Well,
well, well,
Wasn’t
THAT interesting?
Did
you see it?
Before
the president began his speech I wondered if he was going to take his patented
‘kumbayah’ approach about working it out between political parties, yada, yada,
yada.
He
didn’t.
He
took – what I thought – was a bold and at times impassioned and very direct
“in-your-face” stance with those troublesome Republicans. He basically challenged them to find fault
with the bill – “The American Jobs Act” – that was crafted based on past
proposals submitted by both Democrats AND Republicans. He laid out the framework of the draft bill
such as tax deductions for small businesses that hire persons unemployed for
more than six months, and tax breaks for companies that increase their payroll
by $50 million or more. The bill also
has provisions for extending unemployment benefits for those out of work, and
funding for infrastructure building and renovation. “Why should China outspend us in building new
roads, railways and airports?” he asked.
The
plan also calls for more breaks on the payroll tax for individuals and families
making up to $50,000.
The
president also took a very strong stance on the low tax rates on the rich, and
closing loopholes for subsidizing the oil companies. Her made a very clear point that congress
should be working for the American
taxpayers and not the lobbyists for wealthy.
He reiterated a grumble that has been on the lips of the disenfranchised
in America – that the wealthy should pay their fare share in taxes as much as
the poor and middle class already does.
This is a quite
clever, almost sly speech. Under the guise of holding out a friendly hand to
Republicans, and going some way to meet their concerns on red tape and the
like, he is offering them a chalice which they can't possibly drink. But if
they don't, they look unreasonable. Or so he hopes.
The
Republican side of the House – of course – sat in stony silence most of the
time. To me it seem they knew that they
were being challenged and chided. I
expected nothing less than unwillingness from them, and fully expect them to
start putting up roadblocks to ensuring that this bill fails.
Let’s
see what the coming weeks bring.
Watch the full speech here:
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