“What If” the Republicans Hadn’t Obstructed The American Jobs Act?

Business has created over 4.2 million private sector jobs since President Obama took office and we’ve seen 27 straight months of job growth. As a comparison, in 2008, the last year of President Bush’s second term, we LOST 2.6 million jobs. In December 2008 alone, 632,000 jobs were lost. So yes, it sucks that the May 2012 jobs report only showed an INCREASE of 69,000 jobs, but if you are watching any cable TV today, you would think it was December of 2008 again.

One of the first things that came to my mind when I heard the jobs report was — I wonder how many jobs would have been created had the Republicans worked with President Obama to pass the jobs bill that he proposed back in the fall of 2011. I decided to pull out a speech he gave when he was traveling around the country selling his jobs package as a reminder of what may have been if the Republicans hadn’t blocked yet another attempt by President Obama to help American workers.

Any good American should be appalled at the recent news that Republicans conspired ON INAUGURATION DAY of 2009 to block every thing President Obama attempts to do. The blatant disregard for the American people for political reasons should send everyone to the polls on November 6, 2012 to send a message to Republicans that we are the United States of America and that politics shouldn’t take precedent over the overall good of the nation.

Cross-posted at Angry Black Lady Chronicles (at The Raw Story)

The Republican Jobs Plan Is To Help Wall Street And Pollute!

President Obama spoke in Asheville, North Carolina this morning as part of his continued push to bring jobs to the American people. He laid waste to the Republican’s “plan” and did a little comparison for us that spells out a stark reality. It needs to be shared with the people marching in the streets across the country…(emphasis mine)

THE PRESIDENT:  They said no to helping veterans find jobs.
Essentially, they said no to you — because it turns out one poll found that 63 percent of Americans support the ideas in this jobs bill.  (Applause.)  So 63 percent of Americans support the jobs bill that I put forward; 100 percent of Republicans in the Senate voted against it.  That doesn’t make any sense, does it?

AUDIENCE:  No!

THE PRESIDENT:  No, it does not.

Now, it turns out that the Republicans have a plan, too.  I want to be fair.  They call — they put forward this plan last week.  They called it the “Real American Jobs Act.”  The “real one” — that’s what they called it — just in case you were wondering.  (Laughter.)  So let’s take a look at what the Republican American jobs act looks like.  It turns out the Republican plan boils down to a few basic ideas:  They want to gut regulations; they want to let Wall Street do whatever it wants. 

Republicans Wet Themselves During President Obama’s Press Conference!

In President Obama’s press conference yesterday, he fired some warning shots across the bow of the Republican party and put them on notice that he’s going to make them suffer for their obstruction of the American Jobs Act. He also called out the brain dead media and I really hope that continues. Take it away Mr. President…

“[W]hat I’ve tried to do is say, here are the best ideas I’ve heard. Not just from partisans, but from independent economists. These are the ideas most likely to create jobs now and strengthen the economy right now. And that’s what the American people are looking for. And the response from Republicans has been: No. Although they haven’t given a good reason why they’re opposed to putting construction workers back on the job, or teachers back in the classroom.

“If you ask them, ‘Well, okay, if you’re not for that, what are you for?’ Trade has already been done; patent reform has been done. What else? The answer we’re getting right now is, well, we’re going to roll back all these Obama regulations. So their big economic plan to put people back to work right now is to roll back financial protections and allow banks to charge hidden fees on credit cards again or weaken consumer watchdogs, or alternatively they’ve said we’ll roll back regulations that make sure we’ve got clean air and clean water, eliminate the EPA. Does anybody really think that that is going to create jobs right now and meet the challenges of a global economy that are — that is weakening with all these forces coming into play?

“I mean, here is a good question, here’s a little homework assignment for folks: Go ask the Republicans what their jobs plan is if they’re opposed to the American Jobs Act, and have it scored, have it assessed by the same independent economists that have assessed our jobs plan. These independent economists say that we could grow the economy as much as 2 percent, and as many as 1.9 million workers would be back on the job. I think it would be interesting to have them do a similar assessment — same people. Some of these folks, by the way, traditionally have worked for Republicans, not just Democrats. Have those economists evaluate what, over the next two years, the Republican jobs plan would do.

“I’ll be interested in the answer. I think everybody here — I see some smirks in the audience because you know that it’s not going to be real robust.”

