by Michael Muskal
With what will serve as a preview of his State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama today gave the nation an outline of new policies to help the middle class cope with lower expectations and the loss of faith in achieving the American Dream.
In televised remarks aimed at his task force that studied middle-class issues, Obama said his administration was committed to creating more jobs, increasing incomes and helping the battered middle class to grow. The task force is chaired by Vice President Joe Biden, who introduced the president.
"Hopefully, some of these steps will reestablish some of the security that has slipped away in recent years," Obama said, "because in the end, that's how Joe and I measure progress.
"Not by how the markets are doing but by how the American people doing. It's about whether they see some progress in their own lives," Obama said.
The administration's plan is designed to ease some of the pressure on people caught between an aging generation of parents and the new generation of youngsters trying to get established, Biden said. All three groups face special difficulties in these tough economic times.
Specifically, the administration wants to double the child care tax credit for families earning less than $85,000 a year. It wants a $1.6 billion increase in federal funding for child care programs and to place a cap on student loan payments so that those who pay for college can come out of debt easier and sooner.
Other proposals would offer incentives to help increase retirement savings and require employers to provide workplace savings plans. Tax credits would also be offered to help families care for the elderly.
Interestingly, Obama also made only a glancing mention of healthcare reform, noting that there was a need to prevent insurance companies from abusing consumers through refusing to pay for previous conditions, for example.
This was a far cry from past statements on a more ambitious healthcare overhaul, but a nod to the new political realities in the wake of the senatorial seat upset in Massachusetts which cost democrats their 60-vote super-majority.
In his comments, Obama repeatedly used the word "fight" or "fighting," continuing a usage that accelerated last week in his criticism of banks and during a town hall-style session in Ohio. "But above all we're going to keep fighting to renew the American Dream, and keep it alive not just in our time, but for all time," Obama said today.
"We all know what that American Dream is,'' the president said at a White House meeting of his Middle Class Task Force.
"It's the idea that in America we can make of our lives what we will. It's the idea that if you work hard and live up to your responsibilities, you can get ahead -- and enjoy some of the basic guarantees in life: A good job that pays a good wage, health care that'll be there when you get sick, a secure retirement even if you're not rich, an education that will give our kids a better life than we had.
"They're very simple ideas,'' he said. "But they're the ideas that are at the heart of our middle class -- the middle class that made the 20th Century the American Century.''
See the full remarks of Biden and Obama here:
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AND THE VICE PRESIDENT
AT MIDDLE CLASS TASK FORCE MEETING
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Hey, folks. A year ago when President Obama established the Middle Class Task Force and asked me to chair it -- and I might add, we were only in office I think two days, Melody, when he set up this Middle Class Task Force -- because as we campaigned around the country, he made it clear that we were going to be sure that as we grew this economy, the middle class was not left behind as they had been the previous 10 to 12 years. And as we move from recession to recovery, our focus is the middle class.
Today -- today, living a quality middle class life starts, as it always has, with a good-paying job. And by job, we're not talking about merely a paycheck; it's more than a paycheck. And we're talking about dignity, we're talking about security. We're talking about knowing your pension is safe, your health insurance is reliable, your elderly parents and your children are going to be cared for, your neighborhood is safe, there's decent schools, and that your kids are going to be able to grow up and if they desire and you desire, be able to attend college. It's the old-fashioned notion of American Dream. I mean, it sounds corny, but that's literally what it is.
And the President -- and you and I -- have long believed that you can't have a strong America without a growing middle class. It's that simple. It's that basic. And right now, the middle class is nowhere near as strong as it needs to be.
So next month, the Middle Class Task Force is going to deliver its final report -- not final, its year-end report to the President. And this afternoon, we're spotlighting some of the items in that report that the President is going to be including in the upcoming budget. And these include, first of all, an expansion of the child tax credit. Since 2000, child care costs have grown significantly faster than inflation and twice as fast -- twice as fast as the median income of families with children. And that's why we're asking Congress to nearly double the credit for middle class families with incomes up to $85,000 and increase the credit for nearly every family making under $115,000.
Secondly, the President is going to be proposing an increase in funding for child care and -- the so-called Child Care and Development Fund to serve an additional 235,000 children in America. This is going to help working parents who are struggling to lift their families into the middle class.
And, thirdly, elder care. I mean, we all -- we're a generation -- the so-called baby boom generation is becoming very knowledgeable about elder care and the need to help middle class families who are caring for aging parents and relatives. People like Jill and me are part of what's called that "sandwich" generation. And I make a very good salary, but just going through caring for my mother the last year and a half, and before that, my father, who, thank God, lived to ripe old ages -- it was -- it's not easy. And I -- we sit there -- when my brother and sister and I -- brothers and sister and I divided up the cost of the care, we were able to do that, no complaints, not a problem. But I thought to myself, my lord, what would it be like -- a couple with two kids making $85,000 a year, even $125,000 a year? How do they do it?
So today we're proposing more support for caregivers by providing counseling, training, help with transportation, and temporary respite care when they just need a break or they have to work -- which most all of them do.
This is going to allow nearly 200,000 people who are now balancing work and providing care to an elderly relative to be served, and 3 million hours of respite care are going to be provided.
The fourth thing is we're going to be strengthening the income-based repayment program for student loans -- fancy way of saying a lot of kids and families graduate with significant loan responsibility and literally -- literally are left with very few options. They've got to go out and get the highest-paying job they can, maybe in an area they had no intention of working in, just to pay back the loan.
Today the average debt of a graduating senior from college -- now, listen -- the average debt -- people of my generation -- the average debt is $23,000. That is literally $2,000 more than my first house cost. But in any standard, it's a lot of money -- average debt. Some are graduating with a great deal more debt than that.
