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The President has requested a joint session of Congress on September 7 at 8pm (amusingly conflicting with the next GOP Presidential debate at the Reagan Library), “to lay out his plan to create jobs, grow the economy, and reduce the deficit” according to White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer. That’s one thing that has been lost among this jobs speech – it’s also a deficit speech. This is the speech where Obama will deliver a specific plan to the Catfood Commission II, one bigger than the $1.5 trillion deficit reduction target that they have, on top of the job creation ideas. You might say that the deficit reduction plan will “pay for” the job ideas. But the Republicans are highly unlikely to move on the job ideas, because it conflicts with their policy goals and their political imperative of not improving the economy. So all we’ll get is the deficit reduction, if anything at all. Heck, Congress won’t even pass emergency disaster relief without offsets, so you can forget about spending programs that will actually create jobs.
That means that this speech, billed as the big “pivot to jobs,” will in its aftermath probably be solely focused on the deficit reduction ideas. And since this is a big stage, with Congress watching, all of these deficit reduction proposals will loom large next November, much larger than the job ideas. If you don’t think that Republicans will run an “Obama wants to cut your Medicare” ad in 2012, regardless of the hypocrisy, you’re wrong.
And yes, there will be taxes in there as well, which will draw the inevitable “Obama wants to raise your taxes” ad. And while the staff director of Catfood Commission II is a Republican tax policy expert, which could possibly signal some give on revenues, at the end of the day the party leadership would have to sign off, and I’m not seeing that happening. If the Catfood Commission II passes anything, it will not have revenues in it. Or if it does, they will be vanishingly small.
The very fact that I’m speculating about the Catfood Commission II in the middle of a post that started as an announcement of Obama’s jobs address shows how impossible it will be to “pivot to jobs.” Especially because the pivot back to the deficit is included in the same speech.
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My understanding is that obama’s address will be empty calories and nothing of any substance.. In short, I think his job’s address as advertised should be headlined as “Would someone please stop these memes before they kill again?”
Here’s the preview:
“”It is my intention to lay out a series of bipartisan proposals that the Congress can take immediately to continue to rebuild the American economy by strengthening small businesses, helping Americans get back to work, and putting more money in the paychecks of the Middle Class and working Americans, while still reducing our deficit and getting our fiscal house in order,” Obama said in his letter Wednesday.”
So let’s see what we have got there? “Bipartisan proposals” means ‘nothing new or possibly conflictual’. “Strengthening small businesses” means you can’t possible argue with that, can you? “You will feed starving Kenyans, won’t you?” You won’t argue with that, will you?
“Putting more money into paychecks”. Gosh. No one could argue with that. They’d have to be crazy, on drugs or sanctimonious purists, wouldn’t they? “Reducing the deficit” means please get Pete Peterson off my hiney, would you? It is certainly not a concern of the unemployed. In fact, there is nothing in that whole paragraph about the unemployed.
Not even sadness, grief, or empathy.
Nothing.
My source for the Obama letter quote:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-obama-speech-20110831,0,1879886.story
According to the article: “…“to lay out his plan to create jobs, grow the economy, and reduce the deficit”.
———-
WOW!!!, I mean DOUBLE WOW!!!!
That’s the BIG THREE. That will solve ALL of our problems, excepting the NFL’s moving the kickoff to the 35 yard line which has totally screwed up the game.
This is EXACTLY what we have been needing and now it’s here. We should ALL be owing Obama an apology. How could anybody NOT be on board with that? And I’m sure the Senate will take up that NFL Kickoff thing soon.
David you have it mostly right, however the speech will not focus on deficits, it will focus on “getting me re-elected.”
Yet another speech. A plan in writing, well thought out, with details would be much better FIRST. Then, make a speech supporting it.
I agree, move the kickoff back to where it was.
The latest mid session review by the CBO shows that if congress would simply take 7 year holiday and let current law execute (pull the Catfood trigger and let the Bush tax cuts expire) and bring home the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan … the budget would be balanced in 2018.
My guess is then businesses would start to hire workers and the economy would thrive.
is more like it.
