Wordle!
From House Speaker John Boehner's economy speech, 9.15.11.
House Speaker John Boehner today addressed the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. I'll pull a few key bits here, then drop the full text of his prepared remarks after the jump.
First, on President Obama's American Jobs Act:
Last week the president put forth a new set of proposals. The House will consider them, as the American people expect. Some of the president's proposals offer opportunities for common ground.
But let's be honest with ourselves. The president's proposals are a poor substitute for the pro-growth policies that are needed to remove barriers to job creation in America...the policies that are needed to put America back to work.
Second, "crony capitalism" goes mainstream:
They've been undercut by a government that favors crony capitalism and businesses deemed "too big to fail," over the small banks and small businesses that make our economy go.
And third, the new labor movement:
My worry is that for American job creators, all the uncertainty is turning to fear that this toxic environment for job creation is a permanent state.
Job creators in America are essentially on strike.
Greg Sargent looks to be winning the analysis. Full text of Speaker Boehner's remarks after the jump:
President Rubenstein, members of the board, honored guests -- thank you for the opportunity to be here with you today to talk about jobs and the state of our nation's economy.
We all know the economy is stalled, and it's been stalled. And it's not because the American people have lost their way. It'sbecause their government has let them down.
Last week the president put forth a new set of proposals. The House will consider them, as the American people expect. Some of the president's proposals offer opportunities for common ground.
But let's be honest with ourselves. The president's proposals are a poor substitute for the pro-growth policies that are needed to remove barriers to job creation in America...the policies that are needed to put America back to work.
If we want job growth, we need to recognize who really creates jobs in America. It's the private-sector.
This building is named in memory of President Ronald Reagan, who recognized that private sector job creators are the heart of our economy. They always have been.
That was the America I was raised in. My father and grandfather were small businessmen. They ran a tavern in Cincinnati that my grandpa started in the 1930s. I worked in that tavern growing up.
I ran a small business myself. I know what it takes to meet a payroll, hire workers, and create jobs in the private sector.
There's a fundamental misunderstanding of the economy that leads to a lot of bad decisions in Washington, D.C.
The reality is that employers will hire if they have the right incentives, but the incentives have to outweigh the costs. Businesses are not going to hire someone for a $4000 tax credit if government mandates impose long-term costs on them that significantly exceed the temporary credit. In recent years, such mandates have been overwhelming.
Private-sector job creators of all sizes have been pummeled by decisions made in Washington.
They've been slammed by uncertainty from the constant threat of new taxes, out-of-control spending, and unnecessary regulation from a government that is always micromanaging, meddling, and manipulating.
They've been hurt by a government that offers short-term gimmicks rather than fundamental reforms that will encourage long-term economic growth.
They've been hampered by a government that offers confusion to entrepreneurs and job creators when there needs to be clarity.
They've been undercut by a government that favors crony capitalism and businesses deemed "too big to fail," over the small banks and small businesses that make our economy go.
They've been antagonized by a government that favors bureaucrats over market-based solutions.
They've been demoralized by a government that causes despair when we need it to provide reassurance and inspire confidence.
My worry is that even after all of this, much of the talk in Washington right now is basically about more of the same. More initiatives that seem to have more to do with the next election than the next generation. . .initiatives that seem to be more about micromanaging economic decisions than liberating them.
I think the American people are worried about this too.
I can tell you the American people -- private-sector job creators in particular --- are rattled by what they've seen out of this town over the last few years.
My worry is that for American job creators, all the uncertainty is turning to fear that this toxic environment for job creation is a permanent state.
Job creators in America are essentially on strike.
The problem is not confusion about the policies. . .the problem is the policies.
The anger many Americans have been feeling in recent years is beginning to turn into fear. . .fear of our future.
That bothers me, and it should bother all of us.
America is a land of opportunity. Always has been.
Our economy has always been built on opportunity. . .on entrepreneurs, innovators and risk-takers willing to take a chance -- because they're confident if they work hard, they can succeed.
Over the past few years, government has made people less confident -- not more confident -- that they can succeed.
More and more Americans are realizing this, and they're speaking out about it.
I've spent the past 4-5 weeks traveling through my district and across this country, listening to the people outside of Washington who are the key to making our economy work.
My message to Washington today on their behalf: this isn't that hard. We need to liberate our economy from the shackles of Washington. Let our economy grow!