So our proposal ensures that Federal Student Loan payments for overburdened borrowers are never more than 10 percent of their income -- a change like that makes a real difference for a kid just out of school. For someone who earns 30,000 bucks and owes $20,000 in loans, this would lower his or her monthly
payment from $228 a month under the standard repayment plan to $115 a month. People who have to budget every day just to get by, they understand that's a big difference. That's a big difference.
And finally, we want to strengthen retirement security, which we talked about with the Secretary of Treasury, for American workers. Too many working people in this country don't have a good option to save their hard-earned money for retirement. And too many of those who do save are finding that at the end of the day they don't have enough saved to afford the basic retirement they deserve.
That's why we're proposing to give more workers better access to retirement plans at work, to match retirement savings for middle class Americans so they can save more, and to strengthen and update the 401(k) regulations so that they can save with greater confidence.
This means establishing an automatic individual retirement account. Today, 78 million Americans, working Americans --roughly half the workforce -- don't have employer-based retirement plans anymore. Our proposal lays the groundwork for an employer who do not currently offer retirement plans to enroll their employees in direct deposit IRAs. We found it's a simple proposition -- when you do that, people, if you're automatically enrolled, you can opt out. But they save a great deal more. And it just puts in place the requirement of the employer to provide that access out of their paycheck to go into an IRA. It's a simple proposition, but it's a big deal.
It also means simplifying and expanding the saver's credit, which helped working families save for retirement by providing a 50 percent match on the first $1,000 of retirement savings. So if you put a thousand bucks into a retirement account, your government is going to add even more -- another $500. It's an incentive, but long term it saves the government a lot more money than the 500 hundred bucks put in if in fact we find we have a generation that's able to care for themselves and not have to look to the government to provide some basic needs they need. This will not only help build up a nest egg for existing savers, but it's going to encourage workers who currently have no retirement accounts to start to save.
Taken together, these and other middle class proposals we believe will go a long way toward easing the strain on working families, allowing them to save more today to get further ahead tomorrow. Because if we give a working man and woman in this country -- and first of all, we make sure they've got good jobs -- if we give them an opportunity, they're the most productive workers in the world. We give them the tools, the flexibility, even just a chance to succeed, we're not only going to rebuild this economy, we're going to offer millions of Americans to build a future that they hope and still believe is available to them.
So I wanted to thank all you guys. You've been meeting with me on a regular basis. I've been a little bit of a pain in the neck. I know you have urgent, urgent, urgent things that were left on our plate -- placed on our plate when we took office. And one of the things you've done -- and I thank you for it -- when the President set up this task force is you have not taken your eye off the ball, you have serious people inside each of your agencies doing nothing every day but getting up, putting both feet on the floor, and saying, what are we going to do inside my shop that's going to ease the burden and increase the opportunity for people to get into the middle class and stay in.
So, Mr. President -- I think the President is here -- I'd like to invite him to come out because we owe the President a great deal for focusing this issue throughout the campaign and the first thing you did when you came to office. Mr. President, it's an honor working with you on this.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you, Joe. Hey, guys, everybody have a seat -- have a seat.
Well, I wanted to stop by to comment on all the great work that the Middle Class Task Force is doing. And you've just seen why Joe is the right person to do it. No one brings to the table the same combination of personal experience and substantive expertise. He's come a long way, and achieved incredible things along the ride, but he's never forgotten where he came from and his roots as a working-class kid from Scranton. He's devoted his life to making the American Dream a reality for everyone -- because he's lived it.
Now, we all know what that American Dream is. It's the idea that in America we can make of our lives what we will. It's the idea that if you work hard and live up to your responsibilities, you can get ahead -- and enjoy some of the basic guarantees in life: A good job that pays a good wage, health care that'll be there when you get sick, a secure retirement even if you're not rich, an education that will give our kids a better life than we had. They're very simple ideas. But they're the ideas that are at the heart of our middle class -- the middle class that made the 20th century the American Century.
Unfortunately, the middle class has been under assault for a long time. Too many Americans have known their own painful recessions long before any economist declared that there was a recession. We've just come through what was one of the most difficult decades the middle class has ever faced -- a decade in which median income fell and our economy lost about as many jobs as it gained.
For two years, Joe and I traveled this country and we heard stories that are all too familiar: stories of Americans barely able to stay afloat despite working harder and harder for less; premiums that were doubling, tuition fees that were rising almost as fast; savings being used up, retirements put off, dreams put on hold. That was all before the middle class got pounded by the full fury of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Their stories are why Joe and I ran for this office: to reverse those trends, to fight for the middle class, to make sure working families have a voice in the White House, and to do everything within our power to make sure they don't just survive the crisis, but again they can thrive.
And when we walked through these doors last year our first and most urgent task was to rescue our economy, to give immediate relief to those who were hurt by its downturn, but also to rebuild it on a new, stronger foundation for job creation. So we helped state and local governments keep cops and firefighters and teachers on the job, helping to plug their budgets. We invested in areas with the most potential for job growth both immediate and lasting -- in our infrastructure, in science and technology, in education, in clean energy. And these steps have saved or created about 2 million jobs so far.
But more than 7 million have been lost as a consequence of this recession -- an epidemic that demands our relentless and sustained response. Now, last month the House passed a new jobs bill. The Senate, as we speak, is hard at work developing its own job creation package. Creating good, sustainable jobs is the single most important thing we can do to rebuild the middle class -- and I won't rest until we're doing just that.
But we also need to reverse the overall erosion in middle class security so that when this economy does come back, working Americans are free to pursue their dreams again. There are a variety of immediate steps we can take to do just that -- steps we're poised to begin taking in the budget that I'll put forward next week.
Joe already spoke about some of these proposals in detail -- proposals that make it a bit easier for families to get by, for students to get ahead, and for workers to retire. To make balancing work and family more realistic, we'll make it easier to care for children and aging loved ones. To make college more affordable, we'll make it easier for students to pay back their loans, and forgive their debt earlier if they choose a career in public service. And to make retirement more secure, we're going to make it easier to save through the workplace.
