Obama’s jobs program: more money for unions, more taxes for you

It should come as no surprise to anyone that when Barack Obama says his jobs program is paid for that what he really means is you’ve paid for his jobs program. Talked inside his $447 billion jobs program that will put union construction workers back on the job temporarily, and teachers back on the job temporarily, and those of you who were unemployed still unemployed but with more unemployment checks, there are more than $400 billion in increased taxes on people making more than $200,000 a year. The details below.

It’s become almost comical at this point. In December the president agrees with Republicans that you can’t raise taxes in the middle of a recession. In particular the president then pointed out the fact that it would hurt small businesses. But that was then and this is now and the president is pandering to his union base and somebody has to pay for his union jobs program. And that somebody is you.  Oh and yes, Obama finally got his corporate jets.

The White House today is proposing to pay for its new jobs bill entirely with tax increases.

It proposes these tax increases:

–Limiting itemized deductions for incomes above $200,000 and family incomes above $250,000. Total: $400 billion over 10 years;

–Treat carried interest as ordinary income rather than as capital gains. Total: $18 billion;

–Raises taxes on oil and gas. Total: $40 billion

–Increase taxes on corporate jets. Total: $3 billion.

So at this point you might be asking yourself just who benefits from Obama’s jobs bill.  Well the president plans on sending billions of dollars to states to, in his words, put unemployed teachers back to work, and billions of dollars for roads and school projects (I know that was supposed to be in the last stimulus bill), jobs but not likely but must go to union workers. He’s also promised those of you are unemployed more unemployment insurance. Note: not a job, more unemployment insurance.

Finally he’s offered small businesses one-time tax credits that he expects will encourage small business to hire people. But the credit seems unwieldy.

Thetax cuts include $175 billion for an extension of last year’s reduction in the employee payroll tax; $65 billion to cut employer payroll taxes in half and $5 billion for a bonus payroll tax cut for new hires. Under his proposal, taxes would be halved on the first $5 million in wages, which the White House said would benefit 98 percent of all businesses.

There is no question that tax cuts for small businesses are a good thing. But 2 things to remember here businesses don’t hire employees because they get a small tax break. A tax break is short-term the employee is long-term. Plus the tax break is generally far less than the actual cost of the employee. It really doesn’t make much sense unless your idea of an economic stimulus is to pull puppet strings on business like a puppet master. They get the jobs, you get the shaft. Pull harder.

Jim Vicevich

Jim is a veteran broadcaster and conservative/libertarian blogger with more than 25 years experience in TV and radio. Jim's was the long-term host of The Jim Vicevich Show on WTIC 1080 in Hartford from 2004 through 2019. Prior to radio, Jim worked as a business and financial reporter for NBC30 - the NBC owned TV station in Hartford - and as business editor at WFSB-TV in Hartford for 14 years while earning six Emmy nominations and three Telly Awards.

20 Comments

  1. Dimsdale on September 12, 2011 at 11:44 pm

    “Well the president plans on sending billions of dollars to states to, in his words, put unemployed teachers back to work, and billions of dollars for roads and school projects (I know that was supposed to be in the last stimulus bill), jobs but not likely but must go to union workers.”

    ?
    One flaw in this latest “master plan” is that the money has to first come out of the aforementioned states.? Shuffling the money around, particularly when you have no idea of what you are doing, to prove you are doing something to create jobs and pump up your poll numbers, is the worst of schemes, akin to pouring gasoline on a burning house.



  2. Anybody but Obama on September 13, 2011 at 8:46 am

    New Rasmussen poll of likely voters shows that 38% of those polled support the jobs bill.? Even if they passed the bill today, the jobs that are to be created by rebuilding 35,000 schools would be years down the road with all the burdensom regulations in place in order to do any work.?These are not shovel ready jobs and when they are shovel ready they aren’t neccesarily shovel ready according to zero. My feelings are that the administration see’s the handwriting on the wall and this is the last big union payoff.



    • Dimsdale on September 13, 2011 at 10:10 am

      We need a poll of likely voters to see how many of them have actually read this bill and understand what the president is proposing.



  3. sammy22 on September 13, 2011 at 12:52 pm

    I am anxiously waiting for Eric Cantor to unveil his plan. Will it be one-sided?



  4. Anybody but Obama on September 13, 2011 at 3:44 pm

    Sammy you got selective memory, The House has passed a dozen bills to stimulate the economy and create jobs but your president lets them languish with Harry Reid in the Senate.



    • crystal4 on September 16, 2011 at 7:26 am

      Can you give us some of those bill numbers so we can look them up??



    • Dimsdale on September 16, 2011 at 10:22 am

      That would be nice.? Somebody ought to read them.



  5. sammy22 on September 13, 2011 at 3:58 pm

    If the House has already passed a dozen bills, what’s the big deal about another one? The Ryan budget bill got beat in the Senate and even Rand Paul (and 4 other Reps) voted against it. Which are the other 11?



    • Dimsdale on September 14, 2011 at 3:39 pm

      And ?bama’s original budget bill was bludgeoned by both Republicans and Democrats.? Virtually all of them if I recall.
      ?
      Is getting voted down for political reasons a form of “getting beat”?? The bottom line is that ?bama doesn’t know what he is doing, and that situation has not improved with this latest bill.



    • crystal4 on September 16, 2011 at 6:49 am

      Sammy, the house is working hard for us on all those “jobs, jobs, jobs” bills!
      Like yesterday, they spent the day debating snakes…..
      Just lets all be honest. They will prevent anything that leads to any upturn in the economy. This is their ticket back to the White House…the American people can starve!



    • Dimsdale on September 16, 2011 at 10:24 am

      Considering that the huge downturn in the economy is the sole property of the Democrats (see timeline from 2007 and Pelosi’s economic reign of terror), you might want to ask the Dems what they have done about jobs.
      ?
      Other than destroy them.



  6. Anybody but Obama on September 13, 2011 at 4:45 pm

    I’ve posted it before but go to the House Majority Leader website and you will see a link on what has been done on the bills.



  7. Dimsdale on September 13, 2011 at 6:45 pm

    After the less than effective two previous “stimulus” packages, why are we doing a third?



    • winnie on September 13, 2011 at 11:10 pm

      Third time’s the charm?



    • Lucinda on September 14, 2011 at 10:56 pm

      Three strikes and you’re out?



  8. Shared Sacrifice on September 13, 2011 at 8:56 pm

    So Barry was 18, a freshman in college, and smoking dope when Jimmy Carter was president…? It’s true, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it!



    • Dimsdale on September 16, 2011 at 10:24 am

      You mean the pres is on dope again?? 😉



  9. Lynn on September 16, 2011 at 2:32 pm

    Nope, O is a dope.
    Couldn’t resist



    • crystal4 on September 17, 2011 at 8:09 am

      How very petty.
      The President is always abused. If he isn’t, he isn’t doing anything.
      Harry S. Truman



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