Mr. Obama's speech

[mwcpa]

Now, let's see if Congress can act....but I am sure the bold but general plan laid out by the President that seems to be designed to help and favor small business, those who hire workers in the US and workers will get bogged down in partisan bickering...

I do not have much confidence that the two extremist groups that lead Congress will do a thing (the 10 or so percent on the extreme right and the 10 or so percent on the extreme left always seem to muck it up for the 80%, which is the rest of us)....

I sure hope I am wrong and Mr Reid and Mr Boehner do some actual leading of their respective parts of the legislature and not just bicker, obstruct and help the few (as they have done for the past 6+ months as real people suffer)....

But if I am not wrong and Congress goes back to politics as usual focusing on the keep the extremist happy we should "fire" the 33 or so Senators and 435 Representative up for re-election in 14 months....

Time for some football.....
a few days away, but

J ...
E ...
T ...
S ...
Jets!
Jets!
Jets!

[Malarky]

I had to run out and pick up kids and drop off kids from a couple of practices but I think I heard on more than one occasion "this will be paid for." Jobs bill? What jobs, exactly?
I missed the part of how it will be paid for. And what exactly is it that will be paid for? By whom? Was that articulated and I missed it?

[cme1201]

Obligatory THE JETS SUCK!

As for the speech, nothing new. Same ole same ole, all speech with very few specifics.

How is lowering the SS rate down to 3.1% going to be a good thing? Raising the Cap Gains rate makes since as does reducing or eliminating the EITC which is never mentioned.

Going to require quite a few tax loopholes closures to pay for the 300-450b that he is asking for. I know I will be considered heartless but we don't need to offer any more extended unemployment benefits, I am defiantly for the Infrastructure work only if the funds are actually marked and devoted for that purpose no changing what the money is for after the bill passes, like what happened to the 787b stimulus package.

Great stump speech, now we know that he will be campaigning on the tax payer dime instead of his money or the money of the DNC as he takes his "Jobs Plan" to the people.

Once we can see concrete ideas on paper then we can judge the plan.

As Elvis Presley said: A little less conversation and a little more action, please.

[Value Buy]

Well he did steal some thoughts from the Republicans in his proposal, and threw the ball back in their court.
Three problems that I see.
1. It was rumored to cost $300 billion dollars this afternoon. Tonight news media is saying $450 billion
Inflation has already occurred and nothing has been passed.
2. The President never acknowledged how this would be funded.
3. He said he will take his argument to the people. No mention of any concillary attempt in Congress with the Republicans.

The speech was a politcal rally, much like the campaign trail in 2008. He had fire in his eyes, and firey rhetoric, but not much substance.
He thinks he is the Great Communicator ala President Reagan but alas, he is not the communicator/concillator that Reagan was that made his Presidency a success.
Nothing happening here, people, move along.

Modified for an approximate $299,600,000,000 math error.
give or take a few more 100 billion after it is all said and done.

[cme1201]

ValueBuy not to nit-pick but it's 300-450 Billion that's with a B not a puny 300-450 million

[Value Buy]

Sept 8, 2011 19:54:57 GMT -5 cme1201 said:

ValueBuy not to nit-pick but it's 300-450 Billion that's with a B not a puny 300-450 million

OOPS!
Million, billion, trillion, once you say million, you're talking some big numbers.....
Sorry, will adjust

[cme1201]

Sept 8, 2011 19:57:05 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Sept 8, 2011 19:54:57 GMT -5 cme1201 said:

ValueBuy not to nit-pick but it's 300-450 Billion that's with a B not a puny 300-450 million

OOPS!
Million, billion, trillion, once you say million, you're talking some big numbers.....
Sorry, will adjust

787b here 450b there eventually it will add up to real money

[djAdvocate]

Sept 8, 2011 20:04:20 GMT -5 cme1201 said:

Sept 8, 2011 19:57:05 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

OOPS!
Million, billion, trillion, once you say million, you're talking some big numbers.....
Sorry, will adjust

787b here 450b there eventually it will add up to real money [/quote

ok, you DO have a sense of humor!