Joe and I are going to keep on fighting for what matters to middle class families: An education that gives our kids a chance in life; new, clean energy economy that generates the good jobs of the future; meaningful financial reform that protect consumers; and health reform that prohibits the worst practices of the insurance industry and restores some stability and peace of mind for middle class families.
None of these steps alone will solve all the challenges facing the middle class. Joe understands that; so do I. So do all my members of the Cabinet and our economic team. But hopefully some of these steps will reestablish some of the security that's slipped away in recent years. Because in the end, that's how Joe and I measure progress -- not by how the markets are doing, but by how the American people are doing. It's about whether they see some progress in their own lives.
So we're going to keep fighting to rebuild our economy so that hard work is once again rewarded, wages and incomes are once again rising, and the middle class is once again growing. And above all, we're going to keep fighting to renew the American Dream and keep it alive -- not just in our time, but for all time.
So, again, to our team -- and that includes, by the way, the folks over here -- thank you for the great work that you've done. I'm excited about a lot of the proposals that you've come up with. And we expect that we're going to be able to get some of these critical initiatives passed soon so that folks can get some help right away.
Thank you very much. (Applause.)
Comments
"Obama's middle-class ptich: Dream alive"
Yeah, and meanwhile the Teabagger Republicans are busy defending big Wall Street banks from having to pay back the money that they owe tax payers and basking in the glow of the right wing activist Supreme court judges decision to give corporations personhood and allow them to turn our political system into a hidious version of NASCAR.
Way to go Repubs, you just blew your cover. Everyone is on to your fake populist schtick now.
Posted by: former Republican | January 25, 2010 1:17 PM
MORE GOOD NEWS FOR REPUBLICANS!....oh...wait a minute....nevermind.
Fox News poll: Obama smashes GOP in Presidential match up poll.
If the Wingnutters still think that nude model Scott Brown means their on ther way back to being accepted by the American people, they're wrong. Just ask Fox.
Obama - Romney 47-35.
Obama - Palin 55-31.
Obama - Gingrich 53-29.
Each margin includes a healthy lead among independent voters.
.
http://www.alan.com/2010/01/21/fox-news-poll-obama-would-beat-gop-tea-party-rivals-by-landslide-in-2012/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+liberaland+%28Alan+Colmes+Liberaland%29
.
Hey Wingnuts, when Fox can't even spin a poll for you, you know you're screwed!
Posted by: b-bob | January 25, 2010 1:22 PM
Of course it is still alive. Ask any middle-class worker, here in America. That is, if he or she still has a job, thanks the Cheney&Bush fringe's recklessness and selfishness !! 7 Million jobs lost during their two disastrous terms, is a difficult state of affairs to correct, in one year, which was filled with the hate, lies and resentment of the Republican-Libertarians. All in all, President Obama's numbers are encouraging and an indicator that America is not disillusioned with his dreams for America. Just think, ladies and gents of America, this is only President Obama's first year and we aren't looking into that yawning economic whole, the Cheney&Bush team left us. That was worth the price of admission, I would say !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | January 25, 2010 1:25 PM
I can't take anymore help from Obama !!!!!
I'll take my chances without Washington's "help"
Posted by: Al in Chicago | January 25, 2010 1:25 PM
Give me a break..
Nothing that really helps here.
Posted by: jim | January 25, 2010 1:30 PM
By siding with the big predatory Wall Street banks over the people, the GOP has just blown any chance they had of any sort of big come back in 2010.
Heckuva Job, Wingnuts! I knew you could do it!
Posted by: Bleach | January 25, 2010 1:43 PM
Okay Mr. Pres. and VP we hear your words now the people want action. What about the couples whose children have already gone? What about the marriage tax, what about the death tax, and how about a tax system we can understand? We know better than any politician that it is the economy. We need the jobs and at the same time we need a government that is not bloated with an abundance of workers that just push paper from one desk to the next. We need a real healthcare reform bill. We need real high speed real. We need a common sense approach to global warming. What we need is good all common sense. Obama has a chance to do the right thing but, words are only that We the People demand action that we can believe in. Hope will not do it!
Posted by: Crooks_In_DC | January 25, 2010 1:45 PM
So how much is this "help" going to cost the taxpayers?
Posted by: joe | January 25, 2010 2:06 PM
I'll believe Obama when he takes the surcharge tax from middle class employer-given health care completely off the table--forever. And, the mandate to buy a shoddy product from the insurance industry is total BS for the middle class given there is no public option to allow real competition. Why throw Americans in jail when there is no chance of throwing the health insurance industry into jail as well. The health insurance industry has already shown themselves to be underhanded--and there were no real strings in the "HCR" for them? They are the ones with the bad history and reputation--not American citizens--or the middle class. Otherwise, it's just more of Obama's SOS. Joe Biden needs to get on this right away. Obama can't win back the middle class with more of his BS. Fool us once, shame on him. However, it won't be shame on us because we won't be fooled a second time. It is the same for ANY Bush or Cheney should any of them EVER want to enter the national stage again. And, the Supreme Court? They will now be known as the Corporate Supremes. The Corporate Supremes need to be removed for treason against America for putting America into the hands of corporatist bribers--many of whom can and will control with $$$ from outside of America. The lawmakers need to get rid of the five Corporatist-traitor Supremes, and put a law in place making all campaigns equal, and cap donations no matter what or who the source. Make things more like the NFL rather than baseball for all political candidates. That way, they will all have to actually be smarter and kinder, not just better paid male or female corporate prostitutes.
