Obama jobs plan likely DOA

President Obama unveiled his proposal to pay for his ambitious jobs plan which he announced in a major speech last Thursday. Republicans are criticizing the plan as a tax on job creators and appear poised to oppose it. 

WASHINGTON D.C. (Catholic Online) - Saying the plan is a tax on job creators and a mistake, congressional Republicans vow to oppose it. The vigorous opposition may be a surprise to Obama and the White House, who seem to have expected the Republicans to be more conciliatory after their popularity hit over the debt ceiling debate, but congressional Republicans show no signs of compromising. 

Michael Steel, speaking on behalf of House Speaker John Boehner said, "It would be fair to say this tax increase on job creators is the kind of proposal both parties have opposed in the past. We remain eager to work together on ways to support job growth, but this proposal doesn't appear to have been offered in that bipartisan spirit.''

Obama has been tirelessly pitching his plan, which met with mixed reaction from Republicans on Thursday. Most adopted a wait-and-see attitude, waiting for his payment plan to be released. Having now seen that plan, many Republicans intend to oppose it on the basis that it would actually destroy jobs.

The Obama proposal is to raise money to cover the $477 billion plan by limiting itemized deductions for families making more than $250,000 per year, ending tax breaks for oil companies and corporate jet owners, along with a host of other smaller taxes and cuts. Republicans say that eliminating the tax breaks for corporations will cost jobs. 

Conversely, Democrats contend that difficult choices must be made but ultimately Americans must be put back to work, even at the expense of corporations. Obama pitched the proposal as a zero-sum deal, saying Thursday, " We've got to decide what our priorities are. Do we keep tax loopholes for oil companies, or do we put teachers back to work? Should we keep tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, or should we invest in education and technology and infrastructure?"

Obama has demanded that Congress act quickly to pass the bill, but analysts don't believe it will survive for long. Some provisions of the bill, such as certain tax cuts and unemployment assistance are more likely to pass as individual measures or as part of the grand proposal expected later this year to reduce federal spending by at least $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years. The $1.2 trillion in cuts are part of the debt ceiling deal reached in early August and parts of Obama's plan may pass as a part of that committee's work. 

Strategists believe Obama is using his jobs bill to kick off his reelection campaign and that Republican opposition will contribute to his platform. If Republicans defeat the bill, which is likely, then Obama will begin campaigning against them in 2012 casting Republicans as defenders of the wealthy. Republicans, on the other hand, are likely to continue their portrayal of Obama as a tax-and-spend president.

In any case, Obama's jobs bill is only a matter of days old and it already appears defeated. However, politics what they are, its ghost will certainly haunt the candidates and the public right through next year's election. 

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