[cme1201]

My humor is like the wine I drink

Dry and Cheap

[Malarky]

So, it wasn't just me and my busy schedule.
Stuff was spewed about forthcoming jobs, and that it would be paid for, but no actual plan was revealed?

I would really like to be proved wrong, but our president looks like smoke and mirrors, with no actual substance.

[diamonds]

Sept 8, 2011 19:50:45 GMT -5 Value Buy said:

Well he did steal some thoughts from the Republicans in his proposal, and threw the ball back in their court.
Three problems that I see.
1. It was rumored to cost $300 billion dollars this afternoon. Tonight news media is saying $450 billion
Inflation has already occurred and nothing has been passed.
2. The President never acknowledged how this would be funded.
3. He said he will take his argument to the people. No mention of any concillary attempt in Congress with the Republicans.

The speech was a politcal rally, much like the campaign trail in 2008. He had fire in his eyes, and firey rhetoric, but not much substance.
He thinks he is the Great Communicator ala President Reagan but alas, he is not the communicator/concillator that Reagan was that made his Presidency a success.
Nothing happening here, people, move along.

Modified for an approximate $299,600,000,000 math error.
give or take a few more 100 billion after it is all said and done.

valuebuy: I agree with what you wrote. I never thought of him as a great communicator, like some did. It's just words read to pacify The American People with hope and no change. Different with Reagan, genuine passion and exuded that.

k to you....

[henryclay]

Great stump speech, now we know that he will be campaigning on the tax payer dime instead of his money or the money of the DNC as he takes his "Jobs Plan" to the people.

I was wondering what the spin doctors would have to say. John Lundt even had a video graph overlay of portions of the speech in front of an equal number of about 10 or 12 each Republicans and Democrats. He asked them how many people who had voted for Obama last time were going to vote for him this time. Out of the 20 to 25 people there he got one yes and two maybes.

One pundit said they heard Obama say it 17 times, , , ,"Pass this jobs bill". . . . "Details to start being released a week from next Monday".

Looks like we all saw the same speech.

[cme1201]

Different with Reagan, genuine passion and exuded that

It's not the passion. It's the confidence in the delivery. Reagan delivered his speechs with the same passion he exposed in his moves. Don't get me wrong I was and still am a huge admirer of the man.

[diamonds]

Sept 8, 2011 21:43:15 GMT -5 henryclay said:

Great stump speech, now we know that he will be campaigning on the tax payer dime instead of his money or the money of the DNC as he takes his "Jobs Plan" to the people.

I was wondering what the spin doctors would have to say. John Lundt even had a video graph overlay of portions of the speech in front of an equal number of about 10 or 12 each Republicans and Democrats. He asked them how many people who had voted for Obama last time were going to vote for him this time. Out of the 20 to 25 people there he got one yes and two maybes.

One pundit said they heard Obama say it 17 times, , , ,"Pass this jobs bill". . . . "Details to start being released a week from next Monday".

Looks like we all saw the same speech.

henry: I honestly fell asleep on the couch, as I knew it would be repetitive. Frank Luntz had a Focus Group also, and I think 3 said they would vote for him again. The rest echoed, "why should we believe him now"? When they talked about Congress coming together, a man emphatically said " he had a Democratic Congress for two years and did nothing". Does nothing mean running the deficit out of control? Frightening thought how much it will compounded in the next 14 months.

[reformeddaytrader]

Bachmann: Even if Obama gets jobs plan, it'll fail

Thu Sep 8, 9:16 PM EDT
Republican presidential contender Michele Bachmann is criticizing President Barack Obama's plan to create jobs. She says Obama's approach amounts to more "failed gimmicks."

The Minnesota congresswoman says the plan Obama outlined Thursday night to Congress would further hurt the struggling U.S. economy. A tea party favorite, Bachmann says that even if Congress passes Obama's jobs plan, it will fail.

She says Obama is "politically paralyzed" and "philosophically incapable of doing what needs to be done."