Posted by: Vivian | January 25, 2010 2:09 PM
What is missing from BO's comments is how he's going to create jobs. He's promising short term and I'll take them, fixes that will be popular but none of which address how to stir the economy to drive jobs growth.
It's a nice red herring but nothing mentioned is beneficial to job growth and that's really what needs to be focused on.
Posted by: Mike | January 25, 2010 2:11 PM
Obama has given many "pitches", due to his elegent way of speaking. Do I think he will get anything doen to help the AMERICAN PEOPLE? No His refusal to accept the fact that his (or Pelosi's) health care plan is NOT what the AMERICAN PEOPLE want, proves he is not listening..
Posted by: Nancy | January 25, 2010 2:13 PM
The big issue facing America and its Middle Class is Jobs and the Economy. It is amazing that it has taken the Obama and the Democratic Leadership a whole year to figure it out. While they spent most of a year trying to force through Socialized Medicine that a majority in the country did not want, they ignored the rising Unemployment Rates and Falling Economy. Folks, this is not a Democratic or a Republican Problem, it is an American Problem that affects everyone out there. The voters consisting of Independents and Moderate Republicans and Moderate Democrats have sent a clear message in Virginia, New Jersey and Massachusetts that enough is enough. Most of us want the petty political games by the President,and the Democratic and Republican Leadership to stop. The question is whether the President, Democratic Leadership and hard headed Republicans in Washington are listening? If not it may be time we elect good Republican, Democratic and Independent Representatives that will stop all the childish bickering and work together confront the serious economic and unemployment problems confronting the country.
Posted by: Depot- Jim | January 25, 2010 2:20 PM
Please try to remember that the dream is good jobs, not handouts. Stop the arbitrary spending, you are scaring the heck out of this country. We believed in you and voted for you not for handouts, but for solutions that were inclusive. That means we want the individual, the family, and the companies we work for all to do well. We do not want an entire country standing with our hands out. We want to work for a living, be paid for our labors, be responsible for our decisions in life. We want to know that the government is there if truly needed, but we accept that sometimes in life we will make a bad decision and that it is our personal responsibility to correct.
While I wish the best for everyone, if one chooses to drop out of school, join a gang, do drugs, or any of the other myriad stupid things we as human beings choose to do, we shouldn't expect our government to solve the problem.
For this and future administrations, please remember that you are there to establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare, and I think that should be more than enough job for anyone.
Best wishes, and please think before you spend.
Posted by: george | January 25, 2010 2:20 PM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
So how much is this "help" going to cost the taxpayers?
Posted by: joe | January 25, 2010 2:06 PM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I love listening to intentionally stupid Repugs whine about the non existent "big gummit".
Hey Joey, the right wingers on the Supreme court just sold out your gov't to the highest bidder last week with their corporate personhood decision.
You don't have to fear big gov't anymore because their won't be a real gov't anymore. You'll have to fear your heroes on Wall Street and Big Oil. They are truely your overlords now.
Congratulations Joey, they own your gov't now and they don't give a damn what you Teabagger fools think about it.
Posted by: Mongo | January 25, 2010 2:22 PM
Its naked vote-buying like this that boils the blood of the taxpaying minority in this country. I don't have kids but I sure am paying for some. My taxes will go up and my spending will go down. Not the kind of economy that creates jobs is it?
Posted by: mark | January 25, 2010 2:35 PM
Obama just doesn't get it. The "middle class" wants jobs, not handouts. Not once does he suggest providing the job-makers (aka American businesses) with incentives to create jobs. 31 million Americans either unemployed or under-employed and he has no ideas of what to do. And to think we have three more years of this.
Posted by: Gordon | January 25, 2010 2:37 PM
Talk is cheap-and getting cheaper. 'How about a little action Mr. President?
Posted by: Mark | January 25, 2010 2:39 PM
I do nor need any more "Obamahelp" from the goverment. The government can't run a lemonade stand for crying out loud, how are they to help me. Stay out of my life is the only help I need.
Posted by: roundlaketom | January 25, 2010 2:42 PM
Please try to remember that the dream is good jobs, not handouts. Stop the arbitrary spending, you are scaring the heck out of this country. We believed in you and voted for you not for handouts
Posted by: george | January 25, 2010 2:20 PM
=============================
What handouts are you talking about, Sparky?
Obama didn't pass the stimulus bill when he first took office because he wanted to, he had to do it save the economy from going into a full blown Bush depression. And the economy got that way in the first place from Republicans spending the past eight years giving handouts to the wealthy ( tax cuts to billionaires and selling out our gov't to the Military Industrial Complex) instead of working to help the middle class.
And by the way, that Stimulus bill contained the largest middle class tax cut in history.
Posted by: over do it and have a fit | January 25, 2010 2:42 PM
Nice try Mongo, but last I checked, the Democrats controlled Congress in 2006. Both parties are to blame. You can call out Republicans all day long but remember that the Democrats are in the pocket of Unions and big business as well. As someone else has mentioned, this isn't party politics which is just a way for those political 'elites' to fool the electorate and keep people from really focusing in on the problems at hand.
Posted by: Eli | January 25, 2010 2:43 PM
The best "middle class dream" pitch is for the govt to get its hands out of my pocket and off my paycheck.
BO is going to push for a mandatory retirement fund? Wasn't that what social (in)security became? And how is that working for you? SS is nothing more than a giant overdrawn governmental piggy bank.
"Mandatory" ANYTHING is off the table. Period.
Give us back our money, let us do what we want with it. We don't need you or your programs. I'm tired of 70% of my income going to fund the Federal Govt, whose only purpose, really, is to keep our country safe from the bad guys and LEAVE US ALONE.
Seriously.
I don't blame the Republicrats or the Demicans. I blame the Founding Fathers. Why?
They put too much trust in the heirs of their Constitutional Republic, and did not build in any safeguards against career politicians.