We need to trust in the good judgment of the American people.
The instinct in government, always, is to get bigger, more intrusive, more meddlesome. And that instinct is directly at odds with the things that make the American economy move.
Job creation in America is facing what I would call a triple threat from government. The first aspect of this threat is excessive regulation.
During the Joint Session of Congress last week, I hosted about a dozen job creators from the private sector in as my guests in the House gallery -- all of them with a common story: they're trying to help create more American jobs, but the government is getting in their way.
We all know some regulations are needed. We have a responsibility under the Constitution to regulate interstate commerce.
There are reasonable regulations that protect our children and help keep our environment clean.
And then there are excessive regulations that unnecessarily increase costs for consumers and small businesses.
Those excessive regulations are making it harder for our economy to create jobs.
Over the past couple of months we've seen two vivid illustrations.
Last month federal agents raided the Gibson Guitar factories in Tennessee.
Gibson is a well-respected American company that employs thousands of people. The company's costs as a result of the raid? An estimated $2-3 million. Why? Because Gibson bought wood overseas to make guitars in America. Seriously.
The other example is in South Carolina, where the Boeing company recently completed a plant that will create thousands of new full-time jobs for American workers -- only to be sued by a federal agency that wants to shut it down.
Let make sure I have this straight: under current rules, American companies are free to create jobs in China, but they aren't free to create them in South Carolina?
At this moment, the Executive Branch has 219 new rules in the works that will cost our economy at least $100 million.
That means under the current Washington agenda, our economy is poised to take a hit from the government of at least $100 million -- 219 times.
I think it's reasonable to ask: is it wise to be doing all of this right now?
The current regulatory burden coming out of Washington far exceeds the federal government's constitutional mandate. And it's hurting job creation in our country at a time when we can't afford it.
Government's threat to job creation has two other components.
One is the current tax code, which is discourages investment and rewards special interests.
It strikes me as odd that at a time when it's clear that the tax code needs to be fundamentally reformed, the first instinct out of Washington is to come up with a host of new tax credits that make the tax code more complex.
The final aspect of the threat is the spending binge in Washington. It has created a massive debt crisis that poses a direct threat to our country's ability to create jobs and prosper.
There are some people in this town who still deny this. . .who still deny that the debt is a threat to jobs.
But if you talk to anybody outside of Washington who has to meet a payroll, they'll tell you that out-of-control spending in Washington is one of the things that concerns them the most about our future.
In New York City back in May, I warned that if we don't take action soon, the markets will do it for us.
Last month, the markets took action, in the form of a downgrade and the possibility of future downgrades that caused the markets to tumble.
It's going to keep happening, until we act.
The responsibility for fixing this toxic environment for job creation is a bipartisan one.
The situation was created by Washington's inability to let our economy work.
It was created by government intrusion and micromanagement.
We have a responsibility to work together in the coming months to remove these barriers and liberate our economy.
This is what the American people are demanding of us.
Everything we do in the weeks and months to come needs to start with asking: are we addressing these problems? Or are we making them worse?
The Budget Control Act of 2011, signed into law last month, establishes a Joint Select Committee of Congress for the purpose of identifying $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction.
Many have expressed doubts about the Joint Committee's chances of success.
The skepticism is understandable. A Joint Select Committee is, after all, no substitute for a president who continues to control most of the arms of government.
But I think the Joint Select Committee has a huge opportunity.
It has a chance to lay the foundation for economic growth, by dealing with some of the obstacles that are standing in the way.
The Joint Committee's mission is deficit reduction, and that has everything to do with jobs.
As the co-chairman of the Joint Committee, Jeb Hensarling, said last week at the Committee's first meeting:
"Our debt threatens our jobs. . .Speak to any Fortune 500 CEO or small business person. It is clear that our debt hangs like the Sword of Damocles over their hiring decisions. . .It should be obvious that deficit reduction and a path to fiscal sustainability are themselves a jobs program."
The Joint Select Committee can tackle tax reform, and it should.
It's probably not realistic to think the Joint Committee could rewrite the tax code by November 23. But it can certainly lay the groundwork by then for tax reform in the future that will enhance the environment for economic growth.
