Reality Check: White House 'Stimulus' Talking Points Don't Reflect Reality of Jobs Crisis
Latest White House Missive on the Economy Fails to Answer the Question Americans Are Asking: "Where Are The Jobs?"
Washington,
Oct 13, 2009 -
The White House’s latest attempt to defend its disastrous economic record came yesterday in the form of National Economic Council president Larry Summers’ response to a letter from House Republican leaders calling for bipartisan action to help small businesses create jobs. That letter, in addition to reminding President Obama about the solutions Republicans have put forth to help small businesses, asked a very simple question on behalf of the American people: “Where are the jobs?” Instead of providing a clear answer, however, the Summers letter rehashes the same tired – and discredited – talking points:
RHETORIC: “We have seen a substantial change in the trend of job loss.”
REALITY: A “change in the trend of job loss” is not what the American people were promised. As Leader Boehner pointed out in his statement yesterday, Mr. Summers himself said back in February that the ‘stimulus’ would create jobs “almost immediately.” Around the same time, Christina Romer, chair of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, said on MSNBC “I’ve run the numbers” after claiming that the ‘stimulus’ would create between three and four million jobs. Instead, our economy has lost roughly three million private sector jobs since the trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ was signed into law. White House aides now admit that they “missed the mark” with their estimate promise that the ‘stimulus’ package would keep unemployment from rising above eight percent. According to a survey conducted by Bloomberg News, economists say joblessness will reach 10 percent by the end of the year.
RHETORIC: “A second key economic priority for President Obama is returning our nation to fiscal responsibility.”
REALITY: Indeed, fiscal responsibility has not been a first priority for the Obama Administration, which has piled up “the most red ink ever.” The Administration’s budget contains projected deficits of $9 trillion over the next 10 years, more than the sum of all previous deficits in our nation’s history. The public’s share of the national debt is set to rise to $17.5 trillion in the same time period. Our children and grandchildren will end up buried under a mountain of debt if we continue taxing, spending and borrowing at these dangerous levels.
RHETORIC: “The single largest component of the [trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’] was over $280 billion in tax cuts.”
REALITY: More than one-third of the so-called “tax relief” in the 'stimulus' bill is spending in disguise, meaning that true tax relief made up only 24 percent of the total package. For American workers, the central tax credit of the plan amounts to roughly $8/week. As a point of comparison, House Democrats’ national energy tax bill would cost each household nearly $112/week according to the Obama Administration’s own analysis. Meanwhile, the Associated Press describes any data attributed to the impact of the stimulus as “so murky it can never be verified.”
RHETORIC: “The second component of the [trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’] was $270 billion in relief to state and local governments … to ensure that we were supporting recovery in all parts of the country…”
REALITY: According to data compiled by Ways & Means Republicans, the only place in America solidly on track to meet the Administration’s job creation projection is Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, the rest of the country is now almost six million jobs short of the Administration’s projections. What’s more, state reports are showing that most funds were directed to government jobs. In Oregon, for instance, “at least three out of every four” jobs purportedly ‘created or saved’ were in government, according to The Oregonian. Small businesses continue to be left behind by this Administration’s economic policies.
RHETORIC: “The third component of the [trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’] is financing the largest investment in roads since the creation of the interstate highway system.”
REALITY: A comprehensive AP analysis found that “counties suffering the most from job losses stand to receive the least help” from the infrastructure spending in the trillion-dollar ‘stimulus:’ “Altogether, the government is set to spend 50 percent more per person in areas with the lowest unemployment than it will in communities with the highest.”
RHETORIC: “I will continue to review the ideas you have suggested…”
REALITY: While this is certainly encouraging, Republicans presented their small business proposals to President Obama months ago – some of them even as far back as January – and there’s no sign that the White House “review” is going to turn into action any time soon. Instead, all indications suggest Democrats in Washington are preparing to push for a new scheme of spending and borrowing that adds up to a “second stimulus” while showing little inclination to help small businesses create jobs. House Republicans’ solutions to help small businesses create jobs include:
• Allow small businesses to take a tax deduction equal to 20 percent of their income.
• Let small businesses join together to purchase health insurance for their workers the way large businesses and labor unions do.
• Enact genuine legal reform and policies that incentivize wellness to reduce health care costs for small businesses.
• Lower taxes for all taxpayers by reducing the current 15 percent rate to 10 percent and reducing the current 10 percent rate to 5 percent. This will provide an immediate increase in income to every taxpaying family in America and free up capital to help small businesses hire more workers.
• Expand health savings accounts (HSAs) to provide additional flexibility to small businesses in providing health care to their employees.
• Increase the net operating loss carry back from 2 to 5 years to provide struggling employers with additional resources to keep their doors open.