I think replacing “amusingly” with “cynically” would be more accurate. There’s really nothing amusing about this administration.
I am totally sorry by what my vote has visited upon this country and continue to be amazed by the total tone deafness this administration continued to employ in reacting to the economic and political trouble that continues to make our country suffer.
Obama and the ‘Age of Auctoritas’
Classical Rome called it auctoritas. A statesman’s accumulation of prestige, respect and authority. Political power wielded by a senator or consul was directly proportional to his auctoritas. His sum, his essence.
… the president must engage the enemy soon and beat him in the field or his auctoritas will have vanished along with whatever remains of the morale of his troops.
His political essence is fading away. His supporters no longer admire him and his enemies no longer fear him. The latter being as dangerous as the former is bitter.
We near the point where the wine turns to vinegar and can never be turned back. What ever happened to that fine vintage of hope and change. It was the best I’d ever tasted …
Article:
Obama and the ‘Age of Auctoritas’
The chances of wealthy people, i.e. Congress, raising their own taxes are about the same as the chances of the Pentagon budget actually being reduced by the triggers.
from the Financial Times:
“Now consider, against this background of continuing fragility, how people view the political scene. In neither the US nor the eurozone, does the politician supposedly in charge – Barack Obama, the US president, and Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor – appear to be much more than a bystander of unfolding events, as my colleague, Philip Stephens, recently noted. Both are – and, to a degree, operate as – outsiders. Mr Obama wishes to be president of a country that does not exist. In his fantasy US, politicians bury differences in bipartisan harmony. In fact, he faces an opposition that would prefer their country to fail than their president to succeed. Ms Merkel, similarly, seeks a non-existent middle way between the German desire for its partners to abide by its disciplines and their inability to do any such thing. The realisation that neither the US nor the eurozone can create conditions for a speedy restoration of growth – indeed the paralysing disagreements over what those conditions might be – is scary.
. . .
Yet all is not lost. In particular, the US and German governments retain substantial fiscal room for manoeuvre – and should use it. But, alas, governments that can spend more will not and those who want to spend more now cannot. Again, the central banks have not used up their ammunition. They too should dare to use it. Much more could also be done to hasten deleveraging of the private sector and strengthen the financial system. Another downturn now would surely be a disaster. The key, surely, is not to approach a situation as dangerous as this one within the boundaries of conventional thinking.” [emphasis added]
Dream on! All the O-Team seems to know are “boundaries of conventional thinking,” particularly Repug thinking
Shorter Obama speech: ‘I got nothing’
My prediction: more personal debt slavery, no structural changes whatsoever.
As a special bonus, some nice sounding words from Campaign Obama to soothe the easily swayed.
That’s all he’s done so far.
They also floated the trial balloon about allowing people upside-down on their morgages to refinance at lower rates. You’ll still be in huge debt, but your rate will be 2% better.
Sounds like Obama’s plan is to further weaken Social Security…he’ll propose something that never lets a crisis go to waste, like still cutting the Social Security Tax for a very short term limited benefit now in exchange for permanent social safety net cuts that will impact generations.
Osterity is obsessed with the debt and cutting SS.
I am starting to think FDL should cover what Obama says in its correct format; “blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, vote for me, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, vote for me, blah, blah, blah, blah
No kidding. He is genuinely paralyzed. And he’s crossing the rubicon into total failure as a President. He’s toast. He’s Hoover. A Romney nomination dooms him.
Obama speaking the truth, and with fewer letters: “I got mine”.
Not really. He’s set for life and has become a member of the G.H.W.Bush familia. Do you think he really cares?
One thing I have learned in the last few years is that electing better Democrats does not work. They are getting worse.
I hope I get the opportunity to force Obama to share in his so called sh
Exactly. The Republicans got tons of mileage out of “death panels”. This will be even worse because it will be much more truthful.
I think I’ll watch the republican debate instead.
OBAMA’S JOBS PLAN: GIVE A SPEECH
The best (in fact only) real way to do it is at the local level. Otherwise you wait for a self-financing “man on a white horse” to save you, and that more likely turns out to be a dictator in disguise.