The Committee can develop principles for broad-based tax reform that will lower rates for individuals and corporations while closing deductions, credits, and special carveouts in our tax code. And I hope it will.
Yes, tax reform should include closing loopholes. Not for purposes of bringing more money to the government. But because it's the right thing to do.
And if we're going to tackle tax reform, we should do it all.
Making short-term fixes in exchange for long-term flawed policy is not tax reform.
Tax reform should deal with the whole tax code, both the personal side and the corporate side, and it should result in a code that is simpler and fairer to everyone.
Tax increases, however, are not a viable option for the Joint Committee.
It's a very simple equation. Tax increases destroy jobs. And the Joint Committee is a jobs committee. Its mission is to reduce the deficit that is threatening job creation in our country.
We should not make its task harder by asking it to do things that will make the environment for job creation in America even worse.
I hope the president will meet this standard when he puts forth his recommendations for the Joint Committee next week.
When it comes to producing savings to reach its $1.5 trillion deficit reduction target, the Joint Select Committee has only one option: spending cuts and entitlement reform.
The Joint Committee can achieve real deficit reduction by reforming entitlements and taking real action to preserve and strengthen Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
There is a myth that spending reforms aren't "real" unless they happen this year.
That myth is built on a healthy skepticism that spending cuts made today are going to be implemented tomorrow.
But it is a myth nonetheless, and we need to make sure it doesn't stop us from doing what needs to be done.
Most of the entitlement reforms in the House GOP budget are phased in over time. And that's the way the Joint Committee should do them as well.
Modest changes in spending programs today can have large effects tomorrow.
Gimmicks, however, are unacceptable. As I told the president's economic team during the debt limit negotiations: we're just not doing that anymore.
Deficit reduction shouldn't just be about quantity; it should be about quality.
A billion dollars in imaginary savings from war spending that was never going to happen is not the same as a billion dollars in savings that strengthens our entitlement programs.
There are plenty of skeptics about the Joint Select Committee's ability to accomplish its mission, and that's to be expected.
There are always skeptics.
There were skeptics last spring when I said in New York that we should have spending cuts larger than any debt limit hike we gave the president.
But it happened.
And this can happen, too.
The Joint Committee can succeed, and it must succeed. And with success, it can help to lay the foundation for economic growth and job creation in America.
If the Joint Committee does its work correctly - addressing the structural problems in our entitlement programs that have put us in danger of more job-destroying downgrades, and setting the stage for fundamental tax reform that will help to support private investment - it will have begun to remove some of the biggest barriers to job creation that exist in our country today.
As the Joint Committee does its work, there is a lot of other work in Washington that also needs to be done.
As I mentioned earlier, there are 219 major regulatory actions in the works by the federal bureaucracy right now. We know seven of them will each have an economic impact of $1 billion or more.
The biggest is an EPA rule that could have an impact of as much as $90 billion.
The president acted wisely by halting the implementation of this rule. I would urge the White House to build on it by disclosing to the American people the cost estimates for the remaining 212 "economically significant" rules it has planned.
I would also urge the president to call a Cabinet meeting, and tell every member of his Cabinet: "Until further notice, I don't want anything that gets in the way of private-sector job creation. And I want you to report back to me in a month with how you've done."
The members of the president's Cabinet are not doing their jobs if they aren't constantly focused on removing impediments to job growth.
If they're not focused on that, they should be fired.
In the House, Majority Leader Cantor has put together a fall legislative schedule that reflects the concerns we've heard from job creators across America about unnecessary federal regulations that are hampering job growth.
Earlier I mentioned the situation in South Carolina with Boeing.
Today the House is working on a measure that will prevent the federal government from meddling in that situation, and similar ones.
The Senate needs to follow the House in passing this bill, and we need to send it to the president's desk.
The NRLB bill is one of a whole series of measures we're working on this fall to reduce the burden of excessive regulation on job creators.
We'll pass the REINS Act, which would require congressional review for any new regulation that has a major impact on the economy.
House committees have identified dozens of job-crushing regulations that are keeping our economy from producing jobs.
We'll repeal the "3 percent withholding rule," which serves as an effective tax increase on those who do business with the government.
We'll stop excessive federal regulations that inhibit jobs in areas as varied as cement and farm dust.
We'll work on other reforms such as removing barriers to increased domestic energy production and removing barriers to trade, many of which are in the House GOP jobs agenda at Jobs.GOP.gov.
