Even if Congress heeds President Obama's demands to "pass this bill right away" and enacts his jobs and tax plan in its entirety, the unemployment rate probably still would hover in nosebleed territory for at least three more years…
…Economists of all stripes pretty much agree that it will be a long, hard road no matter what Congress does. Right now, the Republicans who run the House and the Democrats who lead the Senate aren't finding much common ground…
…Economists of all stripes pretty much agree that it will be a long, hard road no matter what Congress does. Right now, the Republicans who run the House and the Democrats who lead the Senate aren't finding much common ground…
The projection of 1.9 million new jobs, a 1 percentage point drop in the unemployment rate and a 2 percentage point increase in the gross domestic product under Obama's PLAN CAME FROM MARK ZANDI, CHIEF ECONOMIST OF MOODY'S ANALYTICS.
BUT ZANDI SAID IN AN INTERVIEW HIS FORECAST ALSO IS BASED ON AN ASSUMPTION THAT "THE PRESIDENT'S ENTIRE PACKAGE IS PASSED BY THE END OF THE YEAR," a slim prospect given the current divided leadership in Congress, and that there are no other budgetary policy changes.
"I assumed that it would be paid for," Zandi said. "I didn't know when I did that simulation how the president proposed to pay for it."
Since then, Obama has said he would pay for his $447 billion package with permanent income tax increases of about $150 billion a year, mostly on wealthy individuals and corporations, in addition to spending cuts. That's drawn criticism from Republicans, who say any tax increases could further stall the fragile recovery.
Zandi, who has advised both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, said he's still sticking with his forecast, mainly because the stimulus in the plan, including a temporary reduction in Social Security taxes for both employees and employers and infrastructure spending, would come in 2012 and be paid for later.
But there is one feature Obama doesn't emphasize.
ZANDI SAID HIS JOB-CREATION FIGURE ONLY APPLIES TO 2012.
"BEGINNING IN 2013, AND CERTAINLY INTO 2014, THE PLAN IS A DRAG ON THE ECONOMY BECAUSE THE STIMULUS STARTS FADING AWAY," HE SAID. "SO BY 2015, THE ECONOMY IS IN THE SAME PLACE AS NOW, AS IF THERE WERE NO JOBS PACKAGE."…
It appears Obama’s job package is designed to save his job, not yours.
You probably don’t love him if you are in the coal industry
This article is a few days old, but it is worth a mention nonetheless. Susan Kraemer at CleanTechnica can barely contain her excitement at the prospect of environmental regulations. In an article titled "OBAMA'S EPA CUES 130 BILLION RACE TO CUT POLLUTION BY 2015", she reports that THE EPA WILL SHUT DOWN 20 PERCENT OF COAL PLANTS THROUGH THE CROSS-STATE AIR POLLUTION RULE. She acknowledges the cost of these regulations ($130 billion), but insists that this is actually good for the economy.
How, pray tell, does $130 billion in regulatory expenses transform into a $130 billion boon?
Because it will push coal plants out of the way and free up energy production for green technology, of course!...
Unfortunately, green technology is a lot more expensive than coal is and therefore all the money will come from electricity users in the form of more expensive electricity. And when they are paying more for electricity, they can’t spend that money on going out for dinner or buying a new car. In fact there is no boon by doing what the EPA will be doing.
Another “Jobs” move by Obama
ASTHMA PATIENTS WHO RELY ON OVER-THE-COUNTER INHALERS WILL NEED TO SWITCH TO PRESCRIPTION-ONLY ALTERNATIVES AS PART OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S LATEST ATTEMPT TO PROTECT THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE.
The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday patients who use the epinephrine inhalers to treat mild asthma WILL NEED TO SWITCH BY DEC. 31 to other types that do not contain chlorofluorocarbons, an aerosol substance once found in a variety of spray products.
The action is part of an agreement signed by the U.S. and other nations to stop using substances that deplete the ozone layer, a region in the atmosphere that helps block harmful ultraviolet rays from the Sun.
But the switch to a greener inhaler will cost consumers more. EPINEPHRINE INHALERS ARE AVAILABLE VIA ONLINE RETAILERS FOR AROUND $20, WHEREAS THE ALTERNATIVES, WHICH CONTAIN THE DRUG ALBUTEROL, RANGE FROM $30 TO $60.
Think about it. By requiring people with asthma to use prescription products, they increase the work for doctors, pharmacists, and if people can’t afford them, more people for ER rooms and ultimately Funeral Directors. Not only that but it will cut down the number of people who will collect on Social Security. Way to go O!!
Lowest Rating Ever for Obama
This week’s ECONOMIST/YOUGOV POLL IS FULL OF BAD NEWS FOR PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA. The frontrunners for the GOP nomination in the 2012 contest are pulling very close to him in head-to-head matchups, and his approval rating has been at or near the lowest levels of his Presidency for the last few weeks. And the worrisome economy keeps it there: THIS WEEK JUST 36% APPROVE OF THE WAY HE IS HANDING HIS JOB OVERALL, the lowest rating ever in the two and a half years of his Presidency….
Obama’s numbers continue to fall. There isn’t much hope for Obama to avoid a change in November 2012.
Left Behind: How Democrats Are Losing the Political Center
…In mid-2005, as disaffection with the Bush administration and the Republican Party was gathering momentum, THE PEW RESEARCH CENTER ASKED AMERICAN TO PLACE THEMSELVES AND THE POLITICAL PARTIES ON A STANDARD LEFT-RIGHT IDEOLOGICAL CONTINUUM. At that time, average voters saw themselves as JUST RIGHT OF CENTER AND EQUIDISTANT FROM THE TWO POLITICAL PARTIES. INDEPENDENTS CONSIDERED THEMSELVES TWICE AS FAR AWAY FROM THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AS FROM THE DEMOCRATS, presaging their sharp shift toward the Democrats in the 2006 mid-term election.
In August of this year, Pew posed a very similar question (note to survey wonks: Pew used a five-point scale, versus six in 2005), but the results were very different. Although AVERAGE VOTERS CONTINUE TO SEE THEMSELVES AS JUST RIGHT OF CENTER, THEY NOW PLACE THEMSELVES TWICE AS FAR AWAY FROM THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AS FROM THE REPUBLICANS. In addition, Independents now see themselves as significantly closer to the Republican Party, reversing their perceptions of six years ago.
There’s another difference as well. In 2005, Republicans’ and Democrats’ views of their own parties dovetailed with the perceptions of the electorate as a whole. TODAY, WHILE VOTERS AS A WHOLE AGREE WITH REPUBLICANS’ EVALUATION OF THEIR PARTY AS CONSERVATIVE, THEY DISAGREE WITH DEMOCRATS, WHO ON AVERAGE SEE THEIR PARTY AS MODERATE RATHER THAN LIBERAL. So when Independents, who see themselves as modestly right of center, say that Democrats are too liberal, average Democrats can’t imagine what they’re talking about….
The Democrats keep saying the TEA Party is made up of extremists. The problem they have is that they don’t realize the extremist label is being place on them by the majority of Americans. A lot of Democratic Jobs are in jeopardy.
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