Barack Obama's $447 billion American Jobs Act: 'stop the political circus' - Polidicks

[url]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/8751383/Barack-Obamas-447-billion-American-Jobs-Act-stop-the-political-circus.html[/url] [quote]"There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation," he said. "Everything in here is the kind of proposal that's been supported by both Democrats and Republicans,including many who sit here tonight. And everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything." The White House had briefed beforehand that the jobs package, to be called the American Jobs Act, would cost more than $300 billion. But Obama administration sources disclosed just before the address that the figure would be well over $400 million. "It will provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and hire, there will be customers for their products and services," Mr Obama said. "You should pass this jobs plan right away." The centrepiece of the plan was a deeper than expected $240 billion payroll tax cut for employers and employees meant to keep money in the pockets of those most in need. The plan's $447 billion price tag contains $175 billion to cut employee payroll taxes in half, to 3.1 percent in 2012. Denying that the speech was "political grandstanding", he sought to shame Republican into action. "The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. The question tonight is whether we'll meet ours. "The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy; whether we can restore some of the fairness and security that has defined this nation since our beginning." Mr Obama, who was at times impassioned as he implored Congress to take action, said the Act, while not the "silver bullet" Americans were searching for, it would put people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working. "It will create more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans, and more jobs for the long-term unemployed," he said. "It will provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers, and it will cut payroll taxes in half for every working American and every small business. Mr Obama used the grand backdrop of the House chamber in a rare address to a Joint Session of Congress for what was essentially an attempt to re-launch his faltering presidency. It could be his last realistic chance to speed up growth and start to bring down unemployment, which is stuck stubbornly at 9.1 percent. On the line were his prospects of winning a second term, which look shakier with each opinion poll. Chances of the plan being passed by Congress are remote, however, with Republicans united in their opposition to any new spending not balanced by steep budget cuts. A deeply polarised political climate means many Republicans are reluctant to do anything that could help Mr Obama politically. There was due to be no bipartisan seating for Mr Obama's speech as there was at the State of the Union in January. At least five Republicans, two senators and three representatives, said they planned to boycott it because they had better things to do. John Boehnre, the Speaker of the House rebuked those boycotting Mr Obama, saying that "we ought to be respectful, we ought to welcome him". He said that he hoped for "common ground" with the president but did not say if he would back the plan. During the Republican presidential candidate debate on Wednesday night , Governor Rick Perry of Texas and Mitt Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, the two leading candidates, laid into Mr Obama "Who are the people most hurt by the Obama economy?" Mr Romney said. "The answer is the middle class. The great majority of Americans are having a very, very difficult time. And our effort has to be to find ways to reduce to burden on those people."[/quote] I think I'm going to tear my hair out of this thing doesn't pass. For any of you that missed the address, here's the full version. Uncut, uncensored ;) : [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvmUOqCWu64[/media]

It sounded like a great bill. I love what Obama preaches, but I feel it's often just for show.

It will. Or else people will get MAD. Remember, the Democrats are every bit as powerful as the Republicans right now.

[QUOTE=DarkSpider;32188483]It sounded like a great bill. I love what Obama preaches, but I feel it's often just for show.[/QUOTE] I thought he was pretty strong today, personally. He flat-out called out the Republicans by saying that their own [b]party[/b] supported the contents of the Bill through their own legislatures. He's creating a political minefield for the partisan Republicans to struggle through too.

[QUOTE=ASmellyOgre;32188492]It will. Or else people will get MAD. Remember, the Democrats are every bit as powerful as the Republicans right now.[/QUOTE] You sure? They've been pretty spineless for awhile now, especially Obama. I love the guy and support him, but he's seriously got to step it up.

Does it reduce the military budget? :downs:

I hope the Democrats don't pussyfoot around this time and let the Republicans gut the bill into uselessness like they did with the health care reform. Obama IS right though, in that the Republicans supposedly support this (or at least most of it), so if this doesn't pass due to the right's shit, I think it will just further prove they just want to spite Obama/Democrats.

[QUOTE=ASmellyOgre;32188492]It will. Or else people will get MAD. Remember, the Democrats are every bit as powerful as the Republicans right now.[/QUOTE] Yeah. There are some parts of the Act that Republicans clearly stood up for, too.

[quote]"Who are the people most hurt by the Obama economy?" Mr Romney said. "The answer is the middle class. The great majority of Americans are having a very, very difficult time. And our effort has to be to find ways to reduce to burden on those people."[/quote] That's exactly what Obama is trying to do you stupid fuck.

Michelle Bachman will create more jobs than Obama ever will. Bachman 2012!!1

Hopefully it's actually what he says it is and not more money down the drain

[QUOTE=Key_in_skillee;32188553]That's exactly what Obama is trying to do you stupid fuck.[/QUOTE] I like Romney, but I hate when he says stuff like that, or "Corporations are people too." Wasn't happy about his comments on the deficit in August either. But, as a mainstream candidate who needs to court the Tea Party, I guess if he says anything but "boo obama sucks," it's political suicide.

