Economy

The Return of Congress And Jobs

Unfortunately, congress is scheduled to return to work next week, and as we all know issue number one in the minds of voters is jobs. However President Obama and the Republicans both have their own idea of how to create jobs.

One involves actually putting people to work. The other involves doing the same old tired shit that's already been done the last 30 years.

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama said Monday he would unveil proposals next week aimed at spurring job growth in part through infrastructure improvements.

Obama made the comment as he announced he had picked Princeton economist Alan Krueger as the new chief of the Council of Economic Advisers.

He said next week he would lay out a series of steps that the U.S. Congress can take immediately to put more money in the pockets of middle class families and put construction crews to work.

Meanwhile, House Majority Shitkicker Eric Cantor has his own plans for obstruction jobs.

When Congress returns from recess, House Republicans will begin a continuous assault on a series of health, environmental and labor regulations, which they say are hampering job creation. And they'll twin it with two tax cuts for both large and small businesses. One of those cuts will actually be aimed at preventing a scheduled tax increase -- but it's not the payroll tax cut President Obama has asked Congress to extend.

In a memo to members, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) laid out a list of 10 rules, most of which have yet to be implemented, which they'll seek to prevent week by week. These include regulations that would limit the amount of mercury and other toxins boiler and incinerator operators can burn into the atmosphere; that could make it easier for workers to unionize; and that assure that employer insurance policies exempted from new health care law -- so-called "grandfathered" plans -- meet the law's basic requirements and aren't gamed by employers to reduce workers' existing benefits.

To recap:

President Obama's plan -- Put money in people's pockets, remove obstacles standing in the way of new hires, and build infrastructure.

Republicans' plan -- Obstruct, deregulate, and continue the assault on healthcare reform.

Most of the reforms the Republicans plan to target haven't even taken effect yet, but they will be billed as "job-killing." Same shit, different day.

If you think congress' current record low approval rating of 12 percent couldn't possibly get any lower, think again. Eric Cantor and the Republicans are about to prove you wrong, and they will smile while doing so.