I can haz jobs plan?
President Obama gave a speech last night. It was a good speech, delivered with the confident and charismatic way that I haven’t seen from Obama in awhile. Here’s somethings I want to highlight
- “The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy;”– Normally, a line like this would sound pretty ironic coming from a political speech, but it served to emphasize the frustrating point that some people are actually trying to govern, and others are just there to undermine government.
- ” So for everyone who speaks so passionately about making life easier for “job creators,” this plan is for you.”– Nice rub at that asinine Republican stance that raising taxes on the mega rich would stem job creation, despite the fact that they aren’t creating jobs.
- “The idea for a big boost in construction is supported by America’s largest business organization and America’s largest labor organization.”– People understand the need for improved infrastructure.
- “… we have to decide what our priorities are… 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?”- It’s good to show those side by side. People need to understand that taxes aren’t just money taken away from them, it’s money put to good use. Priorities are important.
- “This isn’t political grandstanding. This isn’t class warfare. This is simple math.” – I loved this line. Because it really is just simple math. You have X dollars of income. You have X+Y dollars of spending. You have two choices, cut Y amount of spending, or raise Y amount of more income.
- “But what we can’t do – what I won’t do – is let this economic crisis be used as an excuse to wipe out the basic protections that Americans have counted on for decades. …. I reject the idea that we have to strip away collective bargaining rights to compete in a global economy…We shouldn’t be in a race to the bottom, where we try to offer the cheapest labor and the worst pollution standards.”– This is exactly what needs to be said. We need more people to reject the absurd notion that deregulation and no government will actually do anything good. It made me think of an Adam Savage quote “I reject your reality and substitute my own.” That’s what the crazy Randian, super capitalist, anti-government people do. They reject reality and pretend a world where people can do whatever they want without consequences, would somehow be better.
- “I know there’s been a lot of skepticism about whether the politics of the moment will allow us to pass this jobs plan – or any jobs plan.”- I agree with the sentiment. But when the Republicans declared they were going to “listen politely” but had already rejected the plan, before they even heard it, that doesn’t suggest they’re willing to work together.
