Cantor says Obama should amend stimulus package
President Barack Obama's stimulus package is not working and should be amended to encourage more job creation by small businesses, the House of Representatives' Republican Whip said today.
Rep. Eric I. Cantor, R-7th, seized on weekend remarks by Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. in which Biden was quoted as saying that the Obama administration underestimated the depth of the economic recession when it was preparing the $787 billion stimulus package.
Biden said the economic projections made before the Obama administration took office were overly optimistic.
In a conference call with reporters today, Cantor said the fact that unemployment is approaching 10 percent shows that the package is not working.
"It is my belief that they didn't misread the economy. What they did is they miswrote the stimulus bill and got the prescription wrong," said Cantor, a Henrico County resident.
He said that more emphasis should have been placed on creating jobs in the private sector rather than preserving jobs in the public sector.
Cantor said that when the bill was under discussion, he and other Republican leaders presented the president with an alternate plan that would have lowered tax rates and allowed small businesses to take a tax deduction equal to 20 percent of their income. Small businesses employ about half of all private-sector employees, Cantor's office said.
Some Democrats are suggesting that another stimulus bill is needed. Cantor disagreed, saying some of the money in the existing bill should be redirected to job-creating programs that work.
"This administration has tried to do way too much too soon," Cantor said.
The Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee accused Cantor of hypocrisy, noting he has criticized the stimulus plan while praising a proposal for high-speed rail between Washington and Richmond that would use stimulus funds.
"It's time that the Cantor-led 'party of no' stopped playing politics with American jobs and started offering real solutions to help the president put the country back on the right track," Alex Gerlach, a spokesman for the DNC, said.
Asked about his support of the high-speed rail, Cantor said the rail system could promote 185,000 jobs in Virginia.
"I don't see any inconsistency there with supporting something that creates 185,000 jobs and being against a bill that has spent almost $800 billion, only maybe 12 percent that could arguably be proven to have any job-creating potential," he said.
Reader Reactions
The economy is crashing BECAUSE of government spending and the looming expiration of the Bush tax cuts at the end of 2010. Letting people, (and the government is not “people”) decide where to spend their money is the only way to stimulate the economy for good, becuase it’s the only way to insure that the person spending it cares about where it’s going.
By estimates put out by Obama why we disparately needed to rush the bill without giving anyone time to read it was to create jobs.
Obama’s estimate was by June if we DID NOT have a stimulus, unemployment “could” rise to around 8.2%. But the Democrats plan would lessen that to around 7.8%.
And it would only cost about a $TRILLION.
So today, with the Democrats stimulus passed, we sit around 9.5% unemployment. Over a whole percentage point higher than had we done nothing.
So let’s bash Eric Cantor who led the House with zero Republican voting for this debacle.
“It’s time that the Cantor-led ‘party of no’ stopped playing politics with American jobs and started offering real solutions to help the president put the country back on the right track,“ Alex Gerlach, a spokesman for the DNC, said.
I’m all for some Cantor-bashing but it seems like he is offering better solutions than the Dems right now.
Evidenced by:
“Cantor said that when the bill was under discussion, he and other Republican leaders presented the president with an alternate plan that would have lowered tax rates and allowed small businesses to take a tax deduction equal to 20 percent of their income.“
“Asked about his support of the high-speed rail, Cantor said the rail system could promote 185,000 jobs in Virginia.“
Was there a follow-up question to ask how he arrived at that number? Difficulty: not including figments of his imagination.
Cantor’s solution: Give stimulus money to local insurance agents. Everyone else is getting a bailout. Why not the Cantor family business.
With the national debt at 11 (eleven trillion dollars and accruing 1/2 a trillion a year in interest.
The deficit at 2 (two trillion).
With rampant inflation on the horizon because of all the money we are printing, this administration seems convinced administration that we the people are dense. I sincerely hope
that we will show them sooner rather than too late that they are wrong!!
When you say “This administration” to whom are you referring b/c Cantor would not be considered as a part of “this administration”—or do you mean “all” politicians in Washington, D.C.
Here’s an idea: STOP SPENDING!!! More stimulus is not needed if the first one did not work. Why is this administration so dense??? Putting money into welfare type programs is not stimulating the economy.
Post a Comment(Requires free registration)
- Please avoid offensive, vulgar, or hateful language.
- Respect others.
- Use the "Flag Comment" link when necessary.
- See the Terms and Conditions for details.
Advertisement