Steffi Badanes
Blogs Editor
On Tuesday October 11, the American Jobs Act was voted down in the senate when all Republican senators and three Democratic senators voted against the bill.
I don’t understand why anyone would be against rehiring skilled teachers, firefighters, and police officers, or improving our nation’s infrastructure. This bill would create 1.9 million jobs, and in this economy, jobs are vital. The policies in this jobs bill have been approved by both parties in the past, so the fact that it didn’t pass through the senate this time just leaves me feeling outraged.
Because all Republican senators voted against the bill, it’s clear that the only thing that they are concerned with at the moment is the 2012 election. It doesn’t matter what the bill contained or what its purpose was. The fact that it was a bill proposed by President Obama was enough to convince Republicans to vote against it. Until Election Day, Republicans are going to vote against anything that President Obama proposes out of fear of losing voters in the 2012 race. But now is not the time to be playing political games, because Republicans are now neglecting their duties of protecting the American people.
Some Republicans disagree with the way the bill would be funded, through a .7 percent tax hike on the rich. Right now, a tax hike on the rich is exactly what we need since the US currently ranks 64 for income equality. 64?! The United States is better than that. I’m glad the Occupy Wall Street movement has raised the importance of this issue.
The senate needs to refocus on what’s important: not the 2012 election, not the tiny tax increase on the wealthiest Americans, but giving Americans their jobs back and putting this nation back on track. The bill is now going to go through the Senate in pieces. First, infrastructure with the rest to follow. Pass this bill.
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I would have to completely disagree with you here. The American Jobs Bill, I believe, will not help stimulate the economy at all, in fact it will only add to the unemployment rate in the long term. This bill costs 35 billion tax-payer dollars, money we simply can’t afford to spend if you look at our ever increasing debt which is a constant eyesore for anyone. 30 billion dollars will be given to the state and local governments to hire teachers and other school workers while the other 5 billion will be used to help pay the salaries of police men, firefighters and other first responders in each state. This is a purely short term solution that was thrown out there at the last minute to appease the people and gain the support of the lower classes. It only guarantees 400,000 education jobs for one year; this is a short term plan that is made to stimulate the economy for a short amount of time long enough to hold Obama up on a pedestal until the next presidential election. It is a “caffine boost” if you must. What happens when the 5 billion dollars that the states will use to pay for local police officers and first responders’ salaries is gone? States will either be forced to raise their taxes to support their salaries or lay people off, which will take another heavy toll on the economy. This bill also includes a surcharge on an income exceeding 1 million dollars. Most people who have an income of that rate tend to own businesses and when the government continues to drown these businesses in taxes they are forced to lay off workers for they can’t afford to pay their salaries. It is a simple pain killer that lasts for a period of time and it feels great, but it does not cure the pain and solve the problem. The Republicans are being politically bashed by President Obama for not compromising and allowing this bill to pass. But they are correct when they say that we shouldn’t over-tax the rich, they stimulate the economy– like Alexander Hamilton believed: if the government supports the richer class their wealth will trickle down to the masses. If the rich have more money, they will spend more on, lets say, getting their housed renovated or installing a pool– it creates more jobs. If Obama continues to cater to the poor class and encourage this class warfare, the economy will not recover and riots like the Occupy Wall Street movement (which is simply an out cry to take from the rich and give to the poor) will continue to plague the country and create disunity between Americans. The American Jobs Bill does not, in the long term, help the economy what so ever and in fact damages it further. It is simply a tool that President Obama is using to increase his chances at the ballot box.
The period of greatest growth and prosperity in our nation’s history was the 30 years after the New Deal which was government injecting of money into infrastructure projects. I believe the American Jobs Act provides a scaled down version of this tremendously successful government program. The areas hardest hit by the economic crisis are those involving blue collar jobs such as construction. If we get people who would be otherwise unemployed working then we could drastically stimulate the economy. Not only that, this piece of legislation could improve America’s crumbling infrastructure. According to the CBO (the Congressional Budget Office) $80 Billion more a year in infrastructure spending would return the economy to its usual stable state. The spending may be drastic, but it could be payed off if we finally get rid of the ridiculous Bush era tax cuts for the wealthy and bring back the tax rate to Clinton era rates. I’m sure the wealthiest 1% would be perfectly fine paying their fair share.