The mainstream media is not doing a very good job of keeping the American people educated about the jobs bills. Not the one approved today by Congress that will be signed by President Obama and not the one following it. There are two bills: 1) Senate ($140 billion)/House ($154 billion) and 2) a $15 billion (now $17.5 billion) package. The Senate gave final approval to the bill today on a vote of 68-29, but reporting about the package has been confusing. Numerous media reports based on the "Associated Press" describe parts of the package this way:The bill which passed Wednesday contains about $18 billion in tax breaks and a $20 billion infusion of cash into highway and transit programs. Among other things, it exempts businesses that hire the unemployed from paying the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax through December and gives employers an additional $1,000 credit if new workers stay on the job a full year. Taxpayers will have to reimburse Social Security for the lost revenue.That adds up to much more that $15 billion. Oh well, when billion is the new million and trillion is the new billion, what's a few billion dollars here and there. Seriously, the AAEA description and accompanying links to the bill should help clear it up for anyone interested in digging deeper.
The other intriguing item about this bill is that many members of the Congressional Black Caucus voted against it. More than a fourth of the CBC voted against the bill. This represents about half of the votes against the measure. We guess the opponents are more in favor of the larger package that should be coming next.
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