Peter DeFazio(D) just called out both President Obama and sorry ass Lawrence Summers

[democracy1st]

right now the stimulus package heavily swings towards tax breaks 33%,infrastructure only 18%..Come on president Obama snap out of it,to hell with the rightwing taxcut tactics. DeFazio was on Rachel's show.

Jim Olberstar(D)gives details on the cuts
http://www.oberstar.house.gov//

These Infrastructure Funds were cut to make room for the tax cuts

Amtrak

Aviation

US Army Corp of Engineers

Water Infrastructure


http://www.defazio.house.gov/

[rcrush]

1. I agree with Obama for the most part on how he wants to work with reps.

But this seems to be one of those times where its not worth it. I can see the value in trying to keep everyone friendly but right now its costing too much. I hope Obama is paying attention.

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. Watch Bill Moyers NOW episode tonight - Sirota and Franks are not

happy with the package for the same reason - worried that in trying to get the votes, Obama may risk not being bold enough - and he now does have the power, and the people behind him. it is an episode well worth watching.

[kenny blankenship]

19. Everyone should watch this - and they can do it right now

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/01232009/watch.html

[Stevepol]

24. Just watched it and I agree: Should be REQUIRED viewing.

[Karenina]

26. Definitively REQUIRED VIEWING.

[Thrill]

3. Well then they should do their job in Congress

I haven't heard Obama put a cap on the amount the total package should be. So if you want more on Infrastructure, raise the price tag.

[firedupdem]

4. Why are they complaining instead of doing something. President

Obama isn't a weakling and he's not going to allow the republicans to run over him. Why isn't our side asking for more like the right is? They need to get on it. He can't do it alone. He's going to put the best stimulus package out there. He isn't going to put a bad one out just to appease the republicans. Congress needs to get to work.

[bvar22]

29. You didn't get the memo.

This is the era of "Post-Partisanship".
It is now OK to be Half-Republican.

[Peace Patriot]

5. Thank you, Rep. DeFazio! This really needed to be said, shouted from rooftops,

faxed to Congress, trumpeted as far as wide as possible, written to the newspapers, spread all over YouTube, organized for, demanded, marched for, get those 2 million people back in Washington!

It is WILDLY ABSURD, CRAZY AND WRONG, that all these billions are pouring into the pockets of the rich, and an adequate stimulus package, one that will do the job, one that will create jobs, one that will put money in peoples' pockets and make them able to buy things, and feed their families, and pay their mortgages, one that will save the biggest job creators in the land--small businesses--is controversial!

Thank Diebold & brethren, really, for these fuckwad fascists and corporate asskissers in Congress! For godssakes, let's fix the voting system and get them out! They shouldn't be daring to show their corrupt faces, let alone obstruct and reduce and render useless the most important financial measure ever to be proposed in this country. They should be kneeling in sack cloth and ashes outside on the steps, and begging for our mercy! They should be in stockades--getting rotten fruit thrown at them! How dare they put on a suit in the morning and take their pompous, pampered hides into Congress and pretend to represent us! If they don't do this right, I'm for citizens' arrests of the whole lot of them!

I AM SO MAD!

:mad: :mad: :mad: :puke: :argh: :puke: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[earth mom]

12. Agree with you 100%! Obama's stimulus package SUCKS!

:grr:

[99th_Monkey]

6. tax breaks for whom? I don't see any information about that.

should I just assume it's tax breaks for the rich? if those tax breaks are aimed at middle & lower income citizens, then
I have no problem with them.

do you know who the tax breaks mostly benefit? what income strata(s), etc.?

[depakid]

7. Tax cuts are going to screw this whole thing up

Sad that this seems to be aimed at placating (pandering to) thr right- because Obama has enough political capital that stupid economic decisions aren't necessary to get the stimulous passed.

[underpants]

8. So if (when) the bill is amended Defazio gets to take credit

and Obama has him in line????

:shrug:

[Bluenorthwest]

9. DeFazio

when he speaks I listen.

[PatSeg]

10. Republicans only answer for every problem is

"tax cuts". Their lack of imagination after all these years is stunning. They still haven't figured out why they've lost power.

[SuperTrouper]

11. Summers is a bad influence on Obama. Summers does not believe in infrastructure,

he has believed in deregulation and now is changing his tune. Obama should push Summers aside pronto...

[Occam Bandage]

13. I agree entirely.

Oh, and it's "Oberstar," not that it matters.

[Blue_In_AK]

14. I totally agree. n/t

[w4rma]

15. Yup. And even though the tax cuts are pretty geared towards regular folks they are all temporary.

So noone can count on them in the long run. The temporary tax cut portion is not going to help the economy at all. More permanent infrastructure which will mean more jobs which is why the economy is in the bad situation it is. JOBS!

[AtomicKitten]

16. Not happy with the Summers appointment. :(

[chill_wind]

17. Summers--- more of the hair of the sick dog that bit us.

Public official

Summers was on the staff of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Reagan from 1982-1983. He also served as an economic adviser to the Dukakis Presidential campaign in 1988.

