CBS News is getting some trial balloons from Team Obama regarding the president’s jobs plan. It’s both expensive and underwhelming. It adds up to $400 billion so far, and is mostly more of the same, with one or two odd ideas thrown in.
Extending unemployment benefits is also a top priority, at a cost of $50 billion dollars. Sources say the president will propose a plan where employers can try out workers receiving unemployment for free.
So the federal government would be paying these “try out” workers to work in the private sector? That’s bound to come with a whole lot of strings, and it sets a potentially dangerous precedent. What do you want to bet that unions somehow get some bennies in the fine print?
There will also be new infrastructure spending in Obama’s plan to rebuild schools, roads and bridges will cost over $100 billion.
Finally, state and local governments would receive billions to hire more teachers and first responders. That, along with new small business tax cuts could cost another $100 billion dollars
The President has not consulted Republicans in Congress, but if they don’t pass his bill, he will blame them.
And that’s what he really wants — to find a way to blame Republicans to help his chances at re-election next year. As Sen. Jim DeMint and others have already noted, this speech tonight is entirely about politics. Politics are the only thing about the job of the presidency that Obama has any grasp of. If Obama was really interested in job creation, and if he was really intent to “put country above party (or himself)” as he phrases it, then he would work with Republicans and he would consult private sector leaders who don’t either own him or already agree with his mad drive to tax energy through the roof.
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