If President Obama is to have any hope of winning re-election, the Associated Press had better be dead wrong in their reporting of Obama’s jobs speech Thursday. According to the AP, Obama will push for a $300 billion stimulus bill, more than half of which will be made up of existing policies that have already proven to be job-creation failures.
About $170 billion of Obama’s jobs plan will consist of extensions of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. Obama has been extending unemployment benefits since he was sworn into office and the economy has only gotten worse since the payroll tax cut went into effect this January. An unspecified amount will also be devoted to the extension of an existing advanced depreciation tax break for businesses. Again, not a new policy
Obama does plans to spend another $50 billion on infrastructure and propose a new $30 billion temporary tax credit for businesses that hire the unemployed. But why will these infrastructure projects be any more shovel-ready than the ones Obama funded in his 2009 $820 billion stimulus? And why would businesses make long-term hiring decisions based on a temporary tax cut.
Worst of all, Obama reportedly will try and pay for all this by explicitly promising to raise taxes sometime in the future. This is exactly the opposite of what the U.S. economy needs: more threats of future tax hikes.
The candidate who most succinctly describes the emptiness and futility of Obama’s new jobs plan should win tonight’s Republican presidential debate.
Around the Bigs
Gallup, U.S. Job Creation on Downward Trajectory: After peaking in June, Gallup’s Job Creation Index (the gap between the percentage of employers who say they are hiring and those that say they are firing) fell to +13 in August. The Index had been rising steadily since the recession ended, but now is heading downwards again.
The New York Times, Plan Would Keep Small Force in Iraq Past Deadline: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is supporting a plan that would keep only 3,000 American troops in Iraq by the end of the year. The senior American commander in Iraq, Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, says he need as many as 18,000 troops to protect American assets.
The Washington Post, Fed considers buying more long-term Treasury bonds to lower rates: The Federal Reserve is strongly consider buying more long-term Treasury bonds which they hope will lead to lower interest rates on mortgages and other kinds of long-term loans. Reportedly, the Fed will do this by selling short-term Treasuries it already owns, instead of printing money like it did for previous bond buying sprees.
The Washington Examiner, Postal Service at the brink of default: The United States Postal Service is “at the brink of default” according to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe. Donahoe told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Tuesday that Postal Service is facing a $10 billion deficit and could be forced to shutdown by August 2012. “We will be out of cash to pay employees and pay contractors,” Donahoe said.
The Hill, Senate Dems’ funding move dares GOP to insist on FEMA offsets: Senate Democrats approved $6 billion in disaster relief funding for Hurricane Irene through the Senate Appropriations Homeland Security subcommittee yesterday. House Republicans passed a FEMA spending bill before Irene that had $3.64 billion in disaster funding, $1 billion of which was paid for by spending to cuts to ineffective government programs. Democrats are hoping to force Republicans to agree to the $6 billion spending without the $1 billion in cuts.
Campaign 2012
Perry: According to documents obtained by MSNBC, the new super PAC backing Texas Gov. Rick Perry – “Make Us Great Again” – plans to spend $55 million in early primary states to lock up the Republican nomination for Perry by early spring. Reached for comment, Make Us Great Again spokesman Jason Miller did not deny the plans were authentic: “You’re referring to an early planning document that is now outdated. As the dynamics of this primary have changed, so have our targeting and spending.”
Romney: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney unveiled a 59-point economic plan Tuesday in North Las Vegas, Nevada. The plan cuts corporate tax rates and undoes many Obama-era regulations, but does not fundamentally reform the tax code or entitlements.
Righty Playbook
The Wall Street Journal editorial board says Romney’s economic plan is “better than President Obama’s” but is also “surprisingly timid ” and reads like a “technocrat’s guide more than a reform manifesto.”
RedState‘s Erick Erickson explains why he has had “enough” of Sarah Palin’s fans.
The Corner‘s Andrew Stiles reports on a letter House Republican sent Obama identifying common ground on job creation, including greater flexibility for states on infrastructure spending and passage of the South Korea, Panama, and Colombia trade agreements.
Lefty Playbook
A “top Obama strategist” tells The Huffington Post‘s Howard Finemann how Obama will win re-eleciton: “The Electoral College map is tough for [Republicans]. … The policies the Republicans are pursuing in Congress are politically ruinous. … Republican presidential candidates are racing to embrace the Tea Party, which is going to drive away independent voters.”
The Washington Post‘s Jonathan Capehart notes that Obama is still personally popular, but worries that that won’t be enough: “One of the more infamous encounters on the 2008 campaign trail between Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton was when he said, “You’re likable enough, Hillary. No doubt about it.” What Obama must do, starting with his jobs speech Thursday night, is ensure that the darkening national mood — revealed in at least four national polls — doesn’t result in the electorate saying on Election Day 2012, “You’re likable enough, Barack. . . . But it’s time for someone new.”
Talking Points Memo reports that the Los Angeles Country Democratic Party – the biggest county party in the United States – may not be able to make payroll this month after county party treasurer, Kinde Durkee, was arrested over the weekend on fraud charges.
