Quote:WASHINGTON â Republicans won sweeping victories last November by taunting Democrats with "Where are the jobs?" Democrats are now throwing those taunts back, saying it's Republicans who will knock thousands of Americans out of work with their demands for deep cuts in federal spending.
The attacks have caught Republicans at an awkward moment, as they shift their chief emphasis from creating jobs to reducing the size of the government and its deficits. They are finding it hard to claim they can do both at the same time.
Republicans say a smaller government eventually will spur private-sector job growth. Many economists challenge that claim, noting that the government helps pays for research, infrastructure, education and other programs that provide both public- and private-sector jobs. GOP leaders already acknowledge that thousands of government workers would lose their jobs in the short run under the $61 billion cost-cutting bill House Republicans are pushing this week.
If that happens, "so be it," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "We're broke."
Boehner's allies say that it's impossible to trim federal spending without laying off government workers but that those workers eventually will recover. "They found their way into public jobs," said Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. "They can find their way into private jobs" as the economy improves, he said.
Democrats and many mainstream economists, however, dispute GOP claims that deep federal spending cuts will lead directly to more private-sector jobs.
Boehner forwarded a letter to the White House from 150 economists â many with conservative backgrounds â saying: "To support real economic growth and support the creation of private-sector jobs, immediate action is needed to rein in federal spending." The three-paragraph letter did not seek to document a link between lower government spending and increased jobs, and some rival economists said it would be hard to do so.
With unemployment at 9 percent, the evidence that federal spending hurts job growth "is thin to nonexistent," said Princeton economist Alan Blinder. If the economy were running at full capacity, he said, Republicans would have a valid argument in saying that an extra federal hire or expenditure might displace a private-sector hire or expenditure. But there's a lot of "slack in the economy," he said.
Alexander J. Field, an economics professor at Santa Clara University, said he had "very little sympathy for the sentiments" in the letter Boehner forwarded. Spending cuts should be pursued when economies are strong, not weak, he said, and the House Republicans' agenda would probably increase unemployment.
Senate Democrats said Wednesday the House GOP plan would eliminate nearly $700 million in Title I grants to schools with disadvantaged students, and about "10,000 teachers and aides could lose their jobs." Congressional offices circulated White House budget office estimates saying the Republican bill would cut Head Start by more than $1 billion, leading to the layoffs of about 55,000 teachers and staff.
The liberal Economic Policy Institute says that overall, the House GOP plan "would likely result in job losses of just over 800,000."
More:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110217/ap_o...icans_jobs
There they go again! That sounds familiar.
Theres always mcdonalds....
Washington Democrats have absolutely no shame.
Hoot Gibson Wrote:Washington Democrats have absolutely no shame.
It is absolutely no different than what the Republicans did before they got control. It's alright when it is the Repubs doing something but when the Dems do the same thing it is bad huh? Who are you, Rupert Murdoch?
Amun-Ra Wrote:It is absolutely no different than what the Republicans did before they got control. It's alright when it is the Repubs doing something but when the Dems do the same thing it is bad huh? Who are you, Rupert Murdoch?
Yes, it is much, much different - maybe not in principle but certainly in scale. The projected budget deficit for FY 2011 is $1.65 trillion.
I am not Rupert Murdoch but I do understand that our government is draining wealth from the private sector through taxing and borrowing. Taking trillions of dollars out of the private economy is destroying jobs - and neither party has ever spent money as fast as the Democrats have under Obama, Pelosi, and Reid.
See if you can guess when the Democrats and Nancy Pelosi took over the nation's credit card by examining the chart below.
[Image: usgs_line.php?title=US%20Federal%20Defic...=a_a_a_a_b]
Great post Hoot. It's a month, and the market has reacted well. We will have this economy going within a year. I work for the largest Financial Services company in the world. We have seen tremendous growth and confidence in the investment sector that we have seen in the last five years. That is where it starts. Companies are investing again, and they are investing millions. When that recovery starts, it's a trickle affect. Those sitting on the outside cannot understand how the true mechanism of economy works. Retirement funding from all companies is increasing tremendously. That is an obvious indication that companies are making money again.
Firing 800 thousand teachers should go well to huh......
Wildcatk23 Wrote:Firing 800 thousand teachers should go well to huh......
The Milwaukee Public School district spends an average of $100,000 per teacher on salary and benefits. The average salary in New York is approximately $12,000/yr. higher than it is in Wisconsin.
