AS JOB growth has ground to a halt and stock markets have swooned, the outlook for both the American economy and Barack Obama’s presidency has dimmed. The jobs package he unveiled in a much anticipated speech before Congress on September 8th was a calculated attempt to resuscitate both. His “American Jobs Act” consists of a hefty $447 billion worth (roughly 3% of GDP) of new and renewed tax cuts and spending that, he hopes, will prevent a fiscal vice from pushing the economy into recession early next year. Its provisions were carefully chosen to stimulate job growth immediately while maximising the political price Republicans will pay to obstruct it. Read the rest of this entry »

President Barack Obama’s new jobs plan seeks to coax wary employers to invest and hire more by slicing their share of payroll taxes next year.

But while the payroll-tax cuts figure to appeal to Republican lawmakers, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor spoke favorably about the idea Thursday, the cuts face some resistance. Many Republicans and even some small-business advocates are opposed to more temporary tax breaks. Some liberal Democrats are nervous about reducing the taxes that are paid to support Social Security, even though the administration promises its plan would have no impact on the program. Read the rest of this entry »