Posted by: Pony | January 25, 2010 2:43 PM
This tired argument that "Republicans" and "Conservatives" in general work for "Wall Street" or "Big Business", while Obama and his cohorts are "for the little guy", is laughable at best, and total intentional ignorance at the worst!!!
Obama broke all records for donations from Big Corportations, including those on Wall Street. Including Goldman Sachs, who gave more to him than anyone else.
Obama is all about "Big Business" - GE, Apple, Caterpillar, just to name a few more.
RD
Posted by: Ron Dog | January 25, 2010 2:44 PM
Obama keeps pitching class warfare. When is this guy going to get off this radical agenda and listen to the American people? He will probably listen when all of the Democrats are voted out of office.
Posted by: Chuck | January 25, 2010 2:52 PM
I'd like to hear the alternative plan from that new Senator from Massachusetts. You know the guy who poses like a gay porn star.
Posted by: Randy Gross | January 25, 2010 2:56 PM
Hmm... increase the child tax credit.. wow... we are saved at last... zzzz
Posted by: city guy | January 25, 2010 3:00 PM
===============================
Nice try Mongo, but last I checked, the Democrats controlled Congress in 2006. Both parties are to blame. You can call out Republicans all day long but remember that the Democrats are in the pocket of Unions and big business as well.
Posted by: Eli | January 25, 2010 2:43 PM
===============================
Really?
Right now Republicans are defending Wall Street banks from having to pay back tax payer money, while at the same time defending the hideous Supreme Court decision that will allow corporations (foreign and domestic) to own our gov't lock, stock and barrel. What happens when Hugo Chavez's Citgo Oil Company drops 10 million on an ad campaign, Eli? How many conservative "free speech" advocates out there will be applauding that?
Republicans side with Wall Street bankers.
.
http://rawstory.com/2010/01/gop-sides-with-wall-street/
.
Republicans support Corporate Personhood.
.
http://politics.theatlantic.com/2010/01/citizens_united_decision_republicans_like_it_liberals_dont.php
.
Posted by: Mongo | January 25, 2010 3:03 PM
I am middle-class: PLEASE JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!!!
Posted by: Dave | January 25, 2010 3:06 PM
Mongo, you just don't get it, do you?
This mess was created by CAREER POLS -- and they're just different sides of the same darned coin.
As was pointed out above, this is not a party problem, it's an AMERICAN problem.
Please, get off your partisan high-horse and be of some use. And if you can't do that much, get out of the way while others do what they can to make a difference.
This partisan posturing and finger-pointing is just so much bull dookie. You'll keep blaming and pointing your finger until the problem just comes up and sweeps everything away.
You're not part of the solution. You're part of the problem.
Posted by: Pony | January 25, 2010 3:13 PM
The guy just doesn't get it! What the middle class wants is for the #$^&^$$#%%$ government to stay out of our lives.......period!
No aid, no TARP, no assistance...just quit spending money and let us take care of ourselves!
Posted by: RDL1044 | January 25, 2010 3:14 PM
The time of the sheeple is over, the voters are leaving their Deomocratic shores.
Independants have their
own theory of change coming to an election near you. Buh bye sheeple...
-------------------------------
If you want to hear more dreams that don't come true, tune in Wed at 7 pm.
Posted by: wingnut master | January 25, 2010 3:20 PM
Randy Gross, how do you know how a gay porn star poses? Cause I don't . . . but hey whatever floats your boat.
Posted by: Mike | January 25, 2010 3:24 PM
********************************************
Mongo, you just don't get it, do you?This mess was created by CAREER POLS -- and they're just different sides of the same darned coin.As was pointed out above, this is not a party problem, it's an AMERICAN problem.
Posted by: Pony | January 25, 2010 3:13 PM
******************************************
Nice try Right Wing Troll...
I only see one side (Republicans) that is defending Wall Street right now.
You Teabagger idiots are to stupid to recognize that you are nothing more than usefull idiots for corporate America.
Heckuva Job, Wingnut clowns!
Posted by: K | January 25, 2010 3:25 PM
I find it funny that everyone wants more job creation and a better economy, but they don't want corporations to make any money or do well. Who do you think provides the jobs in this country? I know the government provides its fair share, but come on, these corporations supply millions of jobs to the middle class and we'd be screwed without them.
@Mongo
Wall Street banks are already paying back the money with interest, and the government has been making money on the stocks they own in these banks. Why tax them to death because they are making a profit?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/business/economy/31taxpayer.html
Posted by: Jon | January 25, 2010 3:25 PM
Thanks for the bone, dudes. I won't ask which nose it came out of .
Posted by: doodahman | January 25, 2010 3:33 PM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The guy just doesn't get it! What the middle class wants is for the #$^&^$$#%%$ government to stay out of our lives
Posted by: RDL1044 | January 25, 2010 3:14 PM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Big Corportions just bought "your gov't", you moron.
Why don't you go out and have a Teabagger party about that, you right wing hypocrites!?!?
"There can be no doubt that Chief Justice John Roberts is guilty of letting his political leanings affect his rulings. But in this case they also drove this man to expand the relatively narrow case before the court (Citizens United) to include all federal election finance law for the last 100 years. Lets examine what charges could be brought against Roberts..."
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/diary/14940/corporate-personhood-the-demise-of-representative-democracy-in-america
Posted by: freddie | January 25, 2010 3:37 PM
What jobs, the jobs those good Americans took to cheaper labor markets and then brought that product back, charged a price, as though they were made in America, where labor is more than 10 cents a day, where it was made. Or are you talking about those 7 Million jobs lost during the Cheney&Bush years ? In either case, greed played a central role in that employment disaster and who's buddies were at the helm? Why, none other than Bush&Cheney, the miserable Dynamic Duo, that grounded the American economy to a screeching halt !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | January 25, 2010 3:46 PM
Obama wouldn't know a tax cut if he saw one.
