GoLocalProv MINDSETTERS™ Grade President Obama’s Jobs Speech
Friday, September 09, 2011
Can the American Jobs Act save the country (and the President’s reelection hopes)? GoLocalProv’s MINDSETTERS™ were glued to the television for the much-hyped jobs speech last night. Here’s their reaction.
Was the President successful?
Donna Perry: I think he succeeded in this way: he succeeded in giving himself and his Party a new topic of conversation regarding jobs that sounds much more uplifting than the cold, hard reality: now the media can write about and talk about the President Obama jobs program, as opposed to just talking about Obama and all the job losses. This President desperately needs to change the conversation and time will tell if the incentives, especially to employers, will work.
Rob Horowitz: The speech was a big success. President Obama had common sense and meaningful specific proposals that were framed to appeal to a broad majority of Americans and he directly challenged Congress—which is much more unpopular than the President —to do its job. His delivery was also excellent.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTAaron Regunberg: All in all, it's a mixed bag, but the big problem is that with a Republican House, I don't see how the end result won't be that all the terrible stuff gets passed and all the good stuff gets shoved.
Is his plan sufficient?
Donna Perry: It’s doubtful the plan is sufficient enough to be a dramatic game changer for the stubborn unemployment numbers but I think Obama did accomplish one important thing with this proposal. He needed to jolt some new confidence into the marketplace and he may have managed to do that much. The payroll tax deduction could give employers a new comfort level in adding some new hires to the payroll and the proposal overall could give new optimism to the long term job seekers.
Rob Horowitz: Credible private economic analysts estimate that taken together the President’s proposals will create over a million jobs and lower the unemployment rate by at least a percentage point. Further, the investments in infrastructure are absolutely essential and produce long-term economic benefits. Given the steep hill that still needs to be climbed because of the Great Recession, this plan alone will not solve all our economic woes, but it will provide a badly needed kick-start to the stalled economy.
Aaron Regunberg: President Obama laid out a varied list of initiatives. Some of them would be great for the economy--money to rehire teachers, improve infrastructure, create summer jobs for students. And some would be terrible for the economy--more free trade agreements (how many jobs have we lost from NAFTA, CAFTA, and the rest?), cutting Medicare and Medicaid.
Can he get it passed?
Donna Perry: It sounds like the Republicans, at the leadership level anyway, are open to the plan and gave an initial positive reception to it. They are stung by the debt ceiling debate and it’s likely they will not want to look like they blocked the new “Jobs Act” with 14 million Americans still unemployed.
Rob Horowitz: Obama can get some parts of it passed. Recent polling shows that the Republicans in Congress took a bigger hit than the President from the debt ceiling debacle. Their House Majority is now in at least some jeopardy. As a result, items such as the expanded payroll tax cut to apply both to individuals and small businesses and at least some new infrastructure spending have a good chance of passing.
Did it help with his reelection?
Donna Perry: A jobs program created out of Washington is not the same thing as a job to a person who has not had a steady income in a year or a year and half. If this has the effect of directly creating opportunities where people are actually getting added to payrolls and the public associates their new job to Obama 12 months from now, then it could end up helping him. It will just have to play out.
Rob Horowitz: This speech will be a plus for his re-election, especially since he plans to follow-it by campaigning for his plan throughout the nation—which will help provide the repetition needed for his ideas to settle in with voters.
Aaron Regunberg: It’s good to see the man show he can at least speak (semi?) forcefully to Republicans. I wouldn't call it change we can believe in, but at least his spine hasn't entirely disintegrated.
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