Dem says tax cuts blunted the stimulus

[Adir Pykhtin]

Source: The Hill

Congress cut taxes by too much and did not include enough money for transportation projects when it passed a $787 billion stimulus bill this year, the Democratic chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee said Monday.

Rep. Jim Oberstar (Minn.) stopped short of saying Congress should move a second stimulus, as some Democrats have recently suggested. But he told The Hill on Monday that lawmakers could create jobs by passing his own big-ticket public-works legislation: a $500 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill.

Oberstar defended the $27 billion in the stimulus for highway and bridge projects as the right amount to help the economy during the next year. However, he said that more transit money in the stimulus would have been helpful to an economic recovery over the next three years, rather than the nearly $300 billion in tax cuts.

“Not many people realize they got a tax cut,” Oberstar said. “I have not received a single e-mail, phone call, snail mail, personal comment from anybody since we enacted this bill, since the end of February, saying, ‘I got my tax’ or ‘Thanks for the tax cut’ or ‘I hardly noticed it’ or anything.

Read more: http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/dem-says-tax-cuts-blunted-the-stimulus-2009-07-13.html

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Why does Paul Krugman seem to always be months ahead of these politicians?

[amandabeech]

1. Because he's really, really smart and doesn't really have to deal with politics

and giving the appearance of being bipartisan.

[RoyGBiv]

2. !!!

Rarely is the correct answer both the first reply and so succinctly stated.

:thumbsup:

[amandabeech]

13. Thanks.

I thought it was obvious.

[sasquatch]

3. +2

[lindisfarne]

4. I noticed the tax cut. Anyone who can now buy $20 extra food per month and not have to stretch

food quite as far and keep kids on a tight leash with respect to snacking will notice it.

[OHdem10]

5. Krugman does not have to deal with Lobbyists. Congress for as

long as I can remember has always waited for "crisis" to develop.
It is easier to go the people and say "Oh, the world is coming to
and end" (we are in crisis) and therefore we must do this. They
never think pro-actively or move to prevent a problem from gettingworse. It might be harder to convince public so they wait until things are
desperate.

Krugman, being a Professor and Columnist, is free to call it as he
sees it.

"Not anyone realizes they even got a tax cut" This is the way
with small tax cuts especially middle class tax cuts.

[lindisfarne]

6. Even if we don't need another infrastructure package to boost the recovery, since labor costs will

certainly be low into next year, why not benefit from that?

Obama has said that many projects are coming in for less than expected (Krugman made a reference to this and said that means the money needs to go for additional projects, rather than be saved), so now's the time to invest in infrastructure. And it just might help out the economy (or not!).

But= health care reform needs to pass before we jump into this mess. Otherwise, it won't be.

See what else Oberstar said
Oberstar said a better option than a second stimulus would be to pass his bill authorizing highway, rail and mass transit projects over the next six years. He also said Democrats need to be more patient with the first stimulus.

“Let’s make sure this portion is working well before you talk about the next one,” Oberstar said of the first stimulus. He expects by Labor Day to see 250,000 new construction jobs, another 30,000 jobs in bus and train manufacturing and 25,000 new jobs for work on water projects.

“All of that is moving and the pipeline is in full swing. Then, I think by March of next year, you could reassess and move ahead with a second injection,” he said.
==========

[jonestonesusa]

7. Elected Democrats have not publicized the tax cuts enough

so that it's prominently noted that President Obama fulfilled his campaign pledge of a middle-class tax cut.

I agree with Oberstar that the public works and future infrastructure side of the stimulus was too small a percentage of the bill as a whole. Fiscal help for the states to be used for safety net programs would have helped too as we were entering a long recession.

Unfortunately, a lot of political capital was spent in getting nominal Republican support for the stimulus. But that shouldn't discourage any upcoming effort to conceive of further public investment in transportation/infrastructure/social safety net. Close out these endless wars, get the defense budget under control, and see what needs to be done to build us _this_ country.

My take, at least.

[bvar22]

8. Well DUH!

"more transit money in the stimulus would have been helpful to an economic recovery over the next three years, rather than the nearly $300 billion in tax cuts."

A $750 Billion Dollar 10 year contract with the auto makers to design, retool, and build a National Rapid Rail Transit System using ONLY American made products would have an immediate stimulus effect nation wide....AND,
the American People would have something useful to show for their money.

Jobs...jobs...JOBS!

[SammyWinstonJack]

15. +1

:thumbsup:

[defendandprotect]

9. This is all ridiculous...Bush sent $ because he didn't want to create jobs. . . .

Why should Obama be doing the same nutsy thing? CREATE JOBS . . .
REVISE THE TRADE AGREEMENTS . . .
RE-REGULATE CAPITALISM

[denem]

10. The Tax Cuts were a specific election promise.

Promising to cut taxes and then revising the 'plan' is pure political poison. What has not been delivered was the increase on taxable incomes over $250,000. Yes, the Bush cuts will expire in 2010, but given the election was fought on this issue, it should not have been delayed. Changing the mindset about taxation is important (very) unfinished business.

[lindisfarne]

11. Payroll tax cuts do have a stimulus effects & can be implemented relatively quickly. See link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=8522098
Reich link in #0 shows the effect of various stimulus options.
See also Zandi link in #1, plus Krugman statements in #1.

[Abq_Sarah]

12. I'm supposed to say Thanks

For $400.00 spread out over 8 months? Gee, if that tax cut hadn't been eaten up by increases in other expenses, I might have noticed it.

[WyldRogue]

14. I got a tax-cut???

Funny that Oberstar stated that as I had to look into this so called 'tax cut' I supposedly received and you know what, it was so minor that it went un-noticed because that 'tax cut' was off-set and over-taken by increased costs of other expenses that are needed to keep providing for my family. Was I supposed to say Thank You for something that didn't do shyt for me??

I could use some monetary infusion like the bankers and wall-streeters got because after all, it's my hard earned tax dollars that they were given so why can't I and every other hard working tax payer receive the same treatment?