Progress Report--Obama and the Democrats

The Obama administration inherited from Bush and the Republicans the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.  Thanks to failed economic leadership by the Republicans, the country was on the verge of a second Great Depression.  So what have Democrats and the Obama administration accomplished with little if any support from Republicans?  Here is a report card.

• Created or saved nearly 3.2 million jobs.
• Provided health care tax credits to over 6.7 small businesses.
• Gave over 111.3 million middle class families a tax cut.
• Insured that over 5.6 million Americans would no longer be denied health insurance coverage because of a pre-existing condition.
• Saved the jobs of 161,000 teachers.
• Funded over 3,800 projects to help secure our energy future.

Not a bad record and, as I said, these achievements were almost universally resisted by Republicans.  If they had their way, jobs wouldn’t have been saved, small businesses wouldn’t have any help in purchasing health insurance for their employees, millions of Americans would still be denied health insurance through no fault of their own, thousands of teachers would be out of work, and there wouldn’t be funding for the energy projects we need to secure our future.

Go here to see accomplishments in your own state and/or Congressional district.

http://progress.barackobama.com/?source=20101223_BO_active&locstate=GA&loccd=06

Click on the drop down box to see results for your state.

Obama wins two in one day

Senate today approved the Start nuclear treaty and the 9/11 health bill as Republicans back down.  That's two more wins for Obama.

9/11 health bill expected to pass

NBC news says a deal has been reached to allow the 9/11 health bill to be passed possibly this afternoon.  Dems agreed to cut cost to 4.3 billion (originally it was 7.4 billion then cut to 6.2 billion). Also, health coverage was cut from 10 years to 5 years. Also, "On the insistence of GOP lawmakers, it will also include provisions to study health information technology and the possibility of providing the health care through hospitals operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to people familiar with the talks." Not sure what that is about but probably some money to go to Repub "health info tech" company. Anyway, looks like another Obama win and another embarrassment for the Republicans. A number of conservative commentators have been saying opposing health care for 9/11 responders was a really, really dumb move.

Top bogus emails and urban myths for 2010

You’ve probably received at least one of these emails that warn of all kinds of things the Obama administration or the Democrats have done or are planning to do.  Well, let’s set the record straight.  FactCheck.org says:

• It’s not true that the White House is planning to tax all credit card transactions.
• Muslims are not being exempted from the new health care law.
• President Obama did not order up a private jet for the family’s pet dog, Bo.
• Speaker Pelosi’s spending for liquor on congressional trips isn’t notably different than that of her predecessor. And Pelosi herself doesn’t even drink alcohol.
• The new health care law does not contain a 3.8 percent "sales tax" on the sale of all personal residences.
• Obama did not cancel the National Day of Prayer nor did he participate in a Muslim prayer event at the Capitol. 

Read the truth about the what FactCheck.org calls “this year’s most virulent and pestilential inbox-busters.” here:

http://factcheck.org/2010/12/the-viral-spiral-of-2010/

Also, check out Snopes.com’s 25 hottest urban legends for 2010 here:

http://www.snopes.com/info/top25uls.asp

Happy Holidays

Republican earmark hypocrisy

You know how much Republicans hate earmarks.  In fact, they hate them so much they refused to vote for the Omnibus spending bill because it contained so many earmarks.  Well, as it turns out the two Senators who put the most earmarks in the bill are—you guessed it—Republicans, Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) inserted 230 and Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) inserted 199.  Grassley (R-IA) had 86.  John Cornyn (R-TX) and John Thune (R-S.D.) were so angry about the earmarks in the bill that they held a press conference to denounce them and hold Democrats accountable.  They had inserted 45 and 26 earmarks respectively.  For those of you in Georgia, Chambliss inserted 42 and Isakson 24.  Talk about hypocrisy.

To see a complete list of Senators and how many earmarks they inserted, go here:  http://blogs.ajc.com/jamie-dupree-washington-insider/2010/12/15/the-omnibus-arrives/

An idea worth considering

Brookings offers some recommendations concerning what Obama should do next to get government spending under control.  I don't agree with all of them but one has real merit.  One of the reasons we have an exploding deficit is that Bush took us into two wars without paying for them.  Brookings suggests: "Starting no later than 2015, all foreign combat commitments should be fully paid for, with a war surtax if necessary."  Now that's an idea worth considering.  If we are going to go to war and send American troops in harms way then we should be willing to pay a little extra in taxes to cover the costs.  If we aren't willing to have our taxes go up, even a little bit, to support American troops in combat, then maybe the combat isn't that important to us after all.  Would we have spent the money we have spent in Iraq and Afghanistan if we had to pay for the cost with increased taxes?  Maybe so.  But then again, maybe not.  It's an idea worth considering.

You can check out the rest of the Brookings recommendations by going here:
"http://www.brookings.edu/opinions/2010/1217_obama_galston.aspx?rssid=LatestFromBrookings&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+BrookingsRSS/topfeeds/LatestFromBrookings+(Brookings:+Latest+From+Brookings)

What's in the tax deal and what does it cost?

Reuters has posted a good summary of the tax deal showing what is included, who gets what, and what each piece costs.  Go here to see the summary: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B95J020101210?pageNumber=1

Did Obama just pull a fast one on the Republicans?

Some commentators are arguing that Obama may have pulled a fast one on the Republicans and gotten a second "stealth stimulus" in return for extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. They argue that Republicans agreed to extend unemployment benefits, cut payroll taxes and business taxes, and extend a grab bag of tax credits for college tuition and other items that constitute, in effect, a second stimulus that Obama could not have otherwise gotten passed. Some speculate that if this "stealth stimulus" works it could start to bring unemployment down and improve Obama's and Democrat chances in 2012. They may be just perfuming the pig but wouldn't it be great if the tax cut deal ended up costing Repubs in 2012.

Republicans will increase taxes on working class families

Republicans are up in arms about extending the Bush tax cuts for everyone, including those making over $250,000 per year, saying that failure to do so will result in a HUGE tax increase for working families, and the rich.

However, as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities points out there are other Obama tax cuts that are set to expire that will result in HUGE tax increases on working families.  Republicans have no interest in extending the Obama tax cuts.  What are they?

Here is a summary from the Center: See http://www.offthechartsblog.org/

·         Child Tax Credit expansion. The 2009 Recovery Act allowed low-income working families to count more of their earnings in calculating the value of their Child Tax Credit. If Congress doesn’t extend this provision, 10.7 million families will lose part or all of their child credit. For example, a single mother with two children who works full time, year round at the minimum wage and earns around $14,000 — someone who is trying to support her family through work rather than welfare — would see her child credit plummet by nearly $1,500, from $1,725 to $263 (see graph).

·         EITC improvements for married couples and larger families. Some low-income working couples receive a smaller Earned Income Tax Credit if they marry than if they had remained single. The Recovery Act included marriage penalty relief that reduced this financial penalty by allowing married couples to receive somewhat larger EITC benefits. Families with nearly 5 million adults and more than 8 million children will be affected if this change expires.

·         The Recovery Act also expanded EITC benefits for families with three or more children. Prior to 2009, these families — which make up a disproportionate share of all low-income working families — received the same EITC benefits as families with two children. The Recovery Act, by boosting EITC benefits for larger families, strengthened work incentives for more than 3 million low-income working families with children.

·         Making Work Pay. Created in the Recovery Act, this tax credit reduces the amount the federal government withholds from the paychecks of more than 90 percent of working Americans; it’s worth up to $800 per couple. If Congress doesn’t extend it, working families would see their paychecks go down starting on January 1. For example, a nurse and a machinist who have two children and earn a combined $65,000 would have an extra $800 withheld from their paychecks over the course of 2011. (The tax bill that the House passed yesterday didn’t extend Making Work Pay, but it did extend the child credit and EITC improvements.)

Let’s see.  Republicans are willing to shut down Congress to avoid millionaires from losing their tax cuts but these same Republicans are very willing to increase taxes on the middle class.  Why am I not surprised?

Should we dump Obama?

Relatedly, it looks like Obama will cave on the whole matter of the Bush tax cuts.  Republicans are set to get everything they want.  They know Obama will not stand up to their threats.  They know—and so do we—that Obama has no backbone.  Maybe it is time for progressives to start thinking about dumping wimpy and  running a true liberal/progressive in 2012.  Think about it.