Following the unveiling of President Obama's second part of his debt-reduction stimulus plans, Monday morning, September 19, White House Budget Director Jack Lew, made an appearance on Fox News urging passage of the the president's plan. The director, himself, stressed the plan would create jobs - "right away."
When pressed for stats, Lew acknowledged that the Office of Management and Budget had no jobs nor domestic product growth projections; therefore, he relied upon outside source projections with no accountability. (Refer to: OBM drops bombshell: No official job or GPD projections on Obama's debt plan)
Lew's claim evokes memories of previous Obama administration promises of "Shovel Ready jobs", which failed to materialize, and later became the butt of a wry moment of laughter by President Obama. Lew emphatically expressed his opinion that the importance of this newest Obama plan for economic growth was different from all others because "It would create jobs right away with the American Jobs Act the president spoke to Congress about just ten days ago."
Lew also spoke, though very generally, of what kinds of jobs would be created. However, "jobs saved" were again lumped again under the term of job creation, such as "keeping teachers and firemen and policemen on the rolls," along with adding new infrastructure jobs.
Central to funding of the two plans is a tax increase on "millionaires and billionaires". When asked, specifically, by host Jenna Lee, if the increased revenues would be applied strictly to the debt, Lou was unwilling to commit - saying instead that, ultimately, wherever the additional funds were applied, "economic growth and deficit reduction" would result. (Refer to Warning from the White House to FOX: Be careful how you use the term "millionaires and billionaires".)
Not everyone is supportive of all parts of the President's dual plans to encourage economical growth. Former President Clinton has twice cautioned the president about the perils of raising taxes before a jobs plan is fully implemented and Americans are back at work. Refer to Bill Clinton hits Obama on raising taxes: Get 'people back to work' first.
Highlights from White House Budget Director on Obama's Economic Jobs and Growth Debt Reduction Plans:
- Congress should pass Obama's debt reduction plan and his jobs act because they work together.
- The plans will create jobs "right away." (Shovel-ready jobs?)
- "Jobs saved" will be lumped into jobs created when the resulting jobs are counted.
- President Obama created a jobs plan but didn't do a jobs projection to back up his claims that it would work.
- New taxes will not be directed specifically towards debt reduction.
- It would be better if we, and the media, were careful about using terms such as "millionaires and billionaires," a term President Obama frequently uses.
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