Jobs Plan Stalled, Obama to Try New Economic Drive

[alp227]

Source: NY Times

With his jobs plan stymied in Congress by Republican opposition, President Obama on Monday will begin a series of executive-branch actions to confront housing, education and other economic problems over the coming months, heralded by a new mantra: “We can’t wait” for lawmakers to act.

According to an administration official, Mr. Obama will kick off his new offensive in Las Vegas, ground zero of the housing bust, by promoting new rules for federally guaranteed mortgages so that more homeowners, those with little or no equity in their homes, can refinance and avert foreclosure.

And Wednesday in Denver, the official said, Mr. Obama will announce policy changes to ease college graduates’ repayment of federal loans, seeking to alleviate the financial concerns of students considering college at a time when states are raising tuition.

The president’s announcements will bookend a three-day Western trip during which he also will hold fund-raising events in the two cities — both Nevada and Colorado are election battlegrounds — as well as in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/us/politics/jobs-plan-stalled-obama-to-try-new-economic-drive.html

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So does that mean Obama will still have credibility attacking a "do-nothing Congress" come 2012 a la Harry Truman 1948?

[msongs]

1. we can't wait for REPUBLICANS... do nothing REPUBLICANS. every dem should be spouting this nt

[Kennah]

3. We have to wait for Republicans ...

... to lose in 2012.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Kennah]

4. Mostly it un-Constitutional-ly

[Sub Atomic]

5. You mean that "worthless piece of paper"?

[Kennah]

9. I know. THAT old thing.

[bluestateguy]

6. And what garbage do the computer peckers at the NYT have for us this morning?

Cliff notes from their chit chats at the country club this weekend?

[frazzled]

7. Good moves

These are not only real things that will help real people that he can do without Congressional approval, but they highlight the incredible intransigence of Republicans (and a few Democrats) in Congress. They may not be enough, but at least HE's doing whatever is possible from the Executive Branch.

[DallasNE]

8. While This Should Be Lauded

For relieving some pain and suffering for a fairly narrow slice of Americans it will do nothing to create jobs and jobs are the biggest problem Americans face today -- along with falling income for most Americans. Yes, do this, but keep the pressure on Congress to pass a jobs bill. Also, credit rating agencies are again warning of another downgrade unless the super committee makes major reductions in US debt. That warning just makes matters worse because it will embolden Republicans to stand firm on taxes, which means no jobs bill under any circumstances as though Americans weren't already suffering enough. The only thing left is to take to the streets. Do it now and do it often.

[Firebrand Gary]

10. I am willing to be positive about this. That said.

It comes down to, do people actually feel it. What is he prepared to do? We can holler from the roof tops, get people motivated, set the web on fire, but what MUST HAPPEN is that people have to FEEL it, they have SEE it. It has to be tangible, everybody I talk to wants to "touch the moon rock" they want to see the extra money in their account, it has to become real.

[Submariner]

11. Go on a "Signing Statement" spree like Bush did all the time

Just declare what he wants, and issue a signing statement. I never heard a repuke whine when that happened. Git r done. That would be a nice big FU to the racist repukes.

[Hanks]

12. It's about time!

He should have considered doing this when he first came into office and said publicly that he knew the Republicans were not going to cooperate with him on anything.

[fasttense]

13. It amazes me how little Obama seems to be able to accomplish.

Raygun didn't like the provisions of the communications act so he ignored them. He stopped enforcing the Sherman anti-trust act because he didn't like it.

W stopped enforcing environmental regulations and any regulation that hindered unbridled corporate corruption. He ignored the Geneva convention on torture and started a war with lies.

Yet Obama can't even weed out the corruption in the executive enforcement agencies in his own branch of office, let alone create any jobs.

I use to work in the bowels of the civilian workforce agency that regulates and controls the hiring and firing of federal government workers. There are programs and systems hidden among the rules and regulations on civilian personnel that could allow the federal government to hire people directly off the street for just about anything. Obama could have used the unspent and supposedly returned TARP funds to directly hire people. He could have done it despite the screams and idiocy coming from the RepubliCONS. W ignored rational people when he decided to authorize torture and lie about war.

Yet Obama does nothing about unemployment and rampant corruption.

It's as if it's business as usual as the US disintegrates into a government so full of corruption that the Roman Emperor Caligula would have envied it.