Should teacher salaries be unlimited, or do you think that there is some room for negotiation by elected officials who actually try to look out for the interests of taxpayers?
Stardust Wrote:Great post Hoot. It's a month, and the market has reacted well. We will have this economy going within a year. I work for the largest Financial Services company in the world. We have seen tremendous growth and confidence in the investment sector that we have seen in the last five years. That is where it starts. Companies are investing again, and they are investing millions. When that recovery starts, it's a trickle affect. Those sitting on the outside cannot understand how the true mechanism of economy works. Retirement funding from all companies is increasing tremendously. That is an obvious indication that companies are making money again.
I wish that I shared your optimism but I think that there are too few conservative Republicans and too many spineless moderates in the House to make much of a difference. A max of 140 or 150 of marginally fiscal conservative Republicans are not going to get much done. I fear that nothing short of an economic collapse is going to convince a majority of Americans that raising taxes, borrowing and printing money, and growing the federal government is not providing this country with a sustainable standard of living.
^ Irregardless, the economy IS changing for the possitive. Like we all know, when big businesses start making money, they start spending money. That is what creates jobs. Not the Government!
Stardust Wrote:^ Irregardless, the economy IS changing for the possitive. Like we all know, when big businesses start making money, they start spending money. That is what creates jobs. Not the Government!
So, are we to give the new Republicans in office credit for this? One month.....really?
TheRealVille Wrote:So, are we to give the new Republicans in office credit for this? One month.....really?
Republicans deserve credit for restoring hope and optimism. If they don't make some real changes in Washington, then the gloom that Obama brought to our economy will return with a vengeance.
Funny how the Dem's in Congress went crazy over the Speaker of the house's comment. I guess they forgot about forcing over 1000 GM dealerships to close when they bailed out the car company. Let me see OK to force jobs out of the private sector but you can't cut jobs in the government. Guess that's the difference between Republicans and Democrats
Hoot Gibson Wrote:Republicans deserve credit for restoring hope and optimism. If they don't make some real changes in Washington, then the gloom that Obama brought to our economy will return with a vengeance.
So, tell me what these new Republicans are doing, or can do to restore hope since they got elected? They don't control both sides, so they are pretty much null in what they can do. Democrats could say though, that in this administration's 2 years in office is what is turning things around. The "trickle" down has started to work, as of 2 years ago.
Hoot Gibson Wrote:The Milwaukee Public School district spends an average of $100,000 per teacher on salary and benefits. The average salary in New York is approximately $12,000/yr. higher than it is in Wisconsin.
Should teacher salaries be unlimited, or do you think that there is some room for negotiation by elected officials who actually try to look out for the interests of taxpayers?
Have you considered the cost of living in those two areas? My sister in law makes 43k right here in EKY. I don't know her total package, but I would say it borders on 70-75K, insurance retirement and all. It appears she makes more than a New Yorker, considering they pay close to 6K a moth for a place to live.
In my sector of work(construction) there are tons of monstrous clean air projects starting this summer. I know that this is a Democrat thing.
TheRealVille Wrote:So, tell me what these new Republicans are doing, or can do to restore hope since they got elected? They don't control both sides, so they are pretty much null in what they can do. Democrats could say though, that in this administration's 2 years in office is what is turning things around.
All spending bills originate in the House and Republicans control the House. Nothing Democrats can say will make people forget that they have plunged this country deeper into debt faster than any other Congress has done in more than two centuries. If Democrats ever regain the majority it will be because Republicans fail to deliver on their promises to cut spending and the size of government.
Hoot Gibson Wrote:All spending bills originate in the House and Republicans control the House. Nothing Democrats can say will make people forget that they have plunged this country deeper into debt faster than any other Congress has done in more than two centuries. If Democrats ever regain the majority it will be because Republicans fail to deliver on their promises to cut spending and the size of government.
They originate in the house, but they have to go further than that.
TheRealVille Wrote:They originate in the house, but they have to go further than that.
All the Republicans need to do is defund programs like Obamacare to succeed. Democrats need to pass spending bills to buy votes and they can only do that with Republicans' help. Republicans and many independents will look at gridlock that slows Obama's spending spree as a success.
TheRealVille Wrote:So, are we to give the new Republicans in office credit for this? One month.....really?
