After weeks and weeks of build-up, made that much more tense by political sniping about a First Family vacation in Martha's Vineyard and last week's dust-up with the Speaker of the House over whether last night's GOP Presidential primary debate should take precedence over the opening-season NFL game between the Packers and the Saints, President Obama's "Big Jobs Speech" has finally come and gone. I feel -- much as I did as a twelve-year-old, having finally mustered up the courage to see if I could get past the box office of my local theatre to see the R-rated Easy Rider (after pretty much everyone else who mattered in my peer group already had) -- somewhat disappointed but not overly surprised.
After inheriting an economy already well into the Great Recession, the president has now had 33 months to both create a bold narrative -- a vision, if you will -- for a brighter future for our country and chart a course to see us well on our way toward the fulfillment of that vision. For twenty-four of those 33 months, the Democratic Party controlled the White House and both Houses of Congress. And yet, here we were, waiting with much anticipation and after prolonged hand-wringing, for our problems to be solved (or, at the very least, for the solution to our problems to be delivered to us by from on high). As I am fond of saying in such situations, "our headaches are over; here comes Moses with the tablets."
But, alas, our headaches are seemingly just beginning, in part because the prescription that has been delivered by our Physician-in-Chief is, to continue the analogy, half an Alka-Seltzer (or as a devoted Liberal friend of mine likes to say, when presented with a lacking opposing argument, "weak sauce"). When what we really needed was a new vision for America and a clear path forward, what we received instead was a collection of tepid, "been there/done that," short-term fixes that, while they may result in some modest increases in employment, will surely do nothing to solve our long-term economic and fiscal problems. A Band-Aid on a shotgun blast.
Just in case you didn't see the president's Big Jobs Speech, and I don't know that I would blame you if there was an ESPN NFL pre-game extravaganza on opposite the President's address, here are some of the highlights:
1. An estimated $450 billion in new government spending (the "American Jobs Act"), to be paid for with a combination of some government un-spending (i.e. cuts) and the revocation of some tax benefits for the rich and big corporations, all pretty much back-loaded to later years (where "later years" means after the 2012 election), funding:
a. A payroll tax holiday, estimated to put over $1,000.00 in the pockets of those Americans fortunate enough to still be employed;
b. An extension of unemployment benefits;
c. An infrastructure bank, the mechanics of which -- as someone who understands public finance and sophisticated financing structures pretty thoroughly -- either have escaped me entirely or just have not been presented because they are lacking at present;
d. Funding for school construction and infrastructure projects, to be funded directly to the states;
e. A payroll tax cut for employers;
f. Aid for state and local governments;
g. A new-hire tax credit;
h. Job training for long-term unemployed; and
i. A mortgage refinancing initiative for homeowners.
2. An assurance that we are a resilient people who have overcome such Herculean obstacles in the past, so we will do so in the future as well;
3. A mild but sternly delivered threat to Congress that, having presented them with such a tepid bundle of milk toast economic fixes to goose the economy -- almost all of which have had either bipartisan or Republican support, in one form or another, in the past that it would be almost impossible for them to be objectionable -- they'd better act swiftly; and
4. A vague and somewhat idealized promise about exciting things to come for a more-promising future.
So, what, exactly, is wrong with the president's Big Jobs Speech and the solutions contained therein? Pretty much everything. This country, and the other countries whose economies rely upon the success of ours, have heard the reassuring talk from this Administration far too many times for it to any longer be effective. Spending $450 billion seems anemic when you've already spent almost $2 trillion between the February 2009 stimulus package and the December 2010 extension of the Bush tax cuts, with precious little to show for it other than perhaps stopping the economic bleeding. It seems highly unlikely that the American Jobs Act is going to -- what's the president's catch-phrase -- get the car out of that ditch.
The measures that have been proposed are extraordinary only in how ordinary they truly are. There is nothing new here, and neither the message nor the handful of remedies is sufficient to bolster the confidence of the American people, our financial institutions, our trading partners and the rest of the world, much less inspire anyone to greatness.
