It’s the jobs…stupid

President Obama didn’t say that.  I did, with no remorse for the comment.  It was directed at Rpublicans in Congress who are keeping more people from going back to work and preventing those already jobless from getting the benefits necessary to find work by opposing the President’s Jobs legislation.  We are in this situation because GOP policies don’t work, having had 8 years under George W. Bush to force them down the throats of the American public.

The White House has provided some interesting material to bloggers and other media nationwide designed to get the President’s jobs bill before the American public so they can dare Republicans and some reluctant Democrats not to back it.  If I were jobless, or had a relative or even knew someone who was jobless—and I do—I would tell my congressional representative to pass this bill…or else.  And I will.



Yes.  Enough is enough!  It’s time to back the “no-sayers” into a corner and make them accountable for not supporting Obama in his drive to put folks back to work.  And here’s how he’ll do it:

·       Tax cuts for small business

·       Putting workers back to work while rebuilding America

·       Extension of unemployment insurance

·       Tax relief for the American family

·       Fully paid for by Long-Term Deficit Reduction Plan

Go to the White House page and see how The American Jobs Act affects your state.  You can also see what the Act means to schools and download fact sheets: Comprehensive, Short.  There is an overview on the major points of the bill including, Tax Cuts, Rebuilding America, Pathways to work, Tax Relief and Method of paying for the program.  If you are up to it, you can read the entire 199 pages of the Act at this site.

The President says his jobs act will create 1.9 million jobs which should be music to the ears of the jobless.  That crescendo you hear building from the working class should resonate with the obstructionists in the GOP as a warning that, come 2012, they are the people who will most likely go to the polls.  But this isn’t about an election or politics at all, this is about survival.

American public wants President Obama’s tax on wealthy

It was the expected outcome and the Senate blocked Obama’s jobs bill with all Republicans voting against it primarily due to the 5 percent tax on the rich that was included.  But just a day after the vote, an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll says Americans want our government to tax millionaires to get the job market moving.  What makes this so appalling is the fact that the GOP has put their stupid ideology of no taxes over the wishes of their constituents. 

When asked the simple question should Congress pass the legislation, 30 percent said yes, 22 percent no.  But when given the details of how the bill would help the jobless by cutting payroll taxes, funding new road construction, and extending unemployment benefits, 63 percent favor the bill, only 32 percent oppose it.  At the same time they were told it would financed by a tax on the wealthy.

 

Additionally, 64 percent think the rich cats and corporation should definitely pay their fair share.  On the other side of the issue, 31 percent think taxing the rich and corporations is bad, saying it will take away money that would be invested to grow the economy.  It is interesting that 20 percent of those polled were by cell phone, thus, probably a younger group.  Regardless of the mix, the public has made its statement, and many will remember come 2012.

The numbers these political hacks—including 2 Democrats that did not support the President’s Jobs Bill—will have to face are 6 million Americans whose unemployment benefits will run out in 2012, some as early as January.  Although the Millionaire Tax may be another step toward Social Democracy (like Social Security and Medicare), drastic measures are needed in the current economy, and it is time that the U.S. begin the level the playing field between the wealthy and the working class.

The unemployed have been out of work now an average of 40.5 weeks, a record as of this past September.  And there are economists that claim extending the jobless benefits would stimulate the economy since the money is usually spent right away.  In the first instance, those with benefits ending in January 2012 will be out of luck if the deadline to file isn’t extended.  This also applies to those currently receiving federal benefits.

Republicans say they will pick and choose parts of the bill to pass on their terms, but it is time for President Obama to stand firm and demand the 5 percent tax on the rich with the assurance the American people are behind him.  In my opinion, his rapid drop in some polls is due to the fact that he hasn’t dealt with the GOP in a forceful way, and it could have a major effect on his reelection in 2012.  Right now it isn’t about politics, it’s about putting people back to work.

If GWB caused the current economic problems, Obama still must fix them

Pres. Barack Obama

President Barack Obama inherited a $1.2 trillion budget deficit.  George W. Bush inherited a $300 billion budget surplus.  In the former President’s two terms, well-known economist Nouriel Roubini, a New York University professor, lists five components that tanked the fiscal condition of the U.S.

•  A cut in taxes
• GWB spent $2 trillion on Iraq and Afghan wars
• Discretionary spending was doubled
• Addition of entitlements like Medicare drug benefit
• The bailing out of banks and financial institutions

Roubini said, “We destroyed our fiscal sustainability before President Obama came to power.”  He added, “We’re lucky that this Great Recession is not turning into another Great Depression.”  Roubini also talks of more recession in the next year or two.  The professor is distinguished for his warning in 2005 that the housing bubble would cause an economic crisis, which it did.

All this said, Barack Obama needs to start being a President.  Agreed, he has many accomplishments we can be thankful for, the most important of which is Health Care Reform.  You can see a list of 90 of his efforts since entering office here.  But the President must change the course of a spiraling-down economy, and that would be best served by standing up to a Republican House and holding his ground on issues he truly believes in.  Let the public decide who is wrong.

Things are not going well for Obama.  His approval rating now is the lowest of his presidency.  Many voters are tired of speeches that promise; they want results.  Some Democrats are even distancing themselves from him.  A rare positive sign is that Blacks are encouraged by his jobs plan, but some economists say it isn’t enough. 

But the one thread running through all this is a GOP battalion that is committed to making President Obama fail.  One major impetus behind this is the fanatical group, the Tea Party, which is loathed by most Americans but has some supernatural hold over Republican conservatives.  Bungling presidential candidates like Bachmann and Perry cater to these pathetic people who seem bent on bringing down the U.S.

All’s well that ends well, and the real hope of this progressive is that 2012 will see radical changes in Washington, maybe even the throwing out of some old hands on the left, but still with significant moves away from the right.