Jobs

Sen. Keller's Bi-Partisan Jobs Bill Back on Track Despite Veto by Gov. Martinez in Regular Session

September 22, 2011 by Democracy for N...

Sen. Keller at labor/jobs rally during 2011 regular session

Take Action: Please contact your Representative and urge him or her to support Senate Bill 1, In-State Preference.

Ryan's for putting the unemployed back to work -- for free

September 22, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Details at The Paul Ryan Watch.

Meanwhile, Stephen Colbert explains what's wrong with Ryan math and why it doesn't add up

The Party That Can't Govern: GOP Budget Fail

September 22, 2011 by Left in Alabama

Republican House leaders John Boehner and Eric Cantor were surprised by the failure of their bill to fund the government beyond next week.

The failed vote was not only an embarrassment for Republican leaders, who ended up nowhere near the 218 votes they needed to pass the bill, but it also eats into the small window of time left to avert a government shutdown. The House and Senate are scheduled to leave town on Friday for a week-long recess; unless that changes, they only have two days left to figure out a way forward.

The 230-195 vote wasn't even close.  The main controversy with the bill was money to replenish FEMA's disaster relief fund.  Republicans made funding of the FEMA disaster fund contingent on cuts to a fuel efficiency loan program.

Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D, AL-07) voted against the bill saying Americans shouldn't have to choose between jobs and and a helping hand when disaster strikes:

Lying Republican Talking Point: Tax Breaks and "Job Creators"

September 21, 2011 by Left in Alabama

Republicans are all over the airwaves talking about how President Obama's plan to make millionaires pay at least the same tax rate as working families -- the Buffett Rule -- will penalize "job creators."  The lie here is that low taxes on rich folks somehow transforms them into "job creators."  Repeat the lie often enough and some poor schmucks will believe it.

But make no mistake, this Republican talking point is a lie.  Here's the truth: The economy grows when everyone pays their fair share.

Conservatives have no good explanation for why the economy grew so rapidly in the 1990s despite what they describe as growth-crushing tax rates. The top rates were raised from 28 percent to 31 percent in 1990, and then again to 39.6 percent in 1993—a much steeper rate hike than simply allowing the current 35 percent top rate to revert to 39.6 percent, as President Obama has proposed.