Republicans rode the wave of “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs” to victory in 2010. Since then, they have waged unrestricted class warfare against the American people. For jobs, their only proposal is to return to the policies that made Bush the worst president in modern history for job losses. Democrats have stayed largely on the defensive, reacting to scheme after scheme by Republicans, each more draconian that the last. Finally, Democrats are planning a jobs program, which is good. The problem is, getting them to agree is like herding cats.
Senate Democrats are beginning to fear that the country’s increasingly dim economic outlook will cost them their seats in 2012 and are trying to craft a new agenda aimed at spurring job creation.
While there is no shortage of ideas of what a plan could include — from a payroll tax holiday to increased infrastructure spending — Democrats haven’t settled on the details or whether to craft one large package or push through a series of narrow measures. They’re also unsure how to sell their plans to the public or how to engage Senate Republicans.
“There’s no easy answer to this,” Sen. Joe Lieberman (R-Conn.) [I corrected this from I to R.] told POLITICO.
Fearing the economy may be getting worse, Democrats plan to soon unveil what they’ll call a “Jobs First” agenda — and the stakes are high. A bleak economic outlook, like the May jobs report, could cost Democrats their thin Senate majority and even the White House if they can’t make a strong case to an anxious electorate that their policies will create jobs.
Senate Democrats are now grappling with ways to gain an edge in the economic debate dominated by budget talk. For instance, in an attempt to woo Republicans, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and the White House are open to extending a payroll tax break to stimulate the economy, but that has spawned unease from Democratic senators such as Maryland’s Ben Cardin who worry that it would drive up the deficit and unnerve liberals such as Vermont’s Bernie Sanders, who are concerned it would deplete the Social Security trust fund… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Politico>
I found a video of Schumer discussing this on Crooks and Liars.
Here’s my take.
The first choice is, “Do what’s right, or do what Republicans will accept?” Those are mutually exclusive choices. We are better off failing to do what’s right, and be perceived as so doing, than painting ourselves with a Republican brush.
The second is, “One large package or many narrow measures?” Large packages are so complex that it is easy for Republicans to misrepresent them with ludicrous lies, such as “death panels to kill grandma”. Individual measures are easier to present to voters clearly. They have the added benefit of publicizing Republican obstruction of measures America wants and needs on each item.
The third choice is, “What are the specifics?” I favor infrastructure projects, research projects, and incentives for job creation, an FDR-like approach. I oppose a payroll tax holiday. Cutting off revenue coming into the Social Security program, hastens the date when it no longer takes in enough to pay full benefits. That plays into the Republican scheme to Banksterize Social Security.
Whatever they decide, we can’t let Republicans distract is from jobs,
16 Responses to “Democrats Divided on Jobs Program”
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“The problem is, getting them to agree is like herding cats.”
Yes but of course TC. That is the job of far too many of them who are supposed to be on our side. They screw us as hard as the repugs do and we’re supposed to be accepting of that. Not this Fly.
When will our side understand this and demand other than repugs in dim clothing!
Fly, I agree, and I support primary opponents to all DINOs.
I too favor infrastructure projects and research and development on clean energy. We could do a payroll tax holiday, exempting SS – that would be ok with me too (because the employee and employer both kick in half). However, if we don’t take taxes out of people’s checks, they are going to have a huge amount to pay at the end of the year, unless we are just taking about Medicare, Medicaid and FICA. These are bad ideas as these programs are already in trouble.
Our infrastructure is bad – we don’t want another bridge falling into the water. Most of that work was done in the 40s and 50s and it’s crumbling now. The hardest hit are the trades; carpenters, plumbers, etc. because of the housing bust and infrastructure would fit nicely into infrastructure because those are exactly the people we need to build it up. We have sewers, bridges, roads that all need to be fixed and/or replaced they are that old. Chicago is a great example; underneath Chicago is a whole series of tunnels that the used to use to get coal and ice to various buildings. We now use that for running network and phone cabling under there. But when someone punched a hole through the Chicago river while trying to widen a bridge, all that water went into those tunnels (and they are EVERY WHERE under the whole city) any building that had one of those tunnels made the basements of those buildings flood. Now, if you’re a retail store, where do you keep your excess inventory – in the basement. Plus, it knocked out all of the networks and phones every where. Needless to say, this would be a great infrastructure project; also Chicago has been building a bigger flood protection system underground (which many places need – see the Mississippi) so that the water goes there and not floods the streets when it rains. They’ve been working on it slowly for 5 years, but with some government money, they could get it done in half the time with more people (the projected time for completion is 2015. The Army Corps of Engineers, who is badly underfunded, could use some help with projects similar to this all over the country, to say nothing of New Orleans.
Oh and show me a jobs bill that they’ve even proposed – nothing, nada. They wouldn’t even help the people of Joplin when their whole town was destroyed! 😡 😡
Exactly.
Lisa, the problem is that the payroll tax holiday in question is all FICA, Medicare and Medicaid.
It looks to me like there are lots of infrastructure jobs for the making and what about cross country high speed rail? 👿
That’s a good one.
I like your idea the best Tom.
“The third choice is, “What are the specifics?” I favor infrastructure projects, research projects, and incentives for job creation, an FDR-like approach. I oppose a payroll tax holiday. Cutting off revenue coming into the Social Security program, hastens the date when it no longer takes in enough to pay full benefits. That plays into the Republican scheme to Banksterize Social Security.”
Thanks Patty. It’s not rocket science, once Republican BS is stripped away.
The GOP doesn’t want the job market to improve because it would only mean more votes for Obama. So what if it hurts the American people.
Not only that Leslie, they are fighting like hell to make it worse.
It is way past time for something to be done to bring about jobs—There are some really good ideas here- In a country whose roads,bridges , railroads – etc are falling apart it seems time to bring back programs that worked in the past–the WPA , CCC. the jobs projects that were so successful in the past–
Stop pouring Billions down the rat hole of foreign aid— raise corporate taxes– tax corporations that send their jobs to other countries-
It seems pretty clear to me– people need jobs to buy anything—-all the smoke screens only work for a while—who cares about weiners willy—-just takes attention away from the real crap going on.
Time for serious work on JOBS
That’s exactly what I meant by FDR-like, Phyllis.
Why are they asking Lieberman about Democratic jobs plans ? All he has done since sucking up to McCain is thwart The Democratic Agenda for reform in America at every turn.
Welcome Charlie. 🙂
They asked LIEberman, because the author I cited did not want to present the view of a real Democrat.