Obama proposed a $447 billion jobs package that includes a payroll tax cut for all workers, a payroll tax cuts for most business, and spending for construction projects.

Bachmann did not attend the president's speech and says she listened on the radio because her flight to Washington was delayed.



xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20110909/US.Obama.Jobs.Bachmann/

[diamonds]

>>>>She says Obama is "politically paralyzed" and "philosophically incapable of doing what needs to be done."<<<<

reformed: ha...ha...so true, except when it comes to playing Golf. So, I see the "plan" is going to be in 2 installments. Jobs act will be revealed next week and how is he going to pay for that? He wants jobs that say Made in the USA. Right, Jeffrey Immelt sitting next to Michele Obama....talk about oxymoron!!

k to you...

[pappyjohn99]

How can the man stand there and boldly say these programs will be paid for when our government borrows $4 billion every day. Wasn't the last great issue raising the debt ceiling?

How pitiful we are as an electorate that we even put up with this bullsh*t.

[mwcpa]

I am amazed at some of these posts......so many people on the right really do not like the President... some many disrespect him and the office he holds (personally, I did not agree with a lot that Mr. Bush did, what Mr. Clinton did, what the fist Mr. Bush did and so on.... but I would never disrespect any of them the way this President has been disrespected by certain entertainment news media outlets and certain citizens, he's still the President and he deserves our respect no matter what we feel about his policies... remember that they are just policies and it's up to Congress to act to make them work in a fashion that provides the most good for the people of the country... or put forth better ideas into laws that strive to make the country better.... but this Congress has done nothing but drop the ball focusing on partisan bs)

The President put forth a plan.... a plan that includes both Republican and Democrat ideas of tax cuts for mostly the middle class (who is disappearing fast as we are become a society of poor and uber-rich) and small business (the real creators of jobs).....

Who does not think we need to get more teachers back to work to teach our children?
Who does not think our roads are in disrepair from lack of proper maintenance or age..... like the Tappan Zee Bridge that spans Westchester County to Rockland County in New York State (do a google search on how bad this major bridge is)?
Who does not think that letting the 2% social security tax holiday on workers expire will hurt the middle class? (and the President proposes making that 1.5% higher.... on a $50,000 salary that's 750 more in the pocket of a worker, not a lot, but would one rather have 1,000 less next year?)
Who does not think that giving the small employer a break on the employer side of the social security tax will help small business? (in my business, let's say I have two employees making 50,000 each, combined salary is 100,000.... cutting the "payroll tax" puts 3,100 back into my business..how is that not good?)
Who thinks giving a 100% employer social security tax holiday for increasing the size of payrolls is not a good thing? (back to my example above, I now hire a new worker at 30,000, and I give my current employees a total of 10,000 in raises..... may payroll was 100,000.... now it's 140,000..... on the 40,000 increase I would be provided a payroll tax holiday worth 2,480)
Who thinks that removing "bad" regulations is not a good thing (the ones that go beyond providing "health, safety and security" of the people)? We cannot remove all regulation, as some want.... do we want lead in our paint again because it may be cheaper to manufacture? do we want to go back to the "acid rain" days that killed thousands of lake and ponds in upstate New York? Let's hope that some of the ridiculous regulations and overkill are removed, but we do need some smart regulations to keep the playing field even and to protect the health, safety and security of us...

The plan is not perfect, but it is a plan.... now that it will be formally presented to Congress it will be up to them to fine tune it / come up with their own plan that will help put Americans back to work.....

What are our priorities..... our neighbors, our schools, our roads, our selves, .... or more of the same stagnation and bickering....

as the President said in framing it in regard to tax policy...

"But here is what every American knows: While most people in this country struggle to make ends meet, a few of the most affluent citizens and most profitable corporations enjoy tax breaks and loopholes that nobody else gets."

