Patience Wearing Thin as Obama Turns to Jobs
With the economy continuing to shed jobs, Obama looks for ways to boost employment
Where are the jobs? That's the question that Republican congressional leaders, and millions of Americans, are asking these days. So far, the answer from President Obama is: They are coming, but not very quickly.
Asked that question by U.S. News last week, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said, "We are looking at doing everything humanly possible" to save existing jobs and to create new ones, and many ideas are under consideration. To advance the idea-generation process and demonstrate concern to the public, President Obama met last week with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid. And even though no plan was finalized, administration sources said many ideas are under consideration, including deeper tax cuts for businesses, special tax credits for creating new jobs, adding programs to create public-works employment, extending unemployment insurance, expanding food-stamp coverage, broadening healthcare benefits for the unemployed, and providing more assistance to state governments.
This week, Democratic congressional leaders floated another proposal: extending the expiring $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and, for the first time, also making it available to current homeowners who buy new houses. Under one option, the criteria would remain the same in both categories. The full credit would be limited to individuals with incomes up to $75,000 a year or couples who make $150,000. Lesser credits would be available on a sliding scale for individuals with incomes from $75,000 to $95,000 or couples making from $150,000 to $170,000. The theory is that such a program would promote home sales and increase job-creation throughout the economy.
Meanwhile, the political infighting is growing ever more intense in Washington. "It is now evident that the massive 'stimulus' spending bill enacted months ago has been unsuccessful," House GOP leader John Boehner and other Republicans wrote last week in letters to Obama and Pelosi. "Washington borrowed a trillion dollars from our nation's children and grandchildren for this legislation, which was supposed to create jobs and keep the national unemployment rate from rising above 8 percent." Instead, the national unemployment rate actually climbed to 9.8 percent in September, up from 9.7 percent in August and the highest in 26 years.
Many Democrats concede that public concern is real and justified. "There's only one number that really counts in terms of politics, and that's unemployment," says Democratic pollster Mark Penn, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton and to Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. "Ten percent is a tripwire for public-opinion fallout. If unemployment hits 10 percent nationally, that means 17 percent unemployment in a lot of places in the Midwest."
Administration officials argue that Obama's $787 billion stimulus package from earlier this year and his other economic measures prevented a terrible situation from getting worse. When the government announced that 263,000 jobs were lost in September, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was quick to point out that this was an improvement from the beginning of the year, when the economy was shedding 700,000 jobs per month.
The problem is that there are real people behind those statistics, and their patience is wearing thin.
- See photos of the Obamas behind the scenes.
- Check out our gallery of political cartoons.
Reader Comments
The H1-B Lies
My issue is with H1-B Visas. I work for a fairly large professional services firm however my office consists of 10 employees. A few years ago a new employee was hired to help out with a new initiative. He has a degree in accounting from a U.S. university and was hired directly out of college. He has been trained by me and other experienced workers. He is now skilled at his job however he possesses no skills or knowledge that the other employees lack. Three American citizens, in equivalent positions, have been laid off in our small office since his employment and all of the employees in our office have experienced significant reductions in income, although it does not appear that this trend exists for the same positions throughout the company. I believe that this individual, while a nice person, is affecting the salaries of the entire office. I believe that his only motivation is to maintain the sponsorship that he receives from my company and that he is essentially the equivalent of an indentured servant. This program is hurting Americans, and to add insult to injury, it's being sold as a necessity due to the lack of "qualified" Americans. These individuals are being hired directly out of college with the same degrees that thousands of Americans received. Please address this loophole which is allowing companies to replace American workers.
Sincerely,
American Worker
economy
Anyone that thinks that the economy is (slowly) getting better is delusional. I suggest that you fasten your seat belts and stock up the pantry; unless policy changes, what we are seeing now is temporary and we are in for a rough ride. May not happen yet this year; but mark my words - it's coming. The U.S. has spent WAY more than it has; foreign governments are losing faith in our financial system, and the value of a dollar is going to go to hell in a hand basket. Increasing government spending right now will do nothing but promote inflation. I suggest you be prepared.
Jobs
Bobo, I lived in California for some years. I never saw the people complaining the loudest about immigrants taking "their" jobs picking lettuce or working in a car wash. But I did see the same people gloating about their $40/week gardening service but demanding that if the gardner cut his hand open working in their yard he shouldn't have access to the ER. I saw people at dinner parties bemoaning the presence of illegals while their live-in served them dinner.
The point is that the problems with your economy are not going to be solveed by eliminating the source of cheap labor to which your state is so addicted. California proudly ran the last car manufacturing plant on the West Coast out of the state just recently, and the people waving the picket signs at the end have no clue that they might be "partially"r responsible for someone as efficient as Toyota not being ablt to make a proit in that state.
advertisement
