by Christi Parsons
President Obama this morning will call on Congress to pass a series of his proposals to spur hiring in the private sector, following a meeting with owners and workers of small enterprises in the Oval Office to talk about how they are weathering the recession.
Four months after Obama first proposed his plans to help small businesses grow and hire, his Small Business Lending Fund Act has passed a House committee but since bogged down amid Republicans concerns about whether it would achieve the desired goals.
The president will specifically call on the House to take up and approve that plan, along with another proposal to direct lending to small business by way of state-based programs, according to a White House official.
In remarks in the Rose Garden following the morning meeting, Obama will also ask Congress to pass proposals to eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and grant new tax relief for small start-up companies.
Small business access to credit plummeted during 2008 and remains severely constricted now, forcing many operations to close their doors and survivors battling for survival.
Obama's plans for spurring job creation were a topic of discussion in his meeting with Congressional leaders on Thursday, and his remarks Friday represent a renewed push for a point on a domestic agenda recently dominated by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Republicans question whether Obama's proposal is the right prescription for what ails the economy, raising concerns about too much government involvement in the private sector.
But Obama aides claim credit for the president's economic initiatives to date, and for creation of nearly half a million private sector jobs in the first five months of this year.
The president's proposals so far, including a tax credit for business hiring the unemployed, have "helped staunch an economic crisis and restore the economy to growth," an administration official said late Thursday.
Comments
Simple soultion - leave the Bush tax cuts into effect. Tax cuts for job creators will create jobs.
"...to direct lending to small business by way of state-based programs..." Will this lending becoming from states like Illinois which is finanically underwater as we speak? Just how will the states do this?
The Regime takes credit for job growth of the past few months, does it also take credit for the job losses of the prior year? I thought the Stimulus was going to create 3 million jobs in its first two years? That policy better hav one heck of a finishing kick
Tip of the hat if the Obama Regime does eliminate the double taxation of capital gains taxes for small businesses.
Posted by: Terry | June 11, 2010 8:02 AM
Obama's so-called "aid" packages have so far destroyed every other part of the American economy.
Now he's targeting small businesses.
Posted by: Equal time | June 11, 2010 8:35 AM
The 2nd stimulus was going to create jobs right?
When is he going to declare it a failure & put the rest of the money back in the Fed before we the taxpayers start paying the higher interest payments in 2012? The healthcare law is a job killer itself. In 2014 small businesses will be forced to pay for people even if they don't want insurance. That will be an added expense. Add that to the already hefty workman's comp insurance requirments and the bottom line becomes thinner. That's the part Obama does not get. The reason people start a business to beging with is to make money. They take the risk and look to reap the reward.
Who cares if you can get the credit to start a business? Where is the incentive to want to start one? I listen to all the people bitching here about China. The reason business owners go to China is they bypass workman's comp, healthcare, state taxes etc.
In other words your government has a hand in that trend.
The small business owners I have spoken to all want to get out of the game these days. You can thank Obama's healthcare bill for that. So good luck finding a job people. Hope the goverment can afford to keep paying 2 years unemployment benefits. I don't see that lasting either.
It's a double edged sword, no incentive to create jobs and no incentive to get a job. Everyone better HOPE for a CHANGE.
Posted by: wingnutmaster | June 11, 2010 9:00 AM
Today's economic news:
"Sales at retailers unexpectedly fell in May for the first time since September following a record slump in purchases of building materials, adding to fears the economic recovery was losing some steam.”
Yet another "unexpected" slump.
Thank you, President Obama
Posted by: Equal time | June 11, 2010 9:33 AM
Where are the resident nut bags to defend BO? Dum Fitzgerald, HateHateHate, hornery? I love hearing them spin every disastrous decision BO makes into either something good or the usual what do you want him to do? It’s all Bush's fault. both those tunes are tired and played out!!!
Posted by: Libtard | June 11, 2010 10:48 AM
The best thing obama could do for small business and the country is to step down, admit he lied endlessly to get elected and that the job is way above his pay grade (but then,
cutting a lawn or a lemonade stand)
I own a small business and with the coming higher taxes and healthcare baloney, I'm looking to lay people off - not hire anyone. But then, why would I expect some elitist harvard lawyer that has never run a thing to understand how business works - he's still learning on the job and screwing things up where he's at now! Thank GOD that change is coming in November.
Posted by: worsethanbefore | June 11, 2010 11:32 AM
Washington Times: GOP Lawmakers Privately Admit Stimulus Created Jobs
If there's one thing that unites the Republican Party it's their phony claim that the stimulus bill was a job-killing piece of legislation that was the worst thing in the whole entire world for the economy, right? Or maybe that's just what unites them in public, because in private the Washington Times reports they've been working overtime to get their hands on job-creating stimulus cash.
Remember Joe "You Lie" Wilson?
"Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican who became famous after yelling, "You lie," during Mr. Obama's addresses to Congress in September, voted against the stimulus. Nonetheless, Mr. Wilson elbowed his way into the rush for federal stimulus cash in a letter he sent to Mr. Vilsack on behalf of a foundation seeking funding. "We know their endeavor will provide jobs and investment in one of the poorer sections of the Congressional District," he wrote to Mr. Vilsack in the Aug. 26, 2009, letter.
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http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/09/stimulus-foes-see-value-in-seeking-cash/
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Kudos to the Washington Times for having done the leg work of filing the FOIA requests to expose these examples of Republican lawmakers talking out of both sides of their mouths, publicly lambasting the stimulus as a job-killing measure, but privately conceding that it actually created jobs. It's hard to imagine a more effective way of demonstrating Republican hypocrisy on the question of whether the stimulus bill creates jobs, and Dems should remind them of it every waking day.
Posted by: Mike Denardo | June 11, 2010 12:09 PM
Hey Wingnuts!
If you've still got a problem with the Stimulus - TAKE IT UP WITH THESE GUYS!
"REPORT: After Voting To Kill STIMULUS, 110 GOP Lawmakers Tout Its Success, Ask For More Money"
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http://thinkprogress.org/2010/02/17/stimulus-hypocrisy-101/
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Posted by: Republicans hate blue collar workers | June 11, 2010 12:11 PM
Since the mantra, " Drill, Baby, Drill " has been deep-sixed, so to speak, and " Run, Sarah, Run " has quit being a viable candidate, the Republican-Libertarian-T.Baggers new mantra could be: " Continue to make life miserable for President Obama and America. No help for small businesses. Obstruct ! " Way to go you good, old Republican elected officials. You sure know how to look after your own interests, in spite of America's needs !!
SUPPORT OUR TROOPS, BRING THEM HOME, ALIVE AND WHOLE. NOW.
Posted by: Don Fitzgerald, IL | June 14, 2010 11:49 AM