Businesses Lobby For Their Cut Of Stimulus Pie

WASHINGTON -- Business groups are ramping up lobbying efforts to expand tax credits and incentives in President Barack Obama's $825 billion economic-stimulus bill slated for key Senate action this week.
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The home-building industry wants to broaden and extend a $7,500 tax credit currently available for new-home buyers. The construction industry is working to head off strengthened requirements to buy American-made products, which it sees as unnecessary red tape. Small businesses want to extend a set of one-year tax incentives for investing in new equipment.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[Diogenes08]

The only builders rich enough to lobby Congress are the nationals. The protest against "buying American-made products" can only be an admission that they exclusively hire undocumented aliens, thus making their products non-American made. No mention of the fact that they got so rich by illegally hiring illegal aliens to avoid paying taxes without passing those savings along to home buyers. Fuggem, they're prime examples of the greed that got us into this mess in the first place.

Besides, Chinese nails bend on the first hammer strike. I've long since concluded that it was a Chinese plot to raise the price of American housing; sure the nails are cheap but you have to start 3 or 4 to get one driven, and that increased labor is passed along, no matter the nationality of the carpenter.

[Erdgeist]

One has to be very cautious with business, i.e., the supply-side. There is no evidence that supply-side thinking (Say's Law) ever worked in a recession. The problem right now is lack of efficient demand pointing the finger to unemployment and under employment (i.e., chump service sector jobs).

The economic conundrum is how to get demand moving again. You can't do it by giving business tax breaks unless they hire American workers to earn such tax relief. And we certainly should not give any business a tax break who engages in out-sourcing and off-shoring. Their taxes should be raised to the roof.

[sueinmn]

YES YES YES!

Illegal workers pay no tax, visa workers pay no tax, American pay workers PAY TAXES!
Foreign immigrants legally in this country pay no tax for numbers of years.

All these "no tax" worker programs are no different than outsourceing American jobs.

Americans need to support America whether you are in business, Government or the private sector if this is to work. This stimulus money after all is American tax payers money, present and future and it needs to be protected.

[drymartini1]

wtf are you smoking? I was paying taxes while I was a student and getting paid through assistantships !!

H1-B workers pay same taxes as american citizens. Only if they are under optional practical training do they not pay SS taxes (thats for 1 year). get your facts straight instead of shouting like a rabid dog.

[BigHeadTodd]

Gimme mine before you give it away to those CRAZY people who will actually spend it on bare necessities.

Those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it....again and again and again.

[conniedogs]

New home buyers, huh?

[kelisawood]

"...The initiative already reflects political trade-offs. Lawmakers dropped an Obama-backed proposal that would have provided a tax credit supporting creation of jobs and boosted spending and tax cuts supporting development of solar, wind and other sources of renewable energy..."

...basically indicating the push for Green Jobs is dead...?

[GerryS]

what ridiculous BS

My town and county are applying for tthe bail-out $

I was suprised to read that they were not going to use any $ found for Parks and Rec., as usually happens. Nothing for health, or support for anyrhing else.

Regardless, the project $ applied for, there is 2 out of 12-15 that are needed/ worthy.

http://www.durangoherald.com/sections/News/2009/01/25/City_county_push_for_federal_money/

[sueinmn]

And the state I live in, they are pushing for snowmaking machines at ski lodges! This is Minnesota where snow in not an issue. The Governmors now need to be propped up by the people at these are their decisions how to spend it. Unfortunate for most of us, we may not see it wisely spent regardless Of Pres. Obamas formula. Governors may be deep in the pockets of the Lobbyiest and their back door efforts!