Posted by: Chuck | January 25, 2010 3:48 PM
I'd like to hear the alternative plan from that new Senator from Massachusetts. You know the guy who poses like a gay porn star.
Posted by: Randy Gross | January 25, 2010 2:56 PM
***********************************
Nobody says "gay porn star" like Barney Franke!
Only the ignorant still believ e in the tooth fairy and Barry Obama's false promises.
All the name calling in the world will not solve the problems this nation is facing, yet, that's all you folks can do.
Maybe in twenty or thirty years, you democrat sheeple will stop blaming Bush adn admit to the one termer Obama's terrible mistakes.
Except for you Donny boy! you'll always have that Bush-Cheney rash around your mouth!
Posted by: springfield | January 25, 2010 4:06 PM
@K,
To quote you "You idiots are to stupid to recognize that you are nothing more than usefull idiots for Democrats.
Once again, who do you think will pay for these fees? Do you honestly think these Bank Fees are going to be paid for by the Banks? And why isn't Freddie and Fannie included in this fee?
FYI"Fannie Mae Chief Executive Officer Michael Williams and Freddie Mac CEO Charles Haldeman Jr. are each eligible for compensation of as much as $6 million , while 10 others will receive close to 30 million. Remember they both tapped $110 billion dollars as well.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/money/2009/12/24/2009-12-24_fannie_mae_and_freddie_mac_ceos_salaries_may_top_6_million_for_2009.html#ixzz0dezihqPn
If you really want to be angry, please read this about Fannie and Freddie"http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2009/12/27/relief-without-limits-fannie-mae-freddie-mac-get-blank-checks-nyt-provid"
Posted by: Eli | January 25, 2010 4:11 PM
==============================
Wall Street banks are already paying back the money with interest, and the government has been making money on the stocks they own in these banks. Why tax them to death because they are making a profit?
Posted by: Jon | January 25, 2010 3:25 PM
===============================
Because they are refusing to pay ALL of the tax payer money back and they're going back to doing the very same things they did when they tanked the ecomony under the Bush Republicans in the first place. If they want to make multi billion dollar profits, that's fine. But don't do it on the tax payers dime.
If you're asking me to have sympathy for the Wall Street robber barons, you're asking in the wrong place pal.
When they stop giving out multi-million dollar tax payer funded bonuses and start lending again to small business's again is I'll start respecting them again. Until then - forget it.
Posted by: Mongo | January 25, 2010 4:19 PM
Watching Republicans fight to preserve the Wall Street Banks' freedom to wreck our economy is going to be a pleasure. That's an uphill fight in the best of times, but now in the depths of the Great Bush Recession, too many Americans have been burned by Wall Street Banks' excessive greed. The American Public is in no mood to be sucked in by Republicans' phony free market fundamentalist platitudes. This toxic effect will put Republicans off balance again, and make them much less credible than they already are.
Everyone knows that it was this same Republican bunch under Bush who crashed the economy in the first place, setting all the painful repercussions into motion. Repercussions like millions of people losing their jobs. Millions of people losing their savings. Hundreds of thousands of people losing their homes.
Posted by: Clutch Cargo | January 25, 2010 4:21 PM
So more kids = more welfare (tax credits).
Posted by: Mike | January 25, 2010 4:26 PM
I find it hilarious they way these Republican goons have been hiding behind the Libertarian label and calling themselves Teabaggers instead of what they are (Republicans) now that they're out of power. The Teabagger convention next month in Nashville is going to be filled with.....that's right....you guessed it.....REPUBLICAN Speakers!
These right wing lunatic fringers sat on their hands for eight years while Bushco sold out our country to Wall Street, Big Oil and Multi Billionaires and NOW we're supposed to be worried about big gov't run amok under Obama?.....HAHAHA!
Your defending of the Wall Street criminals from paying back tax payer money just blew your cover Teabaggers.
Way to go! It was a nice little run you had going there, you were able to fool some of the dumbest people in America into believeing you were just some "grass roots" uprising. Now you've been exposed for what you are - puppets for Wall Street and Corporate America.
Teabaggers aka Republicans - demand transparency from Dems but ban media from their own convention:
.
http://www.pensitoreview.com/2010/01/13/tea-baggers-demand-transparency-from-dems-but-ban-media-from-convention/
.
Posted by: Planet Wingnuttia | January 25, 2010 4:44 PM
If you're smart enough to make $86,000/yr, you're smart enough to understand family planning...and pay for your own child care.
This is nothing more other than yet another handout to the middle class from the middle class. Ridiculous.
Posted by: SharonD | January 25, 2010 4:53 PM
Ah yes, more deficit spending we have no way to pay for....THAT will really fix everything!
Posted by: Paul | January 25, 2010 4:58 PM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If you really want to be angry, please read this about Fannie and Freddie
Posted by: Eli | January 25, 2010 4:11 PM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Fannie and Freddie didn't cause Bush's economic meltdown, Eli. They were victims of it.
You can link to all of the right wing nutjob sites that you want to but you're never going to be able to sell the "minorities and poor people caused Bush's economic meltdown" meme out here in the real world.
The real world isn't made up of Fox Propaganda Channel or the Murdoch Street Journal crap, Eli. We're smarter than that.
Posted by: Lars | January 25, 2010 5:00 PM
Stop being mad at Obama and he'll give you money. He bought everything else, him and his Dem friends, and now the country is worse than it was.
It's a sad state when the president tries to make you happy with him by spreading money around.
Dems/Reps....peas in a pod.
Less government, less taxes.
Posted by: Randy L. | January 25, 2010 5:13 PM
People want to MAKE MORE money not get a handout or tax break. THE middle class is hardwired a productive way!