"Should we keep tax loopholes for oil companies? Or should we use that money to give small business owners a tax credit when they hire new workers? Because we can’t afford to do both. Should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires? Or should we put teachers back to work so our kids can graduate ready for college and good jobs? (Applause.) Right now, we can’t afford to do both"

(if we take the $4 billion I believe the number is from oil companies and use that to create 4 billion in tax credits for small business how many jobs could that mean? I do not know the answer.... but where will tax breaks do the most good.... for 15 or so of the richest companies or thousands of struggling small businesses? the "richest" 1-2% or the other 51% that pay federal income taxes.... and if we create jobs won't that 51% - above the richest 2% - who pay tax increase?)

What should we do, continue to allow Congress to focus on the few or focus on the masses?

While the speech may not have been perfect... the ball was firmly placed into Congresses hands to come up with legislation (let's not forget, the President proposes and does not write law, that's for Congress to do) to do something.... maybe it won't be as far reaching as $450 billion.... but a combination of targeted tax cuts and spending is needed....

Let's see what Mr. Reid, Mr. Cantor, Mr. Boehner, and Ms. Pelosi can come up with... and I hope that remember that they work for the same team, the American people as a whole (they do not work just for the Tea Party, just for the unions, just for the rich, just for the poor, just the evangelical... even though for the last year that's the impression one could get based on the stupidity that goes on in those halls)....

As I am a middle of the road person, I am sure the extreme left and extreme right will have a fun time pulling my opinions apart and take things out of context.... they are all so good at that.... remember these are merely my opinions and in many cases probably not facts....you can disagree with me.... but let's hope any disagreement is respectful....

[mwcpa]

"Obligatory THE JETS SUCK!"
Cme... you must be a Pats fan?..... or the stinky Fish?
It will be an interesting season.... the Pats still scare me, not so much the Fish.... could be a three way race.... and it could be that no one can beat the Pats again except the Jets...
The Pats made some big improvements.... let's see if Belichick can control the few "wild" cards they picked up.... and let's see if the Jet's focus on the one they did not get (went to Philly) does not haunt them (Brad Smith... gone to Buffalo... why Buffalo.... )

[cme1201]

Sept 9, 2011 5:59:51 GMT -5 mwcpa said:

"Obligatory THE JETS SUCK!"
Cme... you must be a Pats fan?..... or the stinky Fish?
It will be an interesting season.... the Pats still scare me, not so much the Fish.... could be a three way race.... and it could be that no one can beat the Pats again except the Jets...
The Pats made some big improvements.... let's see if Belichick can control the few "wild" cards they picked up.... and let's see if the Jet's focus on the one they did not get (went to Philly) does not haunt them (Brad Smith... gone to Buffalo... why Buffalo.... )

No mwcpa, I am a Tampa Bay Fan. I just really dislike the jets, I think it's the white and green. ;D

I asked in an earlier post How is reducing the SS tax a good thing? sure an additional $750 is nice but it only equates to $62.50 in a paycheck for a month. We just got past hearing if we didn't raise the Debt Ceiling then SS Checks may not go out in August 3rd because there is no money in the coffers.

I want to see the plan to make a judgment, we have heard this song and dance before, just read his 1st Joint Session of Congress in Sept 2009, listen to his 1st State of the Union Speech in Jan 2010 or the 2nd State of the Union speech in Jan 2011, it's the same thing we have heard over and over again, yet nothing has been concrete.

As of right now it is not a plan, it is a speech, a nice speech, but a speech none the less. When he puts pen to paper and we can see how he actually intends to pay (remember Pay-Go was touted by the Dem congress in 2006). I have reserved judgment until I can see the numbers though I am skeptical.

Listening to the speech he demanded that congress "Pass this Jobs Bill" multiple times, yet he was light on actual specifics, how will we pay for it is the ultimate question, what does he suggest that we cut to make up for the lower social security tax that is coming in? Where is he asking to cut so that we can afford "more" extensions to unemployment benefits? If we are not going to borrow money, how does he intend to pay for infrastructure repair?

Until we have answers to these questions, a true judgment cannot be made, fiery speech's are great for motivating people but that does not equate to substance.

