The American jobs act, introduced by Obama, will do more harm than good to the United States’ ailing economy. The plan’s long and short-term objectives are wanting. America does not need stopgap measures, but comprehensive policies that will restore her economy. As such, I believe you should not vote for this bill for the following reasons.
First, the plan has no concrete way of controlling workers’ expenditure out of the US. By reducing taxes on middle and low-income families, the government expects to fill the pockets of American workers with more money (Ohlemacher). Consequently, the purchasing power of the workers will increase leading to business boom as workers buy more.
However, for this plan to be effective, the workers must only buy products from American firms. What happens if they spend the extra cash in Chinese products? The local products will not sell apiece more. The increased demand for foreign products could have devastating effects on the country’s economy. By accepting, passing, and enacting the bill as a whole, the US will be strengthening the economies of other countries at the expense of her own.
Secondly, by introducing the payroll tax cuts, Obama expects to entice businesses to hire more workers, which will hardly work. Though this is a perfect short-run strategy, businesses use long-term financial projections in their hiring decisions. The payroll taxes being temporary, businesses will be reluctant to hire new employees (Doyle). This is because when the payroll tax program ends, businesses fear that they could be left with burdens too huge to bear.
After all, why hire today when you know you will retrench in less than a year? For businesses to respond to the payroll tax cut proposals the program must be permanent otherwise, it will be a complete fail. Additionally, the plan’s stimulus suggestion is a replica of congress’ 2009 decision, which has failed to create jobs.
When congress first authorized the extension of unemployment benefits to a maximum period of 99 weeks, their aim was to reduce unemployment rate (Blu). However, this has not achieved much since the unemployment rate is at all time high despite having authorized the same five times! Consequently, America has failed five times in her attempts to reduce, if not completely eradicate unemployment using this plan.
What has changed that makes this failed plan the best unemployment solution today? The answer is, “Nothing.” As a nation, we have walked down the path that has led us to our destruction not once or twice but five times. It is high time that we changed tact. We cannot tackle the 21st century’s economic challenges using the 15th century tactics, especially when they have failed us.
Finally, the plan will increase America’s debt to unimaginable level. Since Obama took office as the president of the United States of America, the US national debt has increased by more than $4 trillion (Ohlemacher). While Obama insists that his plan will be 100% paid for, he has not stated how and where he will get the money.
According to an Associated Press report, “the budget proposal would impose about $730 billion in new taxes on businesses and wealthy individuals over the next decade, while cutting about $400 billion in taxes on middle-income families, the working poor, and other businesses, for a net tax increase of about $330 billion (Ohlemacher).”
This leads to the question, where is Obama going to get the budget deficit funds. Having exhausted all taxation avenues, he may borrow from other nations.
The nation is already in too much debt that adding even a coin will be suicidal. Since Obama launched his job plan, many people, most of them being democrats, have supported it citing different advantages. First, they claim that the plan will help reduce the US spending greatly. Yes, the plan proposes a $ 400 billion saving by freezing any spending considered discretionary (Ohlemacher).
The plan further proposes spending only in areas considered critical for America’s growth and job creation. Secondly, the proponents of the plan say it will help many states in retaining workers such as police officers, teachers, and firefighters. Many states have in the past tried to reduce their expenditure by retrenching employees, the worst hit being the above categories.
Since this job plan proposes direct financial support to various state governments, such people will not lose their jobs. Finally, they also claim that the plan will help in modernizing public education and improving infrastructure development in the country. While the above reasons can easily convince one to believe in the credibility, creativeness, effectiveness, and reliability of the plan, a deeper scrutiny can reveal otherwise.
The claim that the plan will help reduce US spending is baseless. According to the plan, the $ 400 billion saving from other government expenditure is not real money. The government intends to spend even more that what the plan claims on infrastructure development (Blu). The claim that the government will save hundreds of thousands of jobs by offering financial support to states does not translate to job creation.
The government will be preventing job losses, which is not the same as job creation. In conclusion, I may say that the American jobs act is a monster that if enacted will, bring the US government down on its knees. As such, we must stand strong to defend our country against bad policies that will ruin our great nation’s reputation and honor. I beseech you to stand for America and vote, “NO.”
Works Cited
Blu, Fantasee. KissDetroit-Detroit’s Home for the Adult Urban Community. 15 February 2011. Web.
Doyle, Alison. About.com. 13 October 2011. Web.
Ohlemacher, Stephen. The Associated Press. 14 February 2011.Web.