Its politics on both sides and I think Obama comes out the winner there. Obama perfectly illustrated the Republicans are more interested in the politics then jobs. They’ve been yelling for months Obama needs to do more on jobs, they’ve said jobs are the number one priority. Obama said OK I’m going to give a speech on jobs, at which point the Republican leader of congress said no our political debate is more important than jobs, that will have to wait, you saying anything on jobs isn’t actually ‘that’ important our politics come before jobs.
No, the Constitution does not. I’m rather surprised at you, Chronos.
Unless he’s radically revised his jobs plan in the past couple of weeks since he gave a sneek preview in MI mid-August, he shouldn’t be so eager to present it to the public.
Of the four prongs of the plan the only one that will really have a shot at creating jobs is the promise to focus on infrastructure improvement plans…which was what we were supposed to have done with stimulus money. The idea that out of work home construction workers will be able to do road construction instead is a bit ill-thought out…I’m sure there are some people who can do both, but the skill sets are not overly similar. The roads and bridges could use a lot of work, so I’m hopeful that this part of the plan sees the light of day.
Then there’s patent reform. Yeah…lots of people will be put to work if only they make the patent process faster! Oh well, it’s a big win for pharma, so that’s good, right?
Passing trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea is actually predicted to cost at least 200,000 American jobs.
Lastly there’s an extension of payroll tax cuts. That hasn’t created many jobs so far, has it? Any? Perhaps some paper-pushers working for the government got hired.
So…how is the public expected to react when his bestest ideas for creating jobs are these ones? I imagine that people will be pissed, especially if the trade agreements gets into his final draft.
He certainly could summon them at the time of his choosing:
That doesn’t say anything about showing up in Congress’s chambers and speaking. Once Congress is convened in an extraordinary session (which hasn’t happened since the Truman administration, BTW), he can’t force them to do diddly squat; including opening their doors and letting him in.
You able to suggest any better ones?
Sure. Considering Obama has already shown himself to have been more concerned with health care reform than the job situation as demonstrated by making health care his administration’s priority, I’d get rid of the last three parts of his job creation plan (especially the trade agreements. Jesus) and instead do something actually useful - spend the money on training people for the health care positions that will need to be filled soon when we’re all required to have health insurance. Part of this will be directly preparing people for low level jobs related to health care in both “hands on” and clerical senses, and the rest to encourage more people to get the education required to be doctors and more importantly nurses/nurse-practitioners since being seen by a N-P for minor problems is inevitably to become even more common than it is now. Implantation would require both educational grants and actual on-the-job training in to be successful.
This would create jobs in two ways: first, in the short term there would be jobs created in medical education, along with all the support necessary to start a new education program (administration, janitorial etc, and before that some construction) because prospective health care workers need people to teach them right away. Ideally a year from now this would be underway.
Then, of course, come January 2014 these people will fill the jobs that 32 million new patients will require. There is some evidence that retraining programs already in effect haven’t helped people get new jobs, but none have been this focused or focused on jobs that can’t be shipped overseas, so this idea would have better outcomes.
With just over two years to go, there isn’t enough time to create more doctors, but starting now would help a great deal.
Tell me that this wouldn’t create more jobs than patent reform or extending the payroll tax cut.
That’s true; he could just give them his Constitutionally-required communications by shouting at them through a bullhorn from outside the capitol building. There’s nothing about him addressing Congress that actually requires him to be physically in their presence. Heck, he could even bring his bullhorn to the Republican debate to make sure that Representative Bachmann receives his communications, too. That’d be much more acceptable than just sending a memo to the Speaker’s office setting a date for him to stand up in the capitol building and speak.
Patent reform is meaningless unless you are a pharm or running a DNA lab. For them it is huge.
Want jobs, fix the infrastructure. It is a mess.
Hartmann just referred to a McClatchy poll of small businesses across America. They asked them why they were not hiring? Was it due to regulation and government interference/ Nope. They didn’t have customers. They were perfectly willing to hire if the demand allowed it,
Obama did health care 3 years ago and has not revisited it. So he certainly is not spending time on that for a long time.
Are you suggesting that the Constitution mandates that Obama give his job speech in a joint session of Congress? You are aware that Obama wrote Boehner requesting the opportunity to speak?
Yes, because Obama would prefer to handle things politely, like adults, rather than laying down the righteous smackdown he’s legally entitled to.
You are misinformed. Obama is NOT constitutionally mandated to give a jobs speech in a joint session of congress. He could do it in the Oval Office, the Rose Garden, or outside the republican debate location if he wants. It is absurd to suggest that he MUST give this speech in front of Congress.
He is still trying to work within the confines of the possible. Do you think for an instant if he even mentions healthcare jobs the Republican house would listen? They would reflexively reject such a notion. Their goal is to make the healthcare legislation fail, they won’t do anything that might help it succeed.
Personally I’d say sure, make that proposal. When the Republican reject it hop on the bully pulpit and bash them endlessly for not only stopping job creation but also for tying to make it impossible for people who need medical treatment to get it. That not the type of man or administration he runs though, he will bend over backwards to try and work with the Republicans
And the law you are referring to is what, exactly?
Congress must pass a joint resolution inviting the President (or anyone else, if they wanted) to speak before a joint session. That is a rule that Congress has set for itself. They could change it, but that is the current rule.
As for the Constitution, is does NOT say he must address Congress. It says he shall give them information on the state of the union. This was done by letter from Jefferson through Taft. Wilson started the tradition of a yearly in-person address.
You are entitled to your opinion. You are not entitled to your facts.
Quote police. Pull over. Its “your own opinion” and “your own facts”, stressing the objective imperative of fact as compared to opinion.
“You lie!”