The President has been going to the mat pressuring Congressto extend the current payroll tax rate reductions, allow unemployment insuranceto be collected beyond the current 99-week limit, and of course has paid muchlip service to ‘creating jobs’. So the House-passed “Middle Class Tax Relief& Job Creation Act” should be a perfect Christmas present for PresidentObama.
The National Taxpayers Union supportsthis bill despite its imperfections because (among other things) it avoidsa tax increase, will eventually help to reform unemployment insurance (atopic NTU recently addressed), and will give the green light to theKeystone XL pipeline – an initiative that is practically guaranteed to createTHOUSANDS of American jobs.
A slam-dunk right? President Obama wants to help put folksback to work, and is in favor of all that! Nope. The President has threatenedto veto the bill and Sen. Reid (D-NV) is on the march to prevent that scenariofrom having to play out.
The alternatives preferred by the President would extend thepayroll tax reductions and unemployment insurance while pursuing tax hikes onpolitically convenient targets in the name of ‘paying for’ the new spending anddefunding of Social Security and Medicare. Once again the President and hisSenate allies seem to be putting their job-killing moves in writing, even asthey devote their airtime to claiminterest in job creation.
If the President and Harry Reid truly desired what theyclaim, they would be thankful to help enact legislation that has so muchpotential to put Americans back to work, extends the benefits they want, andessentially asks them to compromise on reducing spending to offset any revenueloss, rather than further crippling job creators.
Perhaps with more concerned citizens voicing their supportfor this bill, minds can be changed. It’s high time Senate leaders andPresident Obama put aside their vendetta against specific industries andhigh-income earners and helped put Americans back to work.