Posted by: JOHN C | January 25, 2010 5:22 PM
How do those two things help once middle class American workers who are jobless and have no income? Straight Answer: They don't. Obama is once again showing he doesn't get it, just like the Republicans. Give tax credits to people with no incomes? BRILLIANT.
Posted by: jack | January 25, 2010 5:32 PM
"Everyone knows that it was this same Republican bunch under Bush who crashed the economy in the first place"...blah, blah, blah.
When will Obama and his cheerleaders stop blaming everything on the prior administration?
We get it. Things were bad when your guy took over, but that was a year ago.
If you are hired to clean up someone else's mess, shut the "eff" up and GET TO WORK!!!
Isn't that why you voted for him? Or do you just like to hear him whine about how tough his job is?
Posted by: Dave | January 25, 2010 5:38 PM
Maybe it is time to stop trying to buy votes and become a leader. Most politicians (both Democrat and Republican)will sacrifice the public interest if they think that it will help them to get re-elected. The idea of getting rewarded for your candidate's victory makes many voters go along with government policies which benefit some individuals, but harm the country as a whole. These practices are popular with some citizens because they think, "Others will pay for what I get!". Here's the problem: there is no free lunch. Somebody pays for everything. When the U.S. runs out of people who pay to support the government, that is it for our nation. We need to stop moving in that direction. Americans need to stop expecting their personal life choices to be subsidized by other citizens. A real leader needs to say that, not offer up more money to buy support. Responsible voters will judge candidates in February and November based on leadership, not giveaways.
Posted by: vttk17a1 | January 25, 2010 5:48 PM
@Mongo
If the government is making a profit on the stocks they own in these banks, hasn't the taxpayers money been paid back in full?
Also, small businesses are hurting today, that's for sure, but you want banks to make bad loans to small businesses so that the banks get themselves back into trouble again. Doesn't make sense does it? Small businesses needs revenue not loans.
@don fiztgerald
If you don't buy anything that is made in china, you have nothing to complain about.
Let's not forget that the Dems have a part in the Bush Recession too. They took over the house and senate 3 years ago.
Posted by: Jon | January 25, 2010 6:01 PM
=================================
Stop being mad at Obama and he'll give you money. He bought everything else, him and his Dem friends, and now the country is worse than it was.It's a sad state when the president tries to make you happy with him by spreading money around.
Dems/Reps....peas in a pod.
Less government, less taxes.
Posted by: Randy L. | January 25, 2010 5:13 PM
============================
Yeah....because things were great when the Republicans under Bush were giving out "handouts" to Big Corporations, Big Oil and the Military Industrial Complex.....NOT!
You right wing clowns are the biggest bunch of idiots that I've ever seen.
Posted by: John B | January 25, 2010 6:09 PM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
People want to MAKE MORE money not get a handout or tax break. THE middle class is hardwired a productive way!
Posted by: JOHN C | January 25, 2010 5:22 PM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Really? Then why do Republicans support continuing to let Wall Street screw over the middle class?
Are you saying that the middle class works hard so they can give handouts to Billionaires?
Idiots...
Posted by: TERESA | January 25, 2010 6:13 PM
--------------------------------------------------
Less government, less taxes.
Posted by: Randy L. | January 25, 2010 5:13 PM
------------------------------------------------
What gov't are you talking about, Randy?
Thanks to the activist right wing judges on the Supreme Court, you don't have a gov't anymore. You just sold it to the highest bidder.
Heckuva Job, Wingnuts.
.
http://www.alternet.org/rights/145322/supreme_court's_'radical_and_destructive'_decision_hands_over_democracy_to_the_corporations/?comments=view&cID=1417363&pID=1417216
Posted by: Ronny | January 25, 2010 6:19 PM
===============================
If you're smart enough to make $86,000/yr, you're smart enough to understand family planning...and pay for your own child care.This is nothing more other than yet another handout to the middle class from the middle class. Ridiculous.
Posted by: SharonD | January 25, 2010 4:53 PM
=============================
Yeah, but if you're smart enough to be born into a family of Billionaires - BRING ON THE HANDOUTS!!!!
Staunch middle class Republicans who always support tax cuts for Billionaires are some of the dumbest people on the face of the Earth.
Posted by: OliviaC | January 25, 2010 6:25 PM
Worst president ever
Posted by: ComicBookGuy | January 25, 2010 6:30 PM
Mike,
This does not mean more kids = more welfare.
For starters, in order to claim this tax credit you must have earned income. Nobody get's it if they don't work. Additionally, it is a non-refundable credit. So even if a person who can claim this does, they couldn't possibly get more than they paid already in income tax.
It's a tax cut, it's just that simple. It is targeted at a particular group, but it is a TAX CUT.
Posted by: martin | January 25, 2010 6:48 PM
We'll shut up about your Incompetents, Cheney&Bush, when you admit to their incompetency and malfeasance. I don't think that will be any time soon, for either of us. Have a good one, " Dave ". Don't forget, " Mission Accomplished " wasn't our stunt !! Neither were those terrifying WMD !! They were thoroughly, your Incompetents' creations !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | January 25, 2010 6:50 PM
I thought the dems were on a "pay-as-you-go" thing for tax cuts? What ever happened to that?
Doubling the Child Tax Credit - democrats want to buy votes - nothing more, nothing less.
"Limiting a student’s federal loan payments to 10 percent of his or her income above a basic living allowance". Who will make a loan to a student knowing that teh repayment of the loan has a cap to it. Also, I wonder why BO has not proposed a commission on cracking down on the high cost of higher education. How come he doesn't bring in some of those university presidents and demand answers?
FITZ - "7 Million jobs lost during their two disastrous terms" - Like I told you before, you can have your opinion, but not your own facts. There was job growth during the Bush administration, even counting 2008 recession year - caused by the democrats.
Mongo - You never did answer Joe's question. Go have some more beans.