The United States Senate needs to act, too. The Senate cannot continue to sit idle on jobs and the budget.
The House has passed an array of bills already this year to remove barriers to job creation, and those bills are piling up in the Senate.
The Senate hasn't produced a budget, either. It must.
There are a few other things I want to mention that we can do in the weeks and months ahead to free our economy and bolster confidence among our job creators.
One is very simple. Both parties can boost confidence and reassure job creators by being clear: there will be no shutdown of the federal government, and we aren't willing to default on our debt. The United States will meet its obligations to its citizens and to its creditors.
In Congress, I've been clear about these goals since the day I was elected Speaker. And we've been true to our word.
Another thing we can do is in the area of transportation and infrastructure.
I'm not opposed to responsible spending to repair and improve infrastructure. But if we want to do it in a way that truly supports long-term economic growth and job creation, let's link the next highway bill to an expansion of American-made energy production.
Removing some of the unnecessary government barriers that prevent our country from utilizing its vast energy resources could create millions of new jobs.
There's a natural link between the two: as we develop new sources of American energy, we're going to need modern infrastructure to bring that energy to the market.
We can also boost confidence and reassure job creators by sending a balanced budget amendment to the states.
One of the most important things we did in the Budget Control Act last month -- in addition to requiring a vote in both houses of Congress this fall on a balanced budget amendment -- was establish caps on future spending.
These caps are designed to hold back the growth of government while our economy expands and creates jobs.
To ensure those spending caps are set in stone, we should ratify a balanced budget amendment.
If the president truly wants to make a difference and change the dynamic in Washington, he should announce his support for a balanced budget amendment and call on the Congress to send one to the states without delay.
And lastly, if we want to create a better environment for job creation, politicians of all stripes can leave the "my way or the highway" philosophy behind.
The all-or-nothing approach is not a workable mindset if we're serious about getting our economy on its feet again.
Our economy is facing a broad-based, systemic crisis.
As such, it will require everyone coming to the table with their best ideas first and leaving politics at the door, with the courage to listen to each other's critiques and questions.
It means ending the name-calling, the yelling, and the questioning of others' motives.
Leadership is about ending that nonsense, buckling down, and getting to work.
Thomas Edison once said that "opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."
We have an opportunity in front of us. The trick is to recognize it, and believe in it, and act on it.
We know the challenges we face as a nation, and we have a chance to confront them.
If we put election-year politics aside this year and focus on our work, we'll leave our country in a better place.
Getting it done will require a serious effort by both parties.
There are some in both parties who would rather do nothing.
They'd prefer to sit this one out, waiting to be dealt a better hand down the road, after the next election.
That's not what I was elected to do.
This is the hand we've been dealt.
Instead of ducking from the challenge, we should rise to the occasion, and liberate our economy from the shackles government has placed on it.
I'm ready. And for the sake of our country, and our economy - I hope all of us are ready.
Thank you for listening. I look forward to your questions.
Leave a Comment:
The House has passed an array of bills already this year to remove barriers to job creation, and those bills are piling up in the Senate.
can you produce a bill number or two for this array of bills? as only thing we have seen is taken away womens rights, voters rights, and other i would call non we the people ideas.
Has the Democrat led Senate passed the America Job Act yet after President Obama has said a couple of hundred times "pass this bill now?" No, they have not. Many Democrats are saying they can not vote for it. Hmmmmm?
RobDon
Bills that deal with money in any way have to start in the House before they go to the Senate. Does anyone have a link for RobDon leading to Schoolhouse Rock's I'm Only a Bill?
Exactly
I believe under PBO's time in office at least 430 bills have came through the House that have been sent to the Senate and not passed (with a majority not even being allowed to come up for debate or vote).
Maria, no condescending lecture needed. This from the congressional newspaper The Hill:
Any comment now? My guess is you will not apologize or acknowledge mistake but I could be wrong. John, feel free to admit mistake as well.
Just for reference, it is Senate Bill 1549.
Still can't vote on it till it goes through the House RobDon. Article 1 Section 7 Clause 1 of the Constitution.:
"All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills."
