  • Tax incentive for all businesses, large and small, to invest in new plants and equipment