Posted by: Terry | January 25, 2010 7:20 PM
Republicans have always stood up for corporate fat cats while throwing their constituents under the bus.
They will especially stand up for them now that (thanks to the Supreme court) the corporations can pump gazillions into their campaigns. Republicans are hard wired for Wall Street and Big Oil interests.
The anger out there is such that if any Republican votes against a job's creation bill and penalties to banks they will be DOA in 2010 and 2012. In fact, any incumbent who votes against the above is also DOA and that includes right wing sell outs like Joe Lieberman.
Posted by: Libby Shaw | January 25, 2010 7:21 PM
One more thing,
As much as loons grioe about the bankers and their executives' bonuses - what do you think of the $45 million old Conan rec'd as a severance package for failure? Is that OK since the severence package was written by BO's economic advisor Jeff Immelt?
Posted by: Terry | January 25, 2010 7:24 PM
The great baloney slicer strikes again. Hey, Bub, there ain't no middle class; it has been effectively wiped out by your socialistic policies and banker buddies looting our savings. Throwing us a bone won't work. This Administration is 'just now' claiming they will focus on jobs? How incompetent can they be?
Posted by: Banderman | January 25, 2010 7:27 PM
Terry-
It's ok with me, and completely irrelevant to the discussion. Did the Tonight Show receive federal dollars?
Posted by: martin | January 25, 2010 8:35 PM
omg they must think that all of us citizens are really stupid. this would be very comical if so many people weren't hurt so much
Posted by: dcbinc | January 25, 2010 9:04 PM
Mr. President: If you want to help the middle class help the companies that provide us jobs. Stop asking the banks who paid back TARP to "give us our money back". Ask the banks that still owe us and ask AIG, GM and Chrysler. While your at it, return the unused stimulus. Then, reform health care for real. Fix all the medicare waste and fraud you have identified now. And stop with the gimmicks and the empty words.
Posted by: scott | January 25, 2010 9:08 PM
When are renters with no kids going to catch a break? Why do I need to be deep in debt and saddled with a child to qualify for a tax credit?
The personal IRA is interesting, but I already contribute the max to my 401k and contribute what I can to my Roth IRA. To be honest, I'd be ecstatic if they just let me opt-out of Social Security.
Posted by: Damian | January 25, 2010 9:58 PM
Marty,
Since GE owns NBC, yes they did receive federal tax dollars. Have you ever heard of GE Capital?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/28/AR2009062802955.html
Posted by: Terry | January 25, 2010 10:26 PM
Geez, " Damian ", can you whine any louder? You caught a break, you're living in one of the best countries to be living in, today. I will not point out all of the advantages we enjoy, I'll just remind you, in some countries, if they don't like your whining, off you go, to wherever, never to be heard from again !!
You need to be in debt because that is what this nation, or should I say, our Republican-Libertarian, and some Democrat, leaders chose for our country. They shipped our manufacturing sector to the cheap labor markets. In some cases, during Papa Bush term in Office, we actually had our government paying these businesses to relocate to the cheaper labor markets. As for being saddled with a child in order to get a tax credit, that is about as silly a whine as I have ever heard. " Damian " you should have concerned yourself with educating yourself about all things human, not focusing in on, all things Me.
You sure don't have a clue about being a good American, if that post is any indication of your real attitudes. I hope they aren't but if they are, you need a get back to Civics 1( not 101) and Humanities 1( not 101). That would be a good start for you. Maybe you'll find out there are other humans that are far worse off than you, and don't whine a fraction of what you do !! Go out there and get some sense and quite worrying about, the more stupid kind of cents !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | January 26, 2010 9:29 AM
"That would be a good start for you. Maybe you'll find out there are other humans that are far worse off than you, and don't whine a fraction of what you do !! Go out there and get some sense and quite worrying about, the more stupid kind of cents !! "
Don - Please take some of your own advice and give it a break...
Posted by: Barry J | January 26, 2010 10:25 AM
Come on, " Barry J ", just because I gave you a lesson on, how the unions are at the mercy of the Corporate Execs, doesn't mean you can pick on me, now. Just kidding, " Barry J ", knock yourself out !! I can handle it.
If you were serious in your post and you took the time to read in between the lines of all of my posts, you would have realized long ago, that my primary concern is our fellow citizens and their plight. For, if it is their plight, according to my thinking, it is all of our plight and we must unite, to make all of our citizens' lives better, happier and healthier. We can not give the Corporations a pass. They have exploited the American workers, and consumers, and they should not be allowed to get away with it. They must pay their fair share of taxes, not hide them from our country, in off-shore tax-sheltrs, just to name one, egregious ploy. How American is that ?
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | January 26, 2010 10:53 AM
Posted by: OliviaC | January 25, 2010 6:25 PM
"Yeah, but if you're smart enough to be born into a family of Billionaires - BRING ON THE HANDOUTS!!!!
Staunch middle class Republicans who always support tax cuts for Billionaires are some of the dumbest people on the face of the Earth."
1. I'm glad you agree with your "yeah" that 86,000 is enough to handle your own childcare.
2. Whew! Good thing I'm not a republican!
Posted by: SharonD | January 26, 2010 2:55 PM
My fellow Democrats. Please see the writing on the wall. This is like the Titanic going down. Many of you are on the deck telling everyone its ok and nothing is wrong. Meanwhile, I’m down below plugging the holes and trying to save our beloved Democrat Party. If we don’t accept that something is wrong then we will never learn and grow as a party. Please help us save this ship.
Posted by: Richard Owens | January 26, 2010 2:59 PM
vttk17a1 said:
"...When the U.S. runs out of people who pay to support the government, that is it for our nation..."
What would the pols do if every one of us started applying for every handout to which we're entitled (but don't need)?
Posted by: SharonD | January 26, 2010 3:14 PM