In other words the Senate can get a bill submitted dealing with revenue but can't really do anything about it till the House of Representatives deals with it. I know you're going to say I am just another Liberal know it all but RobDon I have made the Constitution a matter of study for myself since 1989. It's my hobby along with pirate reenactment. Yes an odd combination but there you go I am a an odd person.
Speaking of odd did you know that Congress alone has the pwoer to issue letter of Marque and Reprisal? It's Article 1 Section 8 Clause 11 of the Constitution. Also to deal with piracy Article 1 Section 8 Clause 10.
P.S. I don't think I owe you an apology at all.
smiling Maria nope you do not own him NOTHING!!
to bad he seems to stop haft way threw things.
in the services we called them haft Steppers.
that dam Constitution thing keeps spring up in their way.
Maria, first thank you for your cordial response. I, too, understand that revenue bills much originate in the House. I do not think the American Jobs Act qualifies as a revenue bill. It does not, to my knowledge, initiate any new tax. It does remove some loop holes and allows other breaks to expire but does not set up a "new tax" or fee.
If your scenario was the case and the Senate could not vote on the bill until passed by the House, then Harry Reid would have said when asked when he expects a vote, "We can't vote on it until the House votes, so I don't know." Reid has said nothing like this, he has said he is unsure when he'll schedule a vote because he has some other priorities that need attention first.
Job Creators Myth or Fact?
We are always hearing the argument that we need to lower
taxes on the rich, because they are job creators. The question is -- do
lower tax rates for the rich create jobs? Let’s begin by determining who
the real job creators are. If we think about it, there are five groups of
job creators.
The first group is the entrepreneurs and franchisees.
They create jobs when they open a business. I have had 2 businesses that
hired employees and never did my personal tax rate affect any hiring or firing.
These job creators, most entrepreneurs, like myself have
taxable incomes below $200,000.00. Therefore their tax rates are not
influenced by the tax rates on the rich being discussed. Also, most
entrepreneurs that start a business immediately incorporate to protect their
personal assets and their hiring and firing are not influenced by their
personal tax rate.
The second groups of job creators are venture
capitalists. They take large amounts of capital and invest capital in
others ideas. To develop and market these new ideas requires new
employees. Once again, they are not sole proprietorships and thus not
affected in their decisions by personal tax rates. Rather ,their
decisions are based upon business principles, not personal tax rates.
The third group of job creators is corporations with R&D
groups. Successful research results in new products and services which
results in new jobs to produce the new products and services.
I personally have worked in several R&D groups.
One corporation had annual revenues that exceeded $5 billion and never, never
did personal tax rate affect any hiring or firing decisions.
The fourth group of job creators is the government. The
government creates jobs when there is legislation. For this group of job
creators, reducing taxes on the rich actually negatively affects their ability
to create jobs.
Now we discuss the most important and powerful job creating
group, the consumer. When consumer demand goes up, businesses hire.
Even when the economy is down, there are always a few businesses hiring.
These are the businesses with consumer demand. Businesses hire when there
is a demand, not when tax rates go up on the rich. The idea that demand
forces businesses to hire is a basic business principle.
Now, let’s examine the idea that a person making over
$200,000 creates jobs based upon their personal tax rates. For the
purpose of this discussion, let’s take a person that makes over $20 million and
see how low tax rates would have him create jobs. The person I had in mind
is Bill O’Reilly, who according to Newsweek makes $20 million http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/11/01/power-list.html.
I personally cannot think of any way that his personal tax rate would make him
create a new job. So, I challenge him to show me how he created any jobs
as a result of his tax rate.
In conclusion, it appears that giving the rich tax breaks
not only does not create jobs, but in some situations are actually jobs
destroyers.
Ohio keeps laying off government workers. As a result, the remaining workers are overworked and small business now has to deal with a higher error rate in government, especially in tax departments. I used to get 1-2 letters a year from various state and local tax departments saying I had not filed this or that form. Now, I get 2-3 a QUARTER for forms I have filed and taxes I have paid. For government, there is no down time and no consequence for sending out a letter in error. But for small business, it takes hours to get someone on the phone, acknowledge a letter, etc. And we're not even talking the "regulations" and the threat of new taxes that Boehner and the GOP keep talking about. We're talking just normal, run-of-the-mill tax filings. Crazy.
And tax cuts won't solve this stuff. Neither will closing the loopholes. And regulations? Please. The tax departments just seem to be understaffed to dangerous levels and sucking off the productivity in small business by pushing off their errors onto the private sector.