I think you got it right. Someone said this is his reelection speech. It could just as well be his good bye speech, since the cuts he will propose will kill him. OK by me. I’ve enough of this ass. But I am prejudging the speech.
Eric the Piss Ant will be front and center on this you know. Get your popcorn early.
…blah blah blah blah I’m and adult blah blah blah blah blah.
Sad but accurate, I’m afraid.
Osterity loves to hear his dulcet hopey changey voice soar into the ether, as the ship of state goes down.
Listened to Dean Baker yesterday, normally a realist on jobs, touting Germany’s job sharing program as a way to increase employment. By a combination of reduced hours for the employed, either to maintain employment of other workers or add new employees, State EDD would pay workers 60% of their lost wage, for the reduced hours. Of course, this being the USofA under a Blue Dog due little President, with a totally corrupt Congress, our law would allow Corporations to reduce hours, lay off employees and force exempt employees to work the same or more hours at reduce pay. God love America.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ax3kyE3bILDY
The deficit should never be addressed unless Obama quits the military exercises and theft from Americans who do not want the BS “wars” in Iraq, Afghan and the rest, otherwise, all is a large pile of BS.
Anything short of “I will veto anything from the bipartisan commission that doesn’t have five dollars of revenue increase for every dollar cut.” is a failure to lead. Anything that doesn’t state “I will immediately be using the Tarp money to hire people across America to clean up our parks, paint our schools and assist in our overcrowded schools with priority going to hire those who no longer have access to unemployment” is pointless. If he doesn’t add “I am ready and eager for Congress to send me every project that increases jobs in their districts and states as requested by Republican representatives in the last four years that hasn’t happened and will sign them immediately,” he is missing a huge opportunity. And if he doesn’t point out that all plans to cut or change Social Security actually weakens it and denies repayment of the funds that the Government has borrowed from working Americans paid into the trust fund. That it has never contributed to the deficit and that the shortfall is actually smaller before all the plans. In fact the only change to Social Security he will accept is to raise or eliminate the cap. And then to announce that not only will we be leaving Iraq, we will not be paying for any contractors to remain their either. Any training for Iraqi forces must be done here in the United States.
I expect none of this. But somehow I think that speech might actually do more to get Obama reelected then anything he will say. Especially if he were to actually veto the catfood commission recommendations saying I told you what my bottom line was. And then adding that he was directing all agencies to make the deepest cuts in the districts of those who made it clear that increasing revenue was not acceptable since they think cutting is the only way, and now we had to make across the board cuts. Since this is what they want, their districts can do without the funds the most and they can lead the sacrifice.
There, fixed it.
the “socialist” strikes again…from Bloomberg news..
Buffett Faults Tea Party, Widens Rift with Republicans
Warren Buffett, the self-made billionaire and son of a former Republican congressman, continues to widen his rift with the Republican Party by pressing for tax increases on the wealthy and reinforcing ties with President Barack Obama.http://www.newslook.com/videos/343737-buffett-faults-tea-party-widens-rift-with-republicans?autoplay=true
Now twice as speechy as before
Twice the hope, twice the reaching across the isle…
and twice the not nearly enough, twice the words and not actions.
I shall practice piano instead, that will be 3 times as good
Sounds exactly right. Too bad you’re not heading up Obama’s economic and re-election teams.
Boner just rejected the President’s request.
Yup, so now all he’s done is advertise the R’s debate. I mean he could have done the jobs speech from the Oval Office on Labor Day, but gee, then he might have reminded Americans why we have a Labor Day in the first place. No, much better to remind them of the R’s debate.
I tuned out as soon as I heard the word “bi-partisan”. Damn, how I hate that word. Anybody got a substitute?
Obama leaked that nothing proposed would not be something the GOP had not already voted yes on – as if they would vote yes on their own ideas once he proposed them.
Meanwhile the speech time and date are out as the GOP gave him the finger re his claim for a Joint Session of Congress platform.