Will the GOP Help Get America Back to Work?
Tonight, President Obama will address a joint session of Congress and lay out an ambitious plan to address the unemployment crisis gripping the country.
Here’s a preview of what to expect.
WHAT:
- Small business tax incentives to encourage small businesses to hire more workers immediately.
- An extension of the payroll tax cut, something that largely benefits middle and working class Americans and which is set to expire at the end of the year.
- Programs to encourage the immediate creation of jobs for teachers, first responders, construction workers, veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, and others.
- An extension of long-term unemployment insurance benefits, which will otherwise expire at the end of year.
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST: The entire program is expected to cost approximately $300 BILLION, according to early press reports.
HOW WILL IT BE PAID FOR: Unlike the Recovery Act or last year’s tax deal, the jobs plan will be fully paid for by asking the wealthy to pay their fair share and by closing corporate tax loopholes (we don’t know which ones yet).
HOW MANY JOBS WILL IT CREATE: The White House has not put out a number in advance of the president’s speech, but progressives are hoping the plan will create upwards of 2 MILLION jobs.
WHY IT WILL HELP THE WHOLE ECONOMY: More jobs throughout the economy means more customers for businesses large and small, giving them the confidence to hire and invest some of the $1.2 TRILLION in cash they are currently sitting on.
WHY IT MATTERS: More jobs throughout the economy as slashing the ranks of the unemployed means more wages in the economy giving business the confidence to hire and investment.
THE CHOICE: After the president lays out his jobs plan tonight, the choice before Republicans could not be starker: help put America back to work or continue to protect tax breaks for the wealthy and Big Oil and leave the 14 MILLION jobless Americans hanging out to dry even as corporate profits continue to break records.
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