The job creators have been on strike for the last 10 years. Boehner needs to get his facts straight.
One of Boehner's many, many failures of comprehension is his inability to understand what creates jobs. In Republicanland (thank you TMRS), jobs are created by the wealthy in response to deregulation and tax cuts. In reality, jobs are created by economic activity, a demand for goods and services by people who are able and willing to spend money. That means money spent by slobs like us, not money collecting in increasingly vast, stagnant pools by the already-wealthy. Money has to circulate, and Republican policies for the past 30 years have served to constrict the economy's circulation.
Essentially, the extend the metaphor, Republicans are all about creating a gigantic economic aneurism. And their solution to the problem they themselves created is to apply a tourniquet below the aneurism in order to make it even worse.
Demand creates jobs. Cash to spend creates demand. Jobs create cash. Currently, the only thing out there with the ability to create jobs IS government. Currently, local government has been laying off workers, which means less cash in the economy and less demand for private sector jobs.
You can give a business all the tax breaks you want, unless there is a demand for their product or service, they are going to pocket that money until there is a demand. It is so obvious. Why can't those clowns in congress see that?
The economy and jobs problem summed up in 47 words.
read my lips Hell No on jobs, So Be IT
i believe is Johnny`s point of view on helping America.
Demand creates jobs. Cash to spend creates demand. Jobs create cash. Currently, the only thing out there with the ability to create jobs IS government. Currently, local government has been laying off workers, which means less cash in the economy and less demand for private sector jobs.
You can give a business all the tax breaks you want, unless there is a demand for their product or service, they are going to pocket that money until there is a demand. It is so obvious. Why can't those clowns in congress see that?
Why can't those clowns in congress see that?
Sadly here is your answer in a nut shell.
They can not will not give the USA (they mean the President but went you obstructed and want him to fail you want the USA to fail) a win they have said as much for the past three years!
So why hasn't the Democrat led Senate pass the President's Job Act yet? Do they want him to fail as well?
filibuster
So why hasn't the Democrat led Senate pass the President's Job Act yet?
book for you "how a bill is made" House Mouse, Senate Mouse
i believe will help you. at lease a good start, you can branch from that.
A Republican blaming "crony capitalism" for our problems...
And how was the soup du jour at the country club today, John? And oh, what did you shoot?
"The instinct in government, always, is to get bigger, more intrusive, more meddlesome."
Too bad he can't see that the economy isn't the only place this is true.
Bank Of America boosts in their TV ad's about how much they are doing for the american small business's with loans and now I've read that they are laying off 30,000 of their workers...huh? Maybe they will put "OUR" money where their TV ad's are and give those workers they're going to lay off and give them a loan that they are so proud of advertising they make to the workers they are about to lay off.
As far as the GOP goes its just more "lets stall, make Obama look bad" so that we (the GOP) can get rid of him. Maybe if a republican gets into office they can start another war or too that isn't paid for ..........that should finish off the economy and then they can blame Obama for that as well!!!! THEY ALL NEED TO EITHER DO SOMETHING OR GET THE HELL OUT!!!!
All I have to say is we all get a flu shot each year protecting are self's from the flu. We need an annual shot of whatever to protect us from corruption that is rotting this countries Government like a worm rots an apple. Lord give me strength!!
I hear a lot of complaining that job creators aren't getting the tax breaks and such that they need to be able to create jobs. So what was their excuse when they had all that under the shrub?
Boehner is simply saying, until we get this man who in America was never to hold the highest office in the land out of our white house, come hell or high water, we will not lift a finger to help this country get out of this mess. Shame on the elected officials who seem to have forgotten why they were elected. If the American people cannot see this racism, then America will never escape the low status it now holds in the World.
The sad truth is, that even if the Republicans do take the White House next year, they still won't do anything for the economy because it's no longer in their nature to do anything positive or constructive. Once upon a time, both parties served a useful purpose; now, the best service the GOP can provide is simply to die.
The job creators are the corporations (on strike) The bills coming up reflect the fact that The Job creators are trying to set us back a hundred years. We do not want to lose our right to work past a forty hour week without overtime. We do not want child labor laws gutted. We want to maintain clean air and water standards,and to have a livable wage. We need health care that is affordable and not only for the wealthy. You "Job Creators are trying to turn us into a third world class,formerly known as the middle class. You want to force us to grovel for our jobs and forget a decent standard of living. Koch Brothers i am working to "STRIKE TOO" I will encourage a boycott of your products. I promise...
