Just say No to stimulus package?!!!
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Just say No to stimulus package?!!!
| Tue, 01-27-2009 - 1:44pm |
I see that Republican leaders in the House have urged their members to say No to the Obama economic stimulus package. But, this is no big surprise. The Republican idea of helping the economy is always to give a big tax break to the rich people. The so-called trickle down effect. But Republican economics have put us in the mess we are in right now. It is time to try something different. I urge everyone to contact their representatives and senators to pass the stimulus package. Average Americans are losing their homes, their jobs, and any hope for the future. We cannot afford to wait any longer.
Our country is headed for the second Great Depression in US history. Coincidentally, the Republicans brought on the first Depression back then. Many people suffered a long while before FDR’s programs slowly began to kick start the economy once again.
Tax cuts for the rich will not stimulate our economy. Even tax cuts for average Americans will not help us, if we do not have a job to put food on the table.
Our country is headed for the second Great Depression in US history. Coincidentally, the Republicans brought on the first Depression back then. Many people suffered a long while before FDR’s programs slowly began to kick start the economy once again.
Tax cuts for the rich will not stimulate our economy. Even tax cuts for average Americans will not help us, if we do not have a job to put food on the table.

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That seems to be the White Houses position, and fortunately for them much of the media is happy to repeat it.
'I Won:' President Obama Works to Be Bipartisan But Shows There Are Clear Limits
January 23, 2009 4:19 PM
In an hour-long private meeting with Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders this morning on the economic stimulus package, President Barack Obama stressed the urgency of getting the $825 billion stimulus plan passed quickly for the good of the country, and mentioned the political stakes for both parties.
According to a source present at the meeting, President Obama said, "Look, we are all political animals here, If we don't do this, we may lose seats. I may not be re-elected. But none of that's going to matter if we don't pass this because the economy will be in a crisis and the American people will be hurting."
The meeting was attended by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn D-SC, and House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va.
Vice President Joe Biden, National Economic Council director Larry Summers, Office of Management and Budget director Peter Orszag and White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel were also in attendance.
Despite being the lowest person on the totem pole in attendance, sources say the ideas presented by Cantor -- who brought handouts to the meeting -- provided some of the day's most engaging moments.
House Republicans have been complaining about not being consulted, and as Cantor explained the details of some of the ideas he and his GOP colleagues would like to see in the package, President Obama read the one-pager and told him, "Eric, I don't see anything crazy in here."
Among some of the things Republicans requested: tax deductions for some small businesses, making unemployment benefits tax free and a provision that would let businesses losing money carry the losses over to pay fewer taxes in a different fiscal year.
Mr. Obama did voice opinion on some differences on the issue of whether the lowest individual tax rates should be cut from 15 percent to 10 percent and from 10 percent to 5 percent.
As the president, he had told Kyl after the Arizonan raised objections to the notion of a tax credit for people who don't pay income taxes, Obama told Cantor this morning that "on some of these issues we're just going to have ideological differences."
The president added, "I won. So I think on that one, I trump you."
After the meeting, Boehner said Republicans relayed their concerns to Obama about the size and spending of the economic stimulus package during the meeting. He specifically mentioned a provision in the bill that would allow 50 states to offer Medicaid family planning service, like contraceptives, with the federal government's 9-to-1 match. Republicans say that whether this is good public policy, it has nothing to do with an economic stimulus.
While Republican leaders felt that Obama was at least receptive to their ideas, unlike their Democratic counterparts, they continued to express reservations about the plan despite the meeting.
"How you can spend hundreds of millions of dollars on contraceptives -- how does that stimulate the economy?" Boehner said at a news conference following the meeting. "You can go through a whole host of issues in this bill that have nothing to do with growing jobs in America."
The bill will be taken up for a vote in the House next week. Among a few elements in the bill -- $726 million for after-school snacks, $50 million for the NEA, $44 million to repair the USDA, and $200 million to work on the National Mall, including grass.
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/01/i-won-president.html
Interview: Cantor On What Republicans Want
27 Jan 2009 06:50 pm
This evening, I spoke with Rep. Eric Cantor, the House Minority Whip, about what Republicans really want out of the stimulus package, and about elements of the Republican counter-proposal, which they'll unveil tomorrow. My questions are edited for clarity; his answers are verbatim.