[mwcpa]

CME.... your concern is my concern.... but the real issues is that we have a Congress that is a do nothing Congress with many focused solely on the election in 2012 to the detriment of real people (this has been stated by many on the right - I do not mean necessarily correct - side of the aisle).....

All Presidents make fiery speeches.... and some get Congress to act.... and others cannot..... and the lack of action today is purely political bs....

While the President's ideas may not be a silver bullet, at least he put something out there that mixes what is needed, reasoned and focused spending on something really needed (roads, teachers) and targeted tax cuts (to those who bring and keep jobs here) and smart tax reform (getting rid of the loopholes for the few in exchange for a lower rate for the majority)...

Let's see if Congress picks up the ball..... or decides to sit it out again....

Tampa.... Tampa.... okay, I can respect that.... like my Jets they have been to the lowest of the low and the highest of the high..... at least your not a band wagon fan.... or a Cowboy fan (hahahaha)

[handyman2]

He did give the speech with a Lot of passion. The thing to keep in mind that several of the projects he mentioned dealing with infrastructure work will take time to immpliment so you will see no results for a while.

[Deleted]

Apologies now for those who like Obama, but I just can't do it any more. I turned on what I thought was the local news at about 6:05 PM yesterday expecting to see the weather forecast and there he was giving yet another speech. How many rhetorical gabfests has it been now, any counts out there. I hit the power button, watched the screen go black, and went to talk to the wife while she was showering. The conversation had usable information and the view was way better (glass doors). The first thing she said was "is Obama on again"? I noticed you either change channels or turn off the TV for the last 6 months or so whenever you hear his voice. And she was right, I've been doing that, and you know what? I feel I'm not missing anything. Just like I didn't miss anything last night. I've already seen him campaign a couple of years ago.

[Value Buy]

Sept 9, 2011 7:57:46 GMT -5 handyman2 said:

He did give the speech with a Lot of passion. The thing to keep in mind that several of the projects he mentioned dealing with infrastructure work will take time to immpliment so you will see no results for a while.

Amazing.
The construction season is winding down in half of the country, due to winter season approaching, and all of a sudden we are going to rebuild infrastructure.
As Cub fans everywhere, say, after mid May,
"WAIT TIL NEXT YEAR!"
The President cannot be a south side White Sox fan.
He has to be a north side closet Cubbie fan, surviving in a fantasy world.

[reformeddaytrader]

OK instead of focusing so much on his speech prepared for the President by his staff and delivered by him, let's focus on the ideas or proposals and will any be implemented??

You could possibly see some agreements with more stimulus spending and tax credits or you could see a complete impasse by both parties and none of the President's so called Jobs Bil's will be accomplished. Even if regulations and tax credits are approved for small businesses will it do that much to create new jobs in the private sector?? Will small businesses actually go on a hiring spree??

And will adding more so called "Shovel Ready" projects add that many new jobs or just maintain the Status Quo in most states??

If anyone is knowledgeable enough to predict what will happen to the Obama Jobs Bill Proposals I would like to see what they think.

Thank You & Have A Nice Day,
Reformeddaytrader

[Deleted]

Sept 9, 2011 8:13:22 GMT -5 @reformeddaytrader said:

OK instead of focusing so much on his speech prepared for the President by his staff and delivered by him, let's focus on the ideas or proposals and will any be implemented??

You could possibly see some agreements with more stimulus spending and tax credits or you could see a complete impasse by both parties and none of the President's so called Jobs Bil's will be accomplished. Even if regulations and tax credits are approved for small businesses will it do that much to create new jobs in the private sector?? Will small businesses actually go on a hiring spree??

And will adding more so called "Shovel Ready" projects add that many new jobs or just maintain the Status Quo in most states??

If anyone is knowledgeable enough to predict what will happen to the Obama Jobs Bill Proposals I would like to see what they think.

Thank You & Have A Nice Day,
Reformeddaytrader

I know a few dozen small and medium business owners in my area and none of them are planning to hire anyone as of last nights speech. Most are cutting back on wage costs as we move into winter. I view federal spending on "shovel ready" jobs as just more deficit spending.