I noticed during Obama's speech that he seemed visually irritated and angry when he proposed this plan, when typically he can keep his cool during these speeches. I think it's beginning to really get to him.

I think Obama has finally pulled it together, just watched this speech. Damn, now I gotta go do a report on it for school.

I didn't get that impression until he started talking about spending cuts. Regardless, his hair is all salt & pepper, even white-haired. I don't know what I'd do if every rational and reasonable option I proposed was rammed up the ass by partisan Republicans who are trying to paint you as exactly what they're doing.

[QUOTE=Reimu;32188594]I like Romney, but I hate when he says stuff like that, or "Corporations are people too." Wasn't happy about his comments on the deficit in August either. But, as a mainstream candidate who needs to court the Tea Party, I guess if he says anything but "boo obama sucks," it's political suicide.[/QUOTE] I'm just not ready for a Mormon president. That may be the gayness talking.

I hope this gets passed because my faith in humanity is at an all time low.

Watched it live, seems like a good response from both sides, all that standing up and sitting down must really tire them out though.

Cool, lets just cut taxes more. Like that will really help. Thanks for fucking it up yet again, Obama. Republicans hadn't even started to protest this bill yet, and you already gave them what they want.

[QUOTE=Chickens!;32188711]I hope this gets passed because my faith in humanity is at an all time low.[/QUOTE] If it makes you feel better, there had to be a lot of smart people to work on this Act with Obama, and all those smart people that stood up throughout the Act's description. The IQ of a person in the room is proportionate to the amount of times they stood up throughout the address.

[QUOTE=Killoch0;32188734]Watched it live, seems like a good response from both sides, all that standing up and sitting down must really tire them out though.[/QUOTE] Nah, it's fine on them. In fact, politicians' most frequent daily exercise is squats. It helps them stand up and sit down in rapid succession, and it also relaxes their bowels to help them shit all over their constituents.

[QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;32188753]Cool, lets just cut taxes more. Like that will really help. Thanks for fucking it up yet again, Obama. Republicans hadn't even started to protest this bill yet, and you already gave them what they want.[/QUOTE] Yes, because you can obviously get any other sort of Act passed through Congress right now. It's not like there's a huge fucking party preventing anything from getting done, no sir. It's not like Obama and his cabinet thought about this Act long and hard, nope, they just decided to pander to the Republicans right away.

[QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;32188753]Cool, lets just cut taxes more. Like that will really help. Thanks for fucking it up yet again, Obama. Republicans hadn't even started to protest this bill yet, and you already gave them what they want.[/QUOTE] Did you...even read anything?

This was one of the very few Obama speeches I actually listened to the whole way through and I thought it was great. Don't really see too much of a downside to this one, so here's hoping it passes.

[QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;32188753]Cool, lets just cut taxes more. Like that will really help. Thanks for fucking it up yet again, Obama. Republicans hadn't even started to protest this bill yet, and you already gave them what they want.[/QUOTE] Shut up and find the speech online.

[QUOTE=ewitwins;32188795]Did you...even read anything?[/QUOTE] Yes, I read it. This is the only bit that described anything about the bill. [quote] The centrepiece of the plan was a deeper than expected $240 billion payroll tax cut for employers and employees meant to keep money in the pockets of those most in need. The plan's $447 billion price tag contains $175 billion to cut employee payroll taxes in half, to 3.1 percent in 2012. [/quote] Please point me to the good parts of this bill.

[QUOTE=Reimu;32188594]I like Romney, but I hate when he says stuff like that, or "Corporations are people too." Wasn't happy about his comments on the deficit in August either. But, as a mainstream candidate who needs to court the Tea Party, I guess if he says anything but "boo obama sucks," it's political suicide.[/QUOTE] Romney's a showman for the Republican's with slightly above-average intelligence compared to the rest of them. And he has little more to offer. There's certainly nothing special or redeeming about him. His whole thesis on creating jobs in the United States can pretty much be summed up as: [img]http://dudelol.com/img/why-dont-i-strap-on-my-job-helmet-and-squeeze-into-a-job-cannon-and-fire-off-into-job-land.gif[/img]

Give relief to the middle-class, quite possibly the hardest hit class in this economy?? What a stupid idea! Fuck you Obama, pandering to the [i]Republicans[/i]. Also please read the speech. I know it's not 100% fair because we're talking about information we heard on the Speech, and you only have the article to work with, but he goes into a lot of detail and makes a lot of good points. Including mentioning how Warren Buffet is calling for the removal of wealthy tax breaks.

[QUOTE=PvtCupcakes;32188840]Yes, I read it. This is the only bit that described anything about the bill. Please point me to the good parts of this bill.[/QUOTE] Go read/listen to the speech

[QUOTE=Reimu;32188985]Give relief to the middle-class, quite possibly the hardest hit class in this economy?? What a stupid idea! Fuck you Obama, pandering to the [i]Republicans[/i] [/quote] Umm yeah, taxes need to go up for everyone. The wealthy especially.