Chief Economist at the World Bank

Summers left Harvard in 1991 and served as Chief Economist for the World Bank until 1993. In December 1991, while at the World Bank, Summers signed a memo written by staff economist Lant Pritchett. The memo apparently argued that free trade would not necessarily benefit the environment in developing countries. An aside to the memo, leaked to the press, said that "the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that". The leaked memo was the subject of public controversy.

Service in the Clinton administration

In 1993 Summers was appointed Undersecretary for International Affairs and later in the United States Department of the Treasury under the Clinton administration. In 1995, he was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the Treasury under his long-time political mentor Robert Rubin.

In 1999, he succeeded Rubin as Secretary of the Treasury. During his transition to Secretary of the Treasury, the Glass-Steagall Act, which kept commercial banks out of Wall Street, was repealed.<2> A year later, he was, with Alan Greenspan and Rubin, a leading advocate of the derivatives deregulation, suppressing the recommendations raised by Brooksley Born.<3> These are considered key factors in creating a lot of the conditions that led to the financial crisis of 2007–2008.<2><4><5>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Summers

[CreekDog]

18. But Obama was supporting PAYROLL tax relief, something that helps poor people

the most.

are we suddenly against that type of tax relief?

[Justitia]

20. That was a pretty informative (& disappointing) bit on the infrastructure piece.

Let's hope the Obama administration muscles in a higher percentage for infrastructure.

I hope lots of folks saw that, I appreciate DeFazio bringing this to our attention.

[SuperTrouper]

21. Infrastructure is a good investment for the future and brings jobs now

[Justitia]

22. Totally agree. Let's hope this gets fixed. -eom

[Hawkowl]

23. Tax cuts CAUSE Recessions

Just look at the data. Reagan, Bush I and Bush II's recessions all started with tax GIVEAWAYS. The country has started economic recoveries with the passage of tax increases and infrastructure spending (Bush I and Clinton).

Tax cuts are good for the economy are a myth. Are taxes are country on earth. Taxes aren't too high, it's just that spending on tangible assets, i.e; bridges, roads, education, healthcare is too low.

Obama is a FOOL if he demonstrates half assed economic policy and political weakness by bending over backwards to the lunatic right.

[Shiver]

25. From the bill itself

The full text of which can be found at the link in this thread.

$32 billion to transform the nation"s energy transmission, distribution, and production systems
$16 billion to repair public housing and make key energy efficiency retrofits.
$6 billion to weatherize modest-income homes
$10 billion for science facilities, research, and instrumentation
$6 billion to expand broadband internet access
$30 billion for highway construction
$31 billion to modernize federal and other public infrastructure
$19 billion for clean water, flood control, and environmental restoration investments
$10 billion for transit and rail
$14 billion for School Modernization and Repair Program
$6 billion for higher education modernization
$20 billion for health information technology

(This is a summary, not the actual wording of the bill)

That is $200 Billion for Infrastructure Projects that I was able to find.

Edit to include:

$275 billion in economic recovery tax cuts

$87 billion for a temporary increase in the Medicaid matching rate.
$43 billion for increased unemployment benefits and job training
$39 billion helping with healthcare under COBRA and providing short-term options to be covered by Medicaid.
$79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key services
$4.1 billion to provide for preventative care and to evaluate the most effective healthcare treatments
$15.6 billion to increase the Pell grant by $500
$4 billion for state and local law enforcement funding.
$27 billion to local school districts through
$20 billion to increase the food stamp benefit by over 13% in order to help defray rising food costs.

Again, this is from my reading of the bill.

[chill_wind]

27. Thank you for the link. n/t

[glitch]

28. I agree with DeFazio on this nt.

[sampsonblk]

30. Yep. Bad policy and bad politics on Obama's part

I hope this big mistake does not pass. But its clear it will.

[chill_wind]

31. And what is even more disturbing

is that only a couple weeks ago he signaled that he would listen to Krugman
if Krugman had ideas. He even publicly called Krugman out by name.

Obama: 'If Paul Krugman Has a Good Idea … Then We're Going to Do It'

Posted by Amanda Terkel, Think Progress at 1:21 PM on January 9, 2009.

text video at link-

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/118730/

Krugman: Ideas for Obama
By Paul Krugman
Published: January 12, 2009


Last week President-elect Barack Obama was asked to respond to critics who say that his stimulus plan won't do enough to help the economy. Obama answered that he wants to hear ideas about "how to spend money efficiently and effectively to jump-start the economy."

O.K., I'll bite - although as I'll explain shortly, the "jump-start" metaphor is part of the problem.

First, Obama should scrap his proposal for $150 billion in business tax cuts, which would do little to help the economy. Ideally he'd scrap the proposed $150 billion payroll tax cut as well, though I'm aware that it was a campaign promise.

Money not squandered on ineffective tax cuts could be used to provide further relief to Americans in distress - enhanced unemployment benefits, expanded Medicaid and more. And why not get an early start on the insurance subsidies - probably running at $100 billion or more per year - that will be essential if we're going to achieve universal health care?

Mainly, though, Obama needs to make his plan bigger. To see why, consider a new report from his own economic team.

the rest:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/12/opinion/12krugman.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

So much for the rhetoric.