[Deleted]

First off I didn't watch the speech. I have watched about 100 out takes of it on the news programs. Obama is a good speaker but he reminds me of eating a really great tasting meal when you have no taste buds. Everything should be great but you know that there's just no flavor behind what you see.

Before the speech I saw an interview with one of the congressmen that wasn't going to be there. He basically stole Obama's thunder by saying exactly what was going to happen: Big speech, no real numbers, no real facts to show, we will get back to you in a week or two with facts (which may or may not happen).

So we come to paying for this jobs bill (Obama no longer uses stimulus cause it failed before). How to pay for it. Tax the wealthy more (liberal agenda item) that Repubs have been fighting the whole time. Jet makers (whatever) something Obama voted to cut there taxes before & he now has a hard on for (you have got to wonder what got him so mad at them because the money taxing them more is nothing compared to anything to do with government spending). So to sum up my feeling was that Obama's speech was saying "Let's all work together & advance my liberal agenda or I'll tell the American people that you don't care about them". Well the truth is that it's coming up election time & Obama IS going to blame his failed programs & the economy & everything else on somebody (republicans, tea party, anybody but him) so that's not a big threat.

[rockon]

Caught the beginning of the speech on the way in to watch my daughters volleyball game and have heard some more pieces of it this morning. The first thing that got my attention was that he started by stating this bill can be passed today and be effective tomorrow. My initial reaction was how or why would we want that to happen. We just experienced the result of a bill being shoved through without anyone reading it and the fact is the bill has not even been written yet. Secondly everything I have heard so far sounds like the same basic crap they have been doing during the last two administrations. Support union jobs, extend unemployment benefits, give tax breaks to business that hire new, disabled or low income employees. Business should and will only hire when there is a greater demand for their product and when they can better compete with our foreign competition on a level field. There is nothing new here or anything that changes the fundamental or core reasons that our economy, our unemployment levels or our politics are in the state they are. This is just more window dressing and targeted help to specific individuals in an effort to attract votes. I will applaud the fact that he finally has actually developed a plan and delivered it to congress but the details I have heard sound very disappointing.

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

My initial reaction was how or why would we want that to happen. We just experienced the result of a bill being shoved through without anyone reading it and the fact is the bill has not even been written yet.


Bingo. Who knows what sneaky clauses are hidden...

[Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ]

Forbes analysis of the prez's speech:

(click link for full text)

www.forbes.com/sites/beltway/2011/09/09/obamas-jobs-plan-great-theater-uncertain-policy/

When you get right down to it, the jobs plan President Obama proposed before a joint session of Congress last night was built on three elements: A large payroll tax cut, lots of new spending on public infrastructure, and a promise that its $447 billion cost would be paid for with yet-to-be disclosed tax hikes and spending cuts.

As political theater, the speech was terrific. It was a powerful defense of government—words his base has been longing to hear since the 2010 election. It challenged Republicans to “stop the political circus” and work with him to boost the economy—a poll-tested argument that appears to have strong support among many Americans. And the often dispassionate president sounded as if he really cared.

As substance, his plan, called the American Jobs Act, combines the bold with small-bore, Bill Clinton-like subsidies for carefully selected interests. Mixing short-term stimulus with long-term deficit reduction is perfectly sensible. But did Obama get the right mix?

By far his most ambitious idea is to extend through 2012 and expand the payroll tax cut that was due to expire at the end of this year. His plan, which would reduce federal revenues by $170 billion, would cut the worker share of the payroll tax to 3.1 percent from 4.2 percent (it was 6.2 percent prior to this year’s tax holiday). At the same time, it would cut the employer share to 3.1 percent from 6.2 percent on the first $5 million of payroll. Firms that add workers or give current employees raises would pay no wage tax on up to $50 million in new payroll.

On the spending side, Obama would give $85 billion to state and local governments to, among other things, build and repair schools and hire (or rehire) teachers, spend $50 billion on transportation, create a $10 billion infrastructure bank, and spend $55 billion to extend unemployment benefits for another year and otherwise help the long-term jobless.