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Obama plans tax cuts; some skeptical
President Barack Obama pauses during his speech on the economy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
President Obama aimed his economic speech Tuesday at helping small businesses, but some Missourians urged wariness, saying proposed tax cuts must be viewed in the context of other administration initiatives.
The president's plan calls for congressional action on a one-year elimination of a capital gains tax on new investments, an extension of expensing provisions on business upgrades and a new tax cut to encourage hiring.
While conceding "it's never a bad time to cut taxes," Daniel P. Mehan, Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry president and CEO, said the proposal fails to offset potential damage of the pending health-care bill and cap-and-trade energy legislation.
"If these things pass, it doesn't matter what window dressing he does with these other incentives," Mr. Mehan said of the president. "We're going to have a real tough time, employers of all sizes."
Mr. Obama's speech at The Brookings Institution in Washington focused on the administration's desire to take "every responsible action" to increase private-sector employment. He presented a three-prong plan that included small business incentives, investments in infrastructure and a push toward clean-energy job creation.
Christina Romer, chairwoman of Mr. Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, told reporters in a conference call Tuesday that the president's timing seems right for the initiatives.
"When he's thinking about tax incentives for small businesses to do investment or hiring, that's likely to be particularly effective at a time when small businesses are starting to see demand pick up," Dr. Romer said.
Congressman Sam Graves, the Northwest Missouri lawmaker and top Republican on the House Small Business Committee, said Tuesday he had yet to see specifics of the president's proposal, including the plan to pay for it.
He particularly took issue with the president's contention in the speech that the government has "had to spend our way out of this recession" in the near term.
"Americans know that you cannot spend, tax or bail your way to prosperity," the lawmaker said. "How many stimulus bills will have to fail before this administration stops spending money we don't have?"
Northeast Kansas Rep. Lynn Jenkins, a Republican, said the president has ignored the interests of small business for 11 months.
While his proposals for targeted tax relief are refreshing, she said, "even those will likely be unsuccessful when faced with the rest of his job-killing, over-regulating, big-government agenda that continues to further restrict credit to cash-strapped small businessmen and women."
Mr. Obama, a Democrat, returned some partisan fire in the address, saying, "We were forced to take (difficult) steps largely without the help of an opposition party, which, unfortunately, after having presided over the decision-making that had led to the crisis, decided to hand it over to others to solve."
Ken Newton can be reached
at kenn@npgco.com.
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yourmomscalling says...
I can tell you its bogus just like the rest of them for one thing the tax incentive is only good for 1 year so what employer would want that in these tough times ( NOBODY THAT'S WHO )
December 9, 2009 at 3:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Wright_Winger says...
To all those who initially fell for Obama's message of Hoax and Change and still believe in it, just remember the tooth fairy has to use the bathroom someplace, too.
December 9, 2009 at 5:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
77cod says...
You put the incompetent community organizer in office QUIT trying to put the blame on former president Bush. He recommended the bank rescue because the democrats were screaming in congress (including the clown that is in the white house now). Don't blame former president Bush who kept our country safe, blame the incompetent one and the media that hood winked all you uninformed voters. Tell me ONE thing this incompetent leader has done in his year (except bow to foreign leaders and appoint a vast number of tax cheats and domestic economic terrorist, like the bro Van Jones and homosexual advocate in the education). You goofed and now we are all paying for it and the paying has just begun.
December 9, 2009 at 9:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
c0uchtime says...
I hope everyone will join me in remembering that "W" also kept us safe from walrus attacks, meteors and comets, and the plague. Credit where credit is due. The fact that we haven't been attacked by Al Quiada or any other armed forces should surely prove he was a 'decider' and that shooting from the hip and trying to invoke unprecedented Presidential powers under the guise of National Security was entirely justified by all the things that didn't happen under the Reign of FearMongering. And, he should continue to get credit, since they STILL aren't happening, although they probably will begin any day now that he has been out of office for nearly a year.....
December 9, 2009 at 10:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
donaldo says...
we dont have an F.B.I. or C.I.A. or a invistagation force called homeland security? bush did all this by himself? come on now, we wont beleive this stuff about bush will we? he was a clown, a pocket boy for his dads cronies. i dont understand why you would think he did any of these things, ask his dad if he didn't have some pull with the saudis. after all wasent ossama bin ladin a saudi arabian as well? mayby he just took some time off from being bad? the way some think of our fearless past leader is commical. jees!
December 9, 2009 at 1:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
averagecitizen says...
This isn't "the" economic crisis, it's the creation of it. Give it time and there won't be a big enough eraser to undo what's being done now.
December 9, 2009 at 1:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Liberty says...
LIAR! Obama promised this week. TAX CUTS, Reduce The Deficit and Increased Spending (We will have to spend our way out of the recession) If you ever balanced a check book, then you know that when you are overdrawn, you can not cut your income, spend more and pay off the overdraft.
LIAR! (Thanks to Joe Wilson for loaning me that phrase) Only the Lamestream media seems to believe such fairy tale antics and they repeat it as if it is the truth.
Obama's only salvation for not being impeached or lynched is that Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi are next in line
God Help our Republic.
December 9, 2009 at 7:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
donaldo says...
LIAR? WELL ILL BE DANGED, we are going to be alright, it isnt the first ression we have ever had is it. we will be fine in say a year or two when i decide to retire.all looks bleak when things are not going our way. it will get better. you go mm1967, i too really beleive that it took both parties to get us into this and it will take both parties to get us back on track. if we didnt act like the national police for the world we would have more money to help our people.
December 9, 2009 at 10:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
peoplerule says...
Thanks for the segway liberty: I believe it was the Great Communicator, Saint Ronnie, who spent his and our way out of recession and quadrupled the national debt.
This last year increased the national debt by 50%.
Most of the current debt and deficit is Bush's economic fixes, hold overs from the last administration and the last Congress: the US fiscal year starts in October. So it is now barely starting year 1 for Obama.
Frankly, I think we need a serious 30s style jobs program to rebuild sewers, roads, bridges, national parks and do maintenance in national forests. Among young people unemployment is 15-30%. CCC helped a lot of kids become productive men and women in the generation of the 30s.
Also, unemployed people don't pay much in taxes, so cities, counties and states are really huring. They cannot do the public projects that put trades people to work with no money either.
And what is up with bellyaching about tax credits for small businesses--if Bush had done it you RW's would have been all over that?
You need to get over your partisan hope that Obama will fail and get your patriot on to hope that our country under Obama will succeed. That will make it easier for a future president, Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian.
December 9, 2009 at 10:20 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )