AP is reporting today that the new Jobs Bill that Obama is trying to put together is not likely to have much effect beyond adding another $33 billion to the deficit. Obama is hoping that the bill will provide a bi-partisan solution to our economic woes and will buy him back some of the credibility he once enjoyed. The main highlight of the bill is a tax credit for the 6.2% employer portion of Social Security on payroll for hiring someone who has been unemployed for 60 days.
The problem is that once again Obama is addressing the symptoms but not the real problem. Who is going to hire someone, pay them salary, health insurance and other benefits for a 6.2% tax credit just so that person can sit in their office and play solitaire while the phone stays silent? The reason people aren’t hiring is that there isn’t work. The issue isn’t that employers are drowning in work but can’t afford the payroll taxes. And with Obamacare, Cap and Trade, and the end of the Bush tax cuts on the horizon, no employer is going to hire someone they don’t need for a credit on their payroll taxes.
The bill is considered bi-partisan because it extends about $33 billion in popular tax deductions that Democrats let expire while fighting each other over health care. Republicans might consider voting for the $33 billion in ineffective payroll tax cuts in order to reclaim the $33 billion in tax deductions for state sales tax, teachers buying school supplies, tuition, etc.
The other reason Republicans might vote for the bill is because the Democrats, who complained for six years about the Patriot Act, have re-authorized it in this jobs bill. It will be interesting to see if the Left actually notices.
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