No, this started last summer. And in the Financial sector, the confidence comes from who they feel will be in office. Last summer, especially in our industry, it was confident that the politcal scene was going to turnover. Novemeber was a great indicator as the plans for companies and their investment increase plans skyrocketed. That coincided with the elections. So, did the Republicans legislate anything to turn the market, nope. But do the major corporations in the country feel that this country made the right decisions, thus they have increased production as well as corporate confidence? Absolutely!
TheRealVille Wrote:In my sector of work(construction) there are tons of monstrous clean air projects starting this summer. I know that this is a Democrat thing.
Why? I don't think republicans are against clean air, at least I know I'm not. What I am against is spending billions of dollars that we don't have on projects that won't work.
Hoot Gibson Wrote:The Milwaukee Public School district spends an average of $100,000 per teacher on salary and benefits. The average salary in New York is approximately $12,000/yr. higher than it is in Wisconsin.
Should teacher salaries be unlimited, or do you think that there is some room for negotiation by elected officials who actually try to look out for the interests of taxpayers?
I dont have an issue with cutting there pay. Its firing 800k that gets me.
Wildcatk23 Wrote:I dont have an issue with cutting there pay. Its firing 800k that gets me.
Interesting how you quickly accepted this statement as fact:
Quote:[INDENT]The liberal Economic Policy Institute says that overall, the House GOP plan "would likely result in job losses of just over 800,000."[/INDENT]
There are approximately 3.1 million teachers employed in the US in grades K through 12. Do you really believe that cutting the federal budget for education by less than 2 percent will result in 800,000 of 3.1 million teachers losing their jobs? Really?
Hoot Gibson Wrote:Interesting how you quickly accepted this statement as fact:
There are approximately 3.1 million teachers employed in the US in grades K through 12. Do you really believe that cutting the federal budget for education by less than 2 percent will result in 800,000 of 3.1 million teachers losing their jobs? Really?
800K was a total job loss under the plan. 55k was the teacher loss, it says that in the paragraph just above the 800k one.
Wildcatk23 Wrote:I dont have an issue with cutting there pay. Its firing 800k that gets me.
The 800K job loses you mentioned comes from Economic Policy Institute which is a very liberal group that will not agree with any GOP policy. All states except Vermont are required in some fashion to have a balanced budget each year.
No one wants to give up what they are receiving, but the bottom line is that states are broke, they have no money and something has to give. More than likely it be the poor and middle class that will have to carry the load.
Hoot Gibson Wrote:Interesting how you quickly accepted this statement as fact:
There are approximately 3.1 million teachers employed in the US in grades K through 12. Do you really believe that cutting the federal budget for education by less than 2 percent will result in 800,000 of 3.1 million teachers losing their jobs? Really?
How many teacher were laid of in 2010 Despite $26 Billion Aid Package?
So yes a 2 percent cut could easily lead to 800,000 teachers losing their jobes.
TheRealVille Wrote:800K was a total job loss under the plan. 55k was the teacher loss, it says that in the paragraph just above the 800k one.
You're right. The 55k number for teacher and staff losses is still a ridiculously high number.
Republicans should be making the case for totally eliminating the Department of Education, which has done nothing to improve education since it was created in 1979. Instead of defending a proposal that contains serious budget cuts, Republicans are defending drop-in-the-bucket cuts.
Hoot Gibson Wrote:You're right. The 55k number for teacher and staff losses is still a ridiculously high number.
Republicans should be making the case for totally eliminating the Department of Education, which has done nothing to improve education since it was created in 1979. Instead of defending a proposal that contains serious budget cuts, Republicans are defending drop-in-the-bucket cuts.
55,000 teachers across 50 states is about 1100 per state. 174 Kentucky School Districts in the state so each district would lose about 6 teachers. Would this "break" the education system? I don't think so.
In the district I live in (Kenton Co.) there are 20 schools. So 6 teachers out of 20 schools the effects would not be felt. If this can help the government Lets do it.
Wildcatk23 Wrote:How many teacher were laid of in 2010 Despite $26 Billion Aid Package?
So yes a 2 percent cut could easily lead to 800,000 teachers losing their jobes.
No, a 2 percent cut in federal funding would not decimate the public schools in this country. Democrats pull this con every time that they want to raise taxes or avoid real reforms. They hold children and senior citizens hostage with scare tactics. It's worked for a long time but with unemployment near 10 percent, the national debt soaring at an unprecedented rate. and inflation heating up, it doesn't seem to be working this time.