On September 8th, President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress to propose a new jobs bill (here's a handy chart and summary) composed of an extension of payroll tax cuts, hiring incentives for businesses, an infrastructure bank, and aid to local and state governments, and paid for by the elimination of various tax breaks for businesses and the wealthy.
Polling guru Nate Silver breaks down all the recent polls on the various parts of the plan and finds that, much like the health care plan, the individual pieces are mostly popular among Americans. As such, he predicts that Democrats will focus on advocating for the individual pieces while Republicans will campaign against the bill as a whole, or even just the idea of the bill. Expect to hear the word "jobs" from Democrats and the word "stimulus" from Republicans.
Liberal columnist Paul Krugman, who has long criticized Obama's economic plans for not being bold enough, writes
I was favorably surprised by the new Obama jobs plan, which is significantly bolder and better than I expected. It’s not nearly as bold as the plan I’d want in an ideal world. But if it actually became law, it would probably make a significant dent in unemployment.
Conservative columnist David Brooks writes that he can support a portion of the bill even though it is, in a lot of ways, another stimulus package
There is clearly now a significant risk of a double-dip recession. That would be terrible for America’s workers, fiscal situation and psyche. This prospect is enough to shock even us stimulus skeptics out of our long-term focus. It’s enough to force us to contemplate the possibility of another stimulus package . . .
Personally, my bottom line is this: I think the president has earned a second date. He’s put together a moderate set of stimulus ideas. His plan may not be enough to jolt prosperity, but it might maintain its current slow growth.
Some firms, however, say they won't dramatically increase hiring because of the bill.
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