The president's Big Jobs Speech was impassioned to be sure; almost fiery at times. And it received more than the requisite amount of applause and standing O's from the Democratic members of Congress, to whom the president threw plenty of red meat. But the good feelings generated by such a speech are unlikely to last more than a week or two at that, particularly at a time when the bad economic news spigot continues to flow freely.
I wrote more than two-and-a-half years ago, in a piece for the New Geography, that the country needed a bold vision that would provide the framework for the recovery from our economic crisis. I re-emphasized that call for a bold vision in a piece that appeared on NewGeo and also in the Huffington Post this past weekend. I stand by that call for a new vision for America; something that tells us not only that we are capable once again to aspire to greatness -- something the president did eloquently this evening -- but tells us where we're going and lays out the roadmap for getting there by creating a narrative for our future.
Having seen nothing coming from the eight GOP presidential hopefuls in last night's debate at the Reagan Library, and now having been let down, once again, by a president who seems to be able to inspire the American people best only when he's running against someone else, I'm just going to have to lay that vision out myself, in a future blog post. Watch this space.
Follow Peter Smirniotopoulos on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@PSmirn
Howard Fineman: Obama Puts Passion Into Jobs Speech Rarely Seen In His Presidency
Bill George: What the President Should Say on Jobs and the Economy
Remember, the greatest flood starts with a single raindrop. I'll take anything that helps - no matter how small or trivial you may feel it is.
The largely unrelated amalgam of jobs incentives in the president's plan, even if it were passed wholesale (which is highly unlikely) will not create more than 500,000 to 1 million jobs, at best, and those jobs may be fleeting. What is needed is a new economy for the United States; something in which consumers and businesses alike can believe. Only when confidence in the future of our economy is restored will we see *real* job creation and an emergence from our economic woes. This entire process is more likely to undermine confidence in our government's ability to make things better and, hence, hurt the economic recovery than it is to make a positive difference.
A milk toast jobs program really puts the cart before the horse.
If you can't get anything bold passed, pass what you can, and try to bring the conversation back to where it should be by taking a moral stand against our current "race to the bottom" and hope the public follows you. It's all that can be done, and it's what the President did.
This country is so incapable of enacting a "bold vision" right now that itNEARLY defies explanation--not only can we not agree on even what the framework of such a vision should be, we can't even agree on how impartially evaluate the qualities of any such vision. we can't even agree on what "qualities" means--beyond the platitude that such a vision should "strengthen" the economy.
There is no agreement on who can impartially measure likely economic impact--estimates issue forth constantly from the OMB, CBO, and countless think-tanks. No single report is acceptable to both sides, and frankly I see the Republicans blowing off any estimate that doesn't issue forth from Heritage. A public which is fairly ignorant of the minutiae of economic policy, has no idea where to turn for intelligent advice. Popular news media play every policy proposal as nothing more than an attempt to change the next electoral horse-race, again failing the public.
Wow. Can't wait for the specifics. Be sure when you lay them out that you also tell us how you would pass that through today's congress. I've read that Dennis Kucinich has sponsored 107 bills of which 102 never even made it out of committee. Liberals love his progressive vision, but if the way you implement your vision keeps dying in committee, it's a little hard to see how that does anyone any good. Kind of falls into the "what a concept" category.
F/F
What will actually bring back "jobs?" It will take much more than government spending or non-spending. It will take a fundamental attitude-adjustment, and I believe that this is one that is ready to take place.
The proposition of Government is always that "Government, and only Government, must Act" in order to address a problem. We have no jobs, say, so the Government Must Act in order to Create Jobs.
But the simple truth is that jobs will create themselves when the conditions are made proper for them to do so.
What can we do?
(1) Neuter the Military Industrialists. Pay attention to "Ike" Eisenhower. He was right.
(2) Change business taxation rules to cause money earned "out of the country" to be subject to, say, triple-tax. Separate money earned outside the US from money earned inside, for all US corporations.
(3) Require that "undocumented" ("guest" workers) are subject to the same minimum wage and working condition laws of everyone else. Consider workers "by census." At any moment in time your factory can be surrounded and no one can leave until every head inside that building is counted.