The Job Creators are the corporations like the Koch Brothers... I also am on strike too. I will not buy any products your company makes and i will continue to spread the world. You are trying to get rid of child labor laws,clean air and water standards and minimum wage. These will turn our former middle class into a third world group of people sweating for your profit. We will not stand for this. You are wrong to think of us as gullible and weak. We may need jobs but you need us too!
Rachael, Is it not about time that someone in the Democratic party started putting together all of the obstructions (filibusters and NO votes) that the Republicans have used to kill all of the bills that have been proposed to help the economy these last three years. If the Democrats do not start playing hard ball with the Republicans they are going to lose, as in the 9th district of NY. Develop a chart and show them every night until the election. Send it out to every news outlet. Show who really as the responsibility for this mess.
I fear that if any republican gets wins we will become another country that observes a national religion and kills the poor and middle class in this country. We will out China, China. We will no longer have the moral high ground in this world.
I enjoy your point of view. We, Democrats, need to fight.
The fact that lightening didn't strike him after he spoke the words "crony capitalism" & democrats - shows that "G-d" wasn't paying attention to him either!
Boehner, who as a Republican cheers wealth disparity like it was his college football team, wants it both ways. He wants a growing economy but he doesn't want anyone to prosper in it except the very richest of the rich. Republicans hate unions, they hate the minimum wage, they hate federal state and local government employees, they love sending US jobs overseas and the idea of government helping non-rich people makes them insane with anger.
And then they wonder why there aren't any jobs? Why no one can afford new houses and cars any more? It can't really be THAT big a mystery to them.
Chris, exactly right! However, I think that's the way they want it. Everything for them, including the USA as only their country.
It's so sickening, and what kills me is that their own electorate among the middle class is affected by it, but can't seem to see their Party's self-interest only agenda.
Refreshingly honest, coming from Boehner. Although he's tried to apply a bit of camouflage by referring to the "toxic jobs-creating environment," or at least why that toxic environment exists, he's absolutely dead-on when he admits the "job creators are on strike." As usual, the devil's in the details, in this case those he didn't mention or those he simply fobbed off. US job creators (read the rich and the big corporations) are on strike and have been on strike since Obama's election is because they despise Obama every bit as viscerally, and perhaps even more so, than even the most bloodthirsty Tea Bagger, and they're also smart enough to know that a rising unemployment rate, or at least one that's stabilized an an unacceptable level, is by far the surest means at their disposal to make certain he isn't re-elected in 2012.
This kind of crap's gone on for centuries. In any democratic country one can think of, anytime there's even a mildly reformist regime in power, capitalists always try to defeat it by turning down, or even turning off, economic growth--insofar as they can without impacting their own bottom line too heavily. That quickly makes the concerned public, or at least the working classes, feel the pinch, for which of course they blame the reformist regime in question, upon which they then turn at the next election. And voila! No more reformist regime, and the capitalists can go right back to doing what they do best--mercilessly exploiting the very people who gave them what they wanted and lining their own pockets with as little fuss as possible.
It was precisely this type of tactic which helped undermine, and eventually bring about the fall of the French Third Republic. Sure, Hitler's invasion of France in the spring of 1940 was the proximate cause, but it worked as quickly and easily as it did because so many millions of ordinary Frenchmen no longer believed in the system they were being asked to fight for. Why? Because French capitalists had for decades done exactly the same thing US capitalists and their minions the GOP are trying to do here in America. In France, that included what was called "capital flight," which meant the deliberate sending of capital out of the country to reduce the amount of money in circulation, to slow the economy, and also to drive up prices. That particular tactic isn't available to US capitalists (unless they don't mind taking a huge hit since the US dollar is still the world's major single currency), but they have been busily outsourcing American jobs for years, which has also had the effect of putting more and more Americans out of work. That provides them and their reactionary political stooges, the GOP, with a much larger base of hard-pressed, discontented people who are much, much more susceptible to their propagandistic b.s. than would otherwise have been the case.
