John Boehner wants a lot of people to lose their jobs.
We were awfully surprised to hear Rep. Boehner come out for killing jobs en masse in his own state and district by stopping the Recovery Act on last Sunday's news shows.
Though we're sure he didn't know it, the Congressman is advocating to kill the expansion of the Butler County Community Health Center and bring some of the twenty-five highway projects across the district to a grinding halt. Across the state of Ohio, he said that approximately 4 million working families should get an unexpected cut in their paycheck as the Making Work Pay tax credit disappears, unemployed workers should go without unemployment benefits, and major Ohio road projects like the US-33 Nelsonville Bypass project and the Cleveland Innerbelt Modernization project should be stalled or stopped. Oh, and some of the more than 100 clean energy Recovery projects employing workers across the state should be shut down.
That would be the direct consequence of his suggestion that we shut down the Recovery Act: "There's still about $400 billion or $500 billion of the stimulus plan that has not been spent. Why don't we stop it?" Now if you have been following this blog, you know that the notion there is "$400 billion or $500 billion" in Recovery Act funding unspent couldn't be further from the truth. In fact, we're right on track to hit the goal set when the Recovery Act passed: that 70% of the $787 billion in funds would be "outlaid" or provided in tax benefits by September 30, 2010. But you don't have to take our word for it -- independent fact-checker Politifact.com recently rated Rep. Boehner's claim flat-out false. As they noted:
[R]ight off the bat, Boehner's $400 billion to $500 billion figure is much too high.
But then they go on to say:
[W]e think it's misleading to refer to even that lower number as "unspent" stimulus, because much of the $292 billion has been obligated, even though it has not been paid out.
But here is where things get interesting. We discussed a couple of weeks ago that Recovery Act dollars are put to work creating jobs and jump-starting projects long before they cross this final step of being "outlaid." First of all, two-thirds of the Recovery Act is tax cuts and relief payments which were largely designed to spend out gradually over time, generally over a two year period. So that "unspent" money is things like the tax cuts owed to working families in their paychecks and the upcoming unemployment checks owed to those hit by a job loss.
The other one-third of the Recovery Act is projects where the money largely isn't paid out until work is underway or nearing completion. If you were renovating your house, you wouldn't pay for the whole thing up front -- you would make progress payments as the key targets are being met and work is being completed. And you would expect the government to do the same thing with your taxpayer dollars, right? But an awful lot happens with the commitment of those dollars before anyone gets paid. If the bank pre-approved you for a loan for your renovation, you would certainly start drafting up plans, lining up contractors and securing permits. And then once the bank deposited that money in your account -- just like when the government contracts with a Recovery Act awardee to give them a grant or loan - you would start hiring a contractor who would hire workers, buy materials and start the project. Well, the same is true of Recovery Act projects - that "unspent" Recovery Act project money has already started tens of thousands of projects nationwide.
Big picture that means that 94 percent of the Recovery Act is either in tax cuts, payments, or projects under contract. Of the remaining 6 percent, half has been awarded and contracts are being finalized -- and half is in the final stages of the award process. So when critics like Rep. Boehner talk about stopping the spending, they're essentially talking about taking away middle class tax cuts, leaving unemployed workers unexpectedly high and dry without an unemployment check, halting road and bridge projects and leaving them unfinished, leaving contractors unpaid for the work they've already done and more.
So when it comes right down to, is Rep. Boehner really ready to tell Ohioans they'd be better off if we stopped the Recovery Act?
This post originally appeared at The White House Recovery Blog.
one thing that stood out was he would not or could not, answer
a direct question. Are the Bush tax cuts paid for. Simple enough
question. Seems like Republicans want change, they just can't
tell you what exactly that change is.
I hope you all take time to write a "letter to the editor" of your local paper. We must work to help other Americans understand what we see so clearly. Passion and persistence can go a long way.
"Ensuring there’s enough money to pay for the war will require reforming the country’s entitlement system, Boehner said. He said he’d favor increasing the Social Security retirement age to 70.."
http://news.firedoglake.com/2010/06/29/boehner-cut-social-security-to-pay-for-war/
not taking a pay raise every year, not using places like "C Street",
not taking lobbyist money ect.
"News reports highlighting Minority Leader John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) new “cash for speaker” program is a troubling—yet perfect—example of our broken political system, according to the Campaign for Fair Elections.
“That Rep. Boehner would so easily sell access and influence to lobbyists simply for political gain is an unconscionable abuse of the responsibilities his Ohio constituents have granted him,” said David Donnelly, campaign manager of the Campaign for Fair Elections. “Americans want leaders who will look out for them, not special interest donors.”
“Rep. Boehner is not the first congressional leader to promise access, attention and VIP treatment to big donors and bundlers,” continued Donnelly.
Rep. Boehner has launched a new campaign to become Speaker of the House if Republicans retake the majority in November, according to the newspaper POLITICO. From the article: “According to materials distributed by Boehner’s camp and obtained by POLITICO, lobbyists and other major donors across the country who give the maximum or help raise $100,000 will get meetings with Boehner, calls from senior aides with updates on the campaign and ‘VIP access to all events, including roundtables, briefings, breakout discussions and interactive panel discussions.’”
The highest giving industries to Rep. Boehner’s campaign and political action committee during his time in Congress include Wall Street, energy companies, lawyers and lobbyists."
http://fairelectionsnow.org/rep-boehner%E2%80%99s-cash-speaker-program
This is their program: enrich the already wealthy, hide the dollars, strip our resources, pollute the world, and doom all but a few to poverty, scarce and low paying jobs, inferior education opportunities, and poor health.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday morning also indicates that 63 percent of the public thinks that projects in the plan were included for purely political reasons and will have no economic benefit, with 36 percent saying those projects will benefit the economy.
The most eloquent president since Kennedy has failed to make his case. It's really sad and disturbing, and it's a terrible disservice to all of us who supported him.
Wake up, White House.
He could also use the bully pulpit more, another thing Bush did really well.
AP - The employment picture is looking bleaker as applications for jobless benefits rose last week to the highest level in almost six months.
If the Wal-Marts and all the rest gave every worker a raise and even hired an extra person or two, people would start spending again, confidence would improve, credit would loosen, tax money would flow into state coffers, which could in turn afford to provide for basic infrastructure improvements and on and on.
As the economy does whatever our masters deem it should do, we must insist on green jobs and improving our infrastructure in ways that serve people and preserves the natural wealth and beauty of the country.
Never again can we allow a Wall Street bailout. Any future bailout must flow through the working men and women of this country, the real wealth builders (not the paper floaters).
Ben says growth has stopped, deflation is possible, and stock prices plummeted.
Even Wall St wants a stimulus now, anything but deflation.
I wonder if Ben did this at Obama's request: warn of economic downturn, to get another stimulus bill.
Love your Boss too ;-)
http://wjmc.blogspot.com/2010/08/human-suffering-is-absolute.html
Economists must learn that unemployment is not simply a statistic, but rather the pain and suffering of individuals -- human suffering is absolute...