(4) Remove all causes for preferring "imported" labor, and "imported" sources of goods and supply, over "domestic."
You won't get fit if you don't get off the couch, and you won't get off the couch unless somebody makes you.
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/9/1/alleging_captive_labor_foreign_students_walk
The people need to take the power back from Congress and find leaders who will help move the country forward, and do so without being beholding to special interests.
Unfortunately, the days of 'ordinary market cycles' is well past. Wealth is now concentrated in insurance, investment, and the liesure class (and of course the military, as always) - none of these areas of the general economy are productive, with the possible exception of the military (which is now also very destructive and wasting of wealth as well), and with the majority of wealth circulating amng these sectors, there is little available for general recovery. UNLESS we have a president and congress devoted to using the leverage of government to redistribute wealth into productive markets.
Which, apparently, unfortunately, we don't. So don't expect any recovery soon. Unless we get a new group of HONEST politicians who sincerely want change.
F/F
The recovery won’t be a recovery. Obama has made three fundamental mistakes, Summers, Geithner and Bernanke. He has allowed his policies to be focused on propping up those who caused the financial carnage. Every dollar that has gone to refill the coffers of the craven warlocks of Wall Street has been diverted from rebuilding the economy. The overt fraud that brought this Nation to its knees has been swept aside like so many other crimes of the preceding eight years. A strong and lasting recovery cannot be built on such a shoddy foundation.
Despite the pretty words our Foreign Policies of War and Empire continue. These affronts to reason exist only to insure continued waste of blood and treasure in the name of security. This is the moral and financial albatross round our necks that keeps our heads down and shoulders stooped.
We are coddled and corrupted by our tax and social systems giving too much to too many for too little. From those paying themselves a King’s ransom to oversee fraud to those who expect support for the results of their procreation we reward misbehavior and punish virtue.
We selected leaders who betrayed us and we availed ourselves of the indebtedness they offered for crass comforts. We were oblivious to reality until it was thrust upon us and now we are nonplussed. Until we as a Nation demand and accept the truth we are destined to wander aimlessly in the wilderness of wanton denial.
And I have to agree with Oliphart that true reform of our financial system--which we did *not* get with the FinReg legislation--is something that would restore confidence of investors worldwide in investing their money in the United States and with our domestic companies. These are the kinds of long-term, structural strategies we need to be pursuing (putting aside that we should have been pursuing them all along); not some cobbled-together, untethered, short-term jobs program.
Americans are not liberal, they will never adopt your ideas. The Left should stop trying to blackmail Obama into pushing minority views, ensuring Repubs are elected. Guess what: the Left hasn't supported Obama from the get-go. Obama won by 9M votes, Nader got 1.6M, Obama doesn't need your vote or support. Disdain from the Professional Left does help him though, helped Truman win in 1948.
Dems outnumber Repubs, but Conservatives outnumber Liberals 2 to 1. From Jan 2011:
The new Gallup poll asking party affiliation reads:
Democrat - 31%
Independent - 38%
Republican - 29%
When Gallup uses the terms "conservative" and "liberal" it reads:
Liberal - 20%
Moderate - 35%
Conservative - 40%
http://rackjite.com/archives/6247-Gallup-Poll-38-percent-of-Americans-claim-to-be-Independents.html
Party affiliation in polls is not a good metric to gauge anything.
Besides, even tea baggers don't want the government to mess with their Medicare.
The Left isn't blackmailing Obama, they will be there to support him for the most part.
The same can't be said for the Republican Party that is being held hostage to the 'tea' people.
Americans strongly support SS and Medicare, don't consider those Liberal. Favoring single-payer, that's Liberal, and not supported by most Americans, because they already have insurance from employer. Liberals want change, Americans don't. Those in the poll who say they are conservative don't favor eliminating SS or Medicare, that's Tea Party stuff. Read my micro-bio, Americans are mostly unaffiliated. Being a partisan is as absurd as being a rabid sports fan.