In ancient Rome, Sulla, Pompey, Crassus, and the Caesars used the tactic of cutting off, or at least reducing, the city's corn supply, and encouraging disorder in the streets, so that when the "man-on-the-white-horse" rode through town promising order along with bread and circuses, the populace cared far more about those things than they did about their ancient liberties. Today, America's rich capitalists are doing precisely the same thing, only using slightly more modern means.
I'm a little surprised Boehner came that close to being honest, but I won't be a bit surprised if, as is usually the case, history repeats itself.
Does anyone ever wonder why Republicans always say they "used to" have a business? Could it be that the don't understand the most basic of economic principles, that of supply and demand, and therefore their business ventures fail?
A business grows when demand for whatever it makes or does increases. A business that grows for other reasons (tax cuts?), hoping that demand will follow is destined to fail, as this undemanded growth increases the supply of the product and/or service, and the price must go down to meet the demand.
I really wish there were some way to force all of Congress and Faux News to take remedial economics. But if after 10 years of cutting taxes and jobs they still believe that cutting taxes will create jobs then I fear they would all fail anyway. It really is like talking to a brick wall sometimes...
A business can grow when the owner understands the cost expectations into the future, thus knowing what can be invested in growing the business. Giving short term money only benefits the business until that money runs out.
Many business (Apple being the poster child) exist because they created interest in a product that wasn't demanded. Silly Bandz (sp?) are another example of a product no one was demanding yet an entrepreneur risked capital to make it happen.
Just because you do not agree with one's strategy does not mean they do not understand business or economics.
Silly Bandz oh lord why did you have to bring those up as an example???? ;-)
Because I wish I'd thought of them! Five dollars retail for at most 50 cent of material, packaging, and shipping. Wow! I'm working on Silly Clipz - paper clips bent in the shape of historical figures! Ha!
Ha!
I have not seen Uffy or Don around? Anyone?
No not recently.
:(
or Curt, WI
for a while.
With job creators on strike, does it really make sense to unleash the job killing consequences of slashing government budgets?
Seems to me, Mr. Boehner is promising business to get rid of those pesky regulations and taxes that make job creation so difficult.
Some businesses (here's looking at you apple) have billions of dollars in reserve, have high demand for their products yet still assemble their electronics out of country.
It's not a matter of teetering on the edge of bankruptcy for apple. It is plain and simple greed. I don't see the private sector as the creators of any good jobs. Low compensation, no benefits, no pensions are the order of the day because somehow now the workers (whose labor creates wealth for the company) are bloodsucking leeches and the divine shareholders (who contribute money and create nothing) must see an acceptable return on their money at all costs.
Sadly many people (the living, breathing as well as the corporate) believe this also. It's corporate interests buying the majority of politicians and thumbing their nose at the general public by spreading fear, turning against anyone with different ideas, dumbing down the nation and distracting us with bright and shiny while pocketing all the bloody money they reap from war, that defines fascism. I know the term is overused, yet it's clear we no longer live in a democracy of the people, for the people and by the people (living, breathing ones.)
Somehow corporations have become more valuable than you and me. That's wrong, IMHO.
I love how now all the sudden everything in government is 'broken', despite the fact that Boehner has been in Washington much longer, and his party has been the chief architect of our mode of governance! I have to assume that Obama, on his way back in his time machine from doctoring his birth records, stopped off in the Reagan era to throw a monkey wrench in the government. Who is buying this crap, and how can we make them less dumb? Do we need a books program? remedial reading? I'll gladly pay extra taxes to help teach Teaparty kids to read.
OK, the "job creators" are on strike. Or in witness protection.
Does it really make sense to keep erasing jobs in the public sector by slashing budgets? Gets confusing when the talk is "no new taxes" when it really means "we are determined to do less." Hey, if it's worth doing, it's worth paying for.
job creators on strike? well, duh!
and we should treat them the way they treat strikers -- fire their asses and bring in scabs at a lower wage! job-creators union? sorry, no bargaining rights; in fact, i never heard'a it.
How about hiring Pinkertons to smash "job creators" strike lines? (they're around still after 150 years) Or perhaps Xe?
They're not on strike, they're on an extended vacation, partying it up in global playgrounds for the rich.
since when was it public responsibilty to bear expenses for private corps? of course they will have expenses if they expand! I guess that's why they "used to" have a small business