Obama Election-Year Jobs Agenda Stalls in Congress

[ShockediSay]

Source: Associated Press

The election-year jobs agenda promised by President Barack Obama and Democrats has stalled seven months before voters determine control of Congress.

Democrats have no money to pay for the program. That's because both Republicans and the Democratic chairman of the Senate Budget Committee objected to taking money left over from the fund that bailed out banks, automakers and insurers and using it for the jobs bill.

Such a move, they insisted, would add tens of billions of dollars to the $12.8 trillion national debt....

Even legislation to help the jobless has run into trouble now that Republicans, following the lead of the tea party movement, have decided to make trillion-dollar-plus budget deficits a campaign issue.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/11/us/politics/AP-US-Congress-Jobs.html

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Just who the hell do they think they're kidding?

Reagan reportedly tripled the national debt with his tax cuts favoring mostly the rich

Dubya redoubled it for the same people

And now to get the economy back up to speed for everybody, these Fascists are suddenly deficit conscientious

While the vast majority of us have watched our standards of living decline if not go down the toilet

Are you getting mad yet?

[Aramchek]

1. Repuke Propaganda

Obama will proceed without them.

[Coyote_Bandit]

2. Ummmm......

Why is it an election year jobs agenda?

Seems to me that somebody in the administration should have been working on job creation from Day One.

But I forget. It is far more important to take care of the Wall Street boys and the health insurers.

[DallasNE]

9. That's Not Nice

Besides, it has a very GOP tone to it. We had the stimulus bill and have gone from minus nearly 800,000 jobs in January 2009 to plus nearly 200,000 in March 2010. Is this second jobs bill really needed or would it kick start inflation by overheating the economy? Waiting a couple more months and taking a new reading on the economy would be a good idea. Frankly, I think the economy is stronger that the pundits are telling us.

[Coyote_Bandit]

10. And it's not very nice

to be unemployed. Especially when one sees the mouthpiece for hope and change throwing $$$ at the multi-national corporations and health insurers. Especially when job creation is insufficient to provide work for those entering the workforce - never mind the millions more unemployed and underemployed. Especially when the administration is unwilling to make significant new $$$ available for small business job creation and growth.

The Obama administration is depending upon trickle down job creation - throw some money at the big businesses and eventually the $$$ will trickle down to everydone else to create jobs. But there isn't a whole lot left after the CEO ups the value of his golden parachute and company earnings are increased a few pennies a share - not enough to really be of much benefit to most individual shareholders.

Lots of those unemployed folks aren't going to find jobs anytime soon and are going to find it necessary to create their own source of income - without any assistance or real encouragement from the guy who made himself the mouthpiece for hope and change. You need to recognize that many of jobs that have been created are "consulting" jobs performed at desks that reside in spare bedrooms. Jobs that don't generate enough $$$ to pay the bills. Those who don't take up consulting jobs often take up lawn care or handyman or cleaning services.

Pain depends on point of view. You obviously don't share mine. That doesn't mean that I have an obligation to shut up jnust so you can feel good. And if you are bothered that I may not always say "nice" things about Obama then you might as well add me to your ignore list right now.

WIth respect to the Obama administration you can color me unimpressed. His administration is a lost opportunity. If there were an election today and his name were on my ballot I would not be punching his ticket. I'd be looking for a progressive alternative - even if that alternative is a third party candidate. I am decidedly unimpressed by Obama's corporatist loyalties. And IMHO he is doing little to fix our failing economy - all he's really trying to do is to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. I'm sure we'll all be better when the Wall Street boys are smiling and we have the luxury of going on yet another lender financed shopping spree. Main Street numbers would seem to be far less important to the decision makers and their unquestioning kool-aid drinking followers.

Some liberals who are as unimpressed with Obama as some Pukes. As a DUer you should be well aware of that. Just because a comment is critical doesn't mean it has a GOP tone.

[eppur_se_muova]

11. Why does AP *CALL IT* an "election year" jobs agenda?

Every other freaking year is an election year. AP is implying that votes are the motivation for the legislation, true or not.

[No Elephants]

12. Because the AP has a Ron Fournier problem.

http://mediamatters.org/columns/200807220006

http://mediamatters.org/blog/200808230001?f=h_top

[eppur_se_muova]

13. Thanks, I suspected there was a succinct answer. nt

[No Elephants]

15. You're welcome. (Succinct is not usually my strong suit!)

[msongs]

3. PR ads: "Republicans blocking recovery for selfish political gains" nt

[PinkFloyd]

4. Obama needs to get his crap together!

No matter how much the GOP swore they'd make the election about HCR, they know damn well this election will be decided by the economy and the GOP does not want any recovery before the election. Obama was a fool for not undertaking this first because anything he does is under the shadow of 10% unemployment.

The scary reality is if something doesn't get done, we may lose 50+ seats like Nate Silver talked about. If that happens we will have effectively put the very people who cause this meltdown right back into the driver's seat.

[high density]

5. Republicans worried about deficit

Where was the worry with the $1+ trillion in unpaid tax cuts for Bush? The ones that created not one job?

[NeoConsSuck]

7. Or the trillions spent on the Iraq war? (nt)

[OhioChick]

6. Jobs should've been the #1 priority on Day 1 n/t

[No Elephants]

14. No, a good health care reform bill should have gone to reconcilation by Day 30.

Health care had to be the first priority, before mid-terms as the party of a sitting president always loses seats in the midterms. Health care is the harder sell. Takes a lot of suicidal tendencies to stall a jobs bill.

[Hawkeye-X]

8. Koff, koff - when they vote with their wallets, if they go Republican,

they'll go broke.

After 8 years of credit card Republicans, these fuckers hasn't learned a damn thing.

Here's a easy solution - End both wars effective immediately, cut over 90% of the defense budget and divert it to infrastructure, jobs, economy, stimulus, health care, then these people who vote with their wallets will vote the correct way - the left.

Hawkeye-X