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Annals of Our Broken Congress: Jobs Edition.
President Obama has announced his intention to hold a Jobs Summit at the White House, reacting to the high unemployment rate and increasing dissatisfaction with his economic policies. Sure, fine, get the folks together, hopefully some actual results will come out of it. But reading the Washington Post story about it almost made me spit out my coffee:
Congressional Democrats have been pressing the White House to do more to create jobs. But hemmed in by exploding budget deficits and criticism from Republicans that the $787 billion economic stimulus plan enacted in February has been ineffective, the White House has been reluctant to embrace any sweeping new initiatives.In recent weeks, Obama has taken smaller steps to continue stimulating the economy. Last Friday, the president signed legislation that extends unemployment insurance benefits by up to 20 weeks and renews an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers while expanding eligibility. Earlier, the administration backed a $250 payment to senior citizens as a means of stimulating economic activity.
Congress is pressing the White House to do more to help the labor market, and the president is taking steps when he signs legislation? Someone is having a laugh. The cult of the presidency has obscured the fact that Congress is the biggest obstacle to new job-creating policy. Do Congressional leaders think that the president would veto a jobs tax credit if they passed one, or refuse to sign a package of fiscal aid to states? It's a sad day when Congress is apparently sitting around and fretting until the White House comes to do the legislating for them. Of course, I understand the value of having the White House publicly pulling for a piece of legislation, and importance of coordinating with the executive branch, but it is still crazy to suggest that Obama is the one gumming up the process here.
It's all comes down to our dilettante congress, happy to punt the hard decisions on almost everything to almost anyone -- Medicare Commissions for Medicare! Budget Commissions for the Budget! -- and then complain about the deficit while trying to lift the estate tax or refusing to cut agricultural subsidies, much less considering sensible ideas about reforming the charitable deduction so it applies fairly to all citizens. People joke about Obama's summits, but that is apparently the new requirement for Congress to do anything these days, so direct your scorn down Pennsylvania Ave a few more blocks.
-- Tim Fernholz
COMMENTS (8)
How about a commission to study military cuts? Health care reform $1 trillion, military $7 trillion. How long are we going to let wasteful military sending crowd out all domestic spending?
Posted by: Alex | November 13, 2009 12:11 PM
That the idiots in Congress require firm leadership to find their hindquarters with both hands is not surprising. What is surprising, and disappointing, is the President's complete unwillingness to lead.
On the other hand; Obama was in the Congress himself less than a year ago. That he is as ineffectual as the rest of the losers on capitol hill probably shouldn't come as a surprise.
Posted by: T | November 13, 2009 1:48 PM
Alex@12:11 GAO says medicare is unfunded to the tune of $38T, due today. It won't be long before federal debt interest is larger than the military budget. Talk about a waste.
Help me get everyone to wake up before its too late? Raise the bar, get informed, ask harder questions, pursue truth, and kick ignorance out of the town square.
Posted by: PursueTruth | November 13, 2009 1:48 PM
I'm beginning a letter campaign tp tje Blue Dog Dems and the others sitting on their hands - talking to you Bayh. My message is simple: If you're going to do nothing to solve our nation's problems than just get the hell out of Congress. Just quit, right now. Your fired. No more pacheck and benefits for lazy assed do-nothing mongrels like you. You haven't done an honest day's work since you were elected.
Posted by: Oh REALLY | November 13, 2009 2:03 PM
They're playing off of idiot anti-Obama people on our side, who have been whining since forever for Obama to "just do" this or that.
Can't expect anything more of the elected than we do of the electors.
Posted by: sherifffruitfly | November 13, 2009 2:18 PM
"Alex@12:11 GAO says medicare is unfunded to the tune of $38T, due today."
and the derivatives market eclipses that, numbering in the 100s of trillions of dollars.
Posted by: cha cha cha | November 13, 2009 7:22 PM
Pursue Truth, that $38T is the total liability of Medicare, this ignores all the money that will be paid into Medicare over the same period. Medicare does have big problems but it is part of the larger spiraling health care costs in general. If we want to get serious about the deficit, institute single-payer health care, every other developed country spends have of what we do on health care. Private insurance is a luxury that we can no longer afford and is not remotely worthwhile.
And this has nothing to do with my original point.
Posted by: Alex | November 13, 2009 9:15 PM
Thanks for the post and for sharing the useful information related to Obama's job summit here.
Posted by: Tag44 | November 16, 2009 9:27 AM