[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|
Status: Not Logged In; Sign In
United States News Title: Obama Pledges New Measures Next Week to Boost Economy Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- President Barack Obama said there is “no quick fix” for the U.S. economy as it emerges from the worst recession in more than seven decades and he promised to lay out new ideas next week to boost growth and hiring. The president, speaking at the White House, again urged Congress to pass a package of measures to help small businesses, including tax breaks and aid to ease credit. “I will be addressing a broader package of new ideas next week,” he said. The economy is moving in “the right direction; we just have to speed it up.” Obama spoke after the U.S. Labor Department reported that private payrolls climbed 67,000 in August, more than forecast. Overall employment fell 54,000 for a second month and the unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent as more people entered the labor force. Obama conferred yesterday with his 11-member economic team, led by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and departing chief economist Christina Romer. White House economic advisers are considering additional measures, including more tax breaks for small businesses and new spending on infrastructure, according to congressional aides familiar with the discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity because talks are preliminary. Obama also may renew his call for Congress to permanently extend a research-and- development tax credit. Economic Speeches The president has two events related to the economy next week. He speaks at a Labor Day rally in Milwaukee on Sept. 6 and plans an economic speech in Cleveland on Sept. 8. He is scheduled to hold a news conference at the White House Sept. 10. Any new initiatives will be “targeted” and won’t be on the same scale as the $814 billion stimulus legislation approved last year, Robert Gibbs, Obama’s spokesman, said yesterday. “Some big new stimulus plan is not in the offing,” he said. Obama said in his Rose Garden statement today that “there is no silver bullet that is going to solve all our economic problems.” The president also is seeking an extension of most of the income tax cuts passed under former President George W. Bush while letting the breaks for households making more than $250,000 annually expire. Tax Cut Debate Republicans want to extend all the tax cuts and some Democrats have indicated they may resist letting the top rates rise. House Republican leader John Boehner said Obama must “change course” with his economic policies, including his plan to let tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire. “We need a Congress and a White House that will listen to the American people, who are asking ‘where are the jobs?,’” Boehner, of Ohio, said in a statement. With less than two months to go before congressional mid- term elections that will determine control of Congress, administration officials are working to balance new stimulus measures against their own projections of a budget deficit that will hit a record $1.47 trillion this year and $1.42 trillion in 2011. A permanent extension of the research-and-development tax credit would cost $70.5 billion over the next 10 years, according to the president’s 2011 budget proposal. Stimulus Critics Boehner is among the Republican leaders who have criticized the earlier stimulus, saying it has failed to live up to Obama’s promises while adding to the deficit. Boehner said that, while the administration’s initial projections for the stimulus said it would keep the jobless rate no higher than 8 percent, unemployment has stayed above 9 percent for 16 straight months. The House has already passed an administration-backed package of tax cuts and credit aid for small businesses. Senate Republicans blocked the legislation before lawmakers left for their summer recess. Whatever new measures Obama proposes, he’ll be running up against the calendar as well as election-year politics. The Senate is scheduled to return to Washington Sept. 13 and the House the next day. Lawmakers will be at work for about three weeks before leaving again to campaign. The administration will have a difficult time “coming up with something that’s not dead on arrival” in Congress, said Chad Stone, who was chief economist at the Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton administration. “That’s a really serious problem.” Tax Credit The research-and-development tax credit has a history of support in Congress and has frequently been renewed since it was first adopted in 1981. The tax break expired at the end of 2009, though the House already has passed legislation to extend it for another year, and Senate leaders are seeking to take up the bill before the midterm elections. Companies including Dow Chemical Co., Microsoft Corp. and CA Inc. have supported the renewal. Obama called for making the business tax break permanent during his presidential campaign and has requested its permanent extension in both budgets he introduced since taking office. Former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton took the same stance when they were in office. Lawmakers expect Obama to again urge Congress to make the credit permanent as part of a plan to give the economy an additional boost, according to the congressional aides, who spoke on condition of anonymity because none of the proposals have been formally offered.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread |
|
[Home] [Headlines] [Latest Articles] [Latest Comments] [Post] [Mail] [Sign-in] [Setup] [Help] [Register]
|