On September 8, 2011, the President unveiled the American Jobs Act consisting of both Democrat and Republican ideas. The purpose of the American Jobs Act is to put more people back to work, put more money in the pockets of working Americans, and without adding to the deficit. However, forty-six Republicans joined with two Democrats to filibuster the President’s plan. Although Senators have every right not to support a piece of legislation, to refuse to allow a Bill to come before the body for debate is unconscionable. Based on previous Republican obstruction tactics, the vote on the President’s 447 billion jobs package was expected to fail. Consequently, the White House and Senate Democratic leaders were already considering alternative ways to address the 9.1 percent unemployment including breaking the legislation into smaller.
For the second time, all Senate Republicans voted to block “jobs” legislation. The first measure, a piece of President Obama’s larger jobs package, failed in a 50-50 vote after two Democrats and Independent Senator Joe Lieberman joined Senate Republicans in voting against moving to the measure to the floor. Democrats Ben Nelson and Mark Pryor also sided with Republicans.“For the second time in two weeks, every single Republican in the United States Senate has chosen to obstruct a bill that would create jobs and get our economy going again,” Obama said in a statement released after the vote. “That’s unacceptable.” The $35 billion Democratic measure was designed to prevent layoffs of teachers, police officers and firefighters in cash-strapped states. Most of the funding, $30 billion, would have gone to saving teaching jobs with the rest of the money directed to first-responders. The most “controversial” element of the bill was a plan to pay for it by raising taxes by 0.5 percent on incomes over $1 million. Republicans argue that it would put more pressure on small businesses that are already having difficulty maintaining cash flow because of the tight credit market, a point that has never been substantiated. “This is a proposal to raise taxes on 300,000 business owners in order to send money down to states so they don’t have to lay off state employees,” McConnell said at a recent press conference.
Since introducing the American Jobs Bill, the American people have rallied around President Obama’s call for Congress to pass his plan. In early September, 43% if the American people supported the Bill and 35% were opposed (CNN/ORC Poll 9/11/11). After three weeks of promotion by the President, support has grown so that 52% support the plan with 36% opposed (ABC/Washington Post Poll 10/5/11). Fifty-eight percent of Americans believe that if the Bill passes, it will improve the job situation in the country. The more people know about the Bill, the more popular it becomes. An overwhelming majority of Americans are rallying around the President’s Bill because they like what’s in it. In spite of that support, Congressional Republicans continue to obstruct and advocate their plan to repeal Wall Street reform and cut taxes for corporations and millionaires. According to Senator McCain’s former economic adviser, the Republican economic proposals “won’t mean much for the economy and job market in the next year.” He also noted that “given the high odds of another recession in the next few months, it is vital for Congress and the administration to provide some near-term support to the economy.”
Republicans currently have no alternative that would immediately create jobs. Nothing from Republicans in Congress or from Republican presidential candidates have been presented to create jobs. Republicans continue to propose a return to past economic policies that led to economic failure – more tax breaks for large corporations, more tax cuts for the wealthy, and allowing Wall Street to write its own rules. To further obstruct help for the middle and working class Americans, Senate Republicans are blocking confirmation of the President’s well-qualified and widely respected nominee to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau which means that the policies to protect consumers from greedy lending practices that have already been signed into law cannot be implemented.
Reasonable people would have to conclude that Congressional Republicans do not care about middle and working class Americans and certainly do not care that 75% of Americans support raising taxes on Americans with incomes over one million dollars a year. As Republicans say no to each proposal that President Obama makes to put people back to work and relentlessly defend the special breaks and loopholes for the wealthiest and Wall Street, they are rapidly losing the support of the American people as evidenced by the Wall Street occupation and other national protests being referred to as the 99ers. Although the President’s current overall approval is 43%, Congressional Republicans approval is 19%, an all time low.
Will Republicans heed the calls of their constituency and offer economic support or compromise in behalf of the American people, probably not since their number one objective is to deny President Obama a second term? Whether you are a Democrat, Republican or Independent, all current House and Senate Republicans as well as a few Democrats are not working in behalf of the American people who sent them, but working for their own selfish interests. With the 2012 elections approaching, all of them should be replaced, but that’s just my take.
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