If Republicans think that message isn’t resonating with the American people, they are even more stupid than we all thought. I’m pretty sure that John Boehner had to run to the cloak room commode to change his Underoos after hearing the President spell it out so clearly. But the President went even further and warned them that he will beat the living shit out them with every part of the legislation and demand that Republicans tell us why they don’t want to create jobs. Go President Obama…

“[If Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell] chooses to vote against it, or if members of his caucus choose to vote against it, I promise you we’re going to keep on going, and we will put forward maybe piece by piece each component of the bill. And each time they’re going to have to explain why it is that they’d be opposed to putting teachers back in the classroom, or rebuilding our schools, or giving tax cuts to middle-class folks, and giving tax cuts to small businesses. […]

“If … everybody on Capitol Hill is cynical and saying there’s no way that the overall jobs bill passes in its current form, we’re just going to keep on going at it. I want everybody to be clear. My intention is to insist that each part of this, I want an explanation as to why we shouldn’t be doing it, each component part: putting people back to work rebuilding our roads, putting teachers back in the classroom, tax cuts for small businesses and middle-class families, tax breaks for our veterans. We will just keep on going at it….”

Mr. President, more please!

Cross-posted at Angry Black Lady Chronicles

President Obama Is Fighting Hard For Jobs

President Obama speaking in Dallas — working his ass off to help bring jobs to the American people…

“Dallas, that starts now. That starts with your help. Yesterday, the Republican Majority Leader in Congress, Eric Cantor, said that right now, he won’t even let the jobs bill have a vote in the House of Representatives. He won’t even give it a vote.

“Well I’d like Mr. Cantor to come down here to Dallas and explain what in this jobs bill he doesn’t believe in. Does he not believe in rebuilding America’s roads and bridges? Does he not believe in tax breaks for small businesses, or efforts to help veterans?

“Mr. Cantor should come down to Dallas, look Kim Russell in the eye, and tell her why she doesn’t deserve to get a paycheck again. Come tell her students why they don’t deserve to have their teacher back.

“Come tell Dallas construction workers why they should be sitting home instead of fixing our bridges and our schools.

“Come tell the small business owners and workers in this community why you’d rather defend tax breaks for millionaires than tax cuts for the middle-class.

“And if you won’t do that, at least put this jobs bill up for a vote so that the entire country knows exactly where every Member of Congress stands.

Take action, we are all in this together and we have to show our support for creating jobs now!

The American Jobs Act Will Prevent A Recession – Pass It NOW!

Since President Obama announced his American Jobs Act, economists have almost unanimously predicted that it would boost GDP and create jobs. Here is a sampling of what has been said.

• This headline at Bloomberg says it all, Obama Jobs Plan Prevents 2012 Recession in Survey of Economists. John Herrmann, a senior fixed-income strategist at State Street Global Markets LLC said “The plan ‘prevents a contraction of the economy in the first quarter” of next year.” Another quote from that article said ‘“The important thing to consider is: What happens if we don’t do anything?’ said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates Inc. in St. Petersburg, Florida. He said the program ‘very well could” forestall a recession in early 2012.'”

• Moody’s Analytics – Mark Zandi predicted that the act would boost economic growth by 2% and create 2 million jobs, “Something like this is much needed” for an economy grappling with 9.1 percent unemployment, Zandi says. “The economy is on the edge of recession.”

• The Economic Policy Institute assessment of the jobs bill said, “So, how did President Obama do by our criteria? Very well, as the package provides a substantial boost to the economy in addition to continuing the important efforts already underway (providing unemployment compensation and the payroll tax holiday).”

• Macroeconomic Advisors thinks the effect will be significant,  “We estimate that the American Jobs Act (AJA), if enacted, would give a significant boost to GDP and employment over the near-term.”

• Susan Wachter, a finance professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, figures that the Social Security tax cuts alone would add 1 percentage point to economic growth and create 1 million jobs next year.

• Michael Hanson, a senior economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and a former Federal Reserve economist, predicts similar benefits. He thinks the additional jobs would lower the unemployment rate by nearly half a percentage point in 2012.

• Menzie Chinn, an economist at the University of Wisconsin said, “the measures Obama proposed Thursday night ‘might prevent the economy from dropping below stall speed — at which point it would be vulnerable to another recession.'”

What this comes down to is — Republicans have to choose between politics and helping the American people, who are clamoring for Washington to do something about creating jobs. The GOP is up against a wall and this is a test of whether or not the Republican party cares at all about American workers. I think I know the answer, but I’m still clinging to a shred of hope that they will do what is right for the country.

PASS THE BILL NOW!

Cross-posted at Angry Black Lady Chronicles

“They Don’t Have The Luxury Of Waiting 14 Months”

You country needs your help today. This isn’t a liberal or conservative thing, a Democratic or Republican thing — this is an American thing. We must break the “everything is politics” cycle that the media and the cynics in this country cling to and perpetuate. Our country is on the verge of losing the middle class, of widening the gap between the rich and the poor and separating those in gated communities from those communities crumbling to the ground. Call your congressperson or senator, write letters to your local papers, comment on blogs…make your voice heard and tell them that you support President Obama’s American Jobs Act. Do it because it is the right thing to do for your family and neighbors, leave the politics out of it and fight against those who attempt to make it about politics. Spread the word far and wide, help put America back to work.

H/T to Smartypants

Cross-posted at Angry Black Lady Chronicles