Obama's met with you three times now, but House Democrats don't seem to be listening, or haven't done much to include you guys. What did Obama say when members informed him that they'd had no input?
We didn't have a conversation that was focused on process. Certainly, he listened and he acknowledged the difficulty of working a bill through Congress. We just told him that we appreciate his gesture and take him at his word that he wants to get this bill right and he does welcome our ideas. He said: "continue to bring them." His exact words were: he had no pride of authorship in this bill. We're hoping very much that as this bill works its way through the process, the House will deliver on its bill tomorrow, and the Senate will do likewise, probably next week or so, and hopefully, at some point, he'll be able to begin to influence what it is that comes out. Because right now, the bill, as it stands, simply misses the mark.
If you could wave your magic wand and make two changes to the bill that would make it much more palatable to Republicans. What would they be?
I think first of all you have to focus spending on actual stimulus. You've got CBO saying that only 25 percent goes out in the first year. You've got to have some type of ability to provide that jobs will be created or maintained because of the government spending. Listen, this is all borrowed money. That is an added burden you have to overcome in order to justify the government spending the money, not the private sector. Number 2, you'd have some meaningful tax relief for small business. There's a lot of discussion about the NOL provisions - net operating losses - which are good. That will help save jobs. There's a lot of discussion and support for accelerated depreciation. That's great because that will help spur big business to purchase assets. But that provision itself really kicks in when you purchase over $850,000. What about the real small business person? There is only 41 million dollars allocated toward the relief for small business and small business expensing. That's where we start to look. For every one dollar you allocate for small business tax relief, you're spending four dollars to replace the grass here in Washington.
Is that why your proposal includes a 20% tax deduction for small businesses but not for business in general?
That's correct. As we know, small business, entrepreneurs and the self employed create 70% of the jobs in this country. When people are laid off, as is going on in the country, often times they'll go and start their own business. If that happens, and we know that will be happening, you want to expedite that, you want to help the people to go out and make the decision to put their capital on the line and begin to create jobs. That's where we need help.
Another plank in your proposal is to get rid of the tax on unemployment benefits. But in terms of a direct stimulus, increasing welfare benefits, increase food stamps, would be as much of a multiplier, if not more, than the Republican proposal? If the goal is to get a bill with as much stimulus as possible, how come Republicans aren't talking about increasing other government transfers?
Right now, the reality is you have growing unemployment in the country and what we've got to do is create an environment where you can sustain a certain level of activity. You're right. Unemployment benefit extension, lifting taxes on unemployment benefits is a safety net move. But there is some stimulative effect, although it's not great. It is recognition of reality.
Public opinion is in favor of the stimulus, even as they don't know all the details; in urging members to oppose it, are you essentially betting that it won't work?
Listen. I think there is a significant desire on part of our conference , our members, to contribute to this process, and to make sure that we've got a stimulus bill that gets it right. The public may like the idea of stimulus because is sounds as if that will deliver an economic recovery, but when you begin to look at what the public is really about, they don't want the government going into more debt to borrow the money to spend as a way of our getting out of this recovery. There is a real doubt and a lack of confidence that Washington delivers and that where I think the majority of Republicans are right now. This stimulus package somehow just doesn't get it right. If you look at the tremendous amount of spending in the bill, the bulk of it goes to programs that may be laudable; there's $136 billion for new programs that they believe we need to have. Very little of that is stimulative. At the end of the day, Republicans believe that we have a better plan and that we can do better. And that's why we want to urge this president to impose upon speaker Pelosi. To open her door. Meet with us. We can do better This Congress can do better.
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/01/interview_cantor_on_what_repub.php
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"The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings." --Eric Hoffer
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"The two parties have combined against us to nullify our power by a ‘gentleman's agreement' of non-recognition, no matter how we vote ... May God write us down as asses if ever again we are found putting our trust in either the Republican or the Democratic Parties." -- W.E.B. DuBois (1922)
I think that Obama can say he tried to reach across the aisle, but the Republicans weren't reaching back.
This is what my town is putting up with right now.
And if Obama pulls the bill, it will make the Obama and the
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Sure, sure, keep telling yourself that.
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