How green was Obama’s jobs speech?

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Send in the clowns

Here’s the “To be or not to be” moment of tonight’s speech:

The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. The question tonight is whether we’ll meet ours. The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy; whether we can restore some of the fairness and security that has defined this nation since our beginning. (Full text here)

What are the odds? Not good… looks like the circus has come to town for an extended run, and even if Congress has sunk to new lows of popularity – the latest WaPo/ABC poll has the Congressional GOP at a phenomenal 27%/68% approve/disapprove – they don’t really seem to care.

The GOP’s only jobs plan is to cut taxes on millionaires, but that’s a plan that has abjectly failed continuously since the first round of Bush Tax cuts in 2001 – job growth has sucked right down the line since then.

Remember the ”House Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators?” Of course you don’t – even though they put it out back in May. It read like every single Republican talking point memo of the past 20 years: lower taxes, free trade deals, get rid of regulations, and drill baby drill.

But any attempt to actually stimulate the economy? Here’s Senate minority leader Mitch “Filibuster everything!” McConnell:

“According to the President, anyone who opposes [his] agenda is playing partisan games. Well, the President can attempt to blame our economic problems all he wants on his political adversaries or his predecessors or on natural disasters. But at the end of the day, he’s the one, as he’s said himself, who’s responsible for what happens on his watch.”

And that’s the line they’re going to take: “We will do nothing, and then blame the President for it.”

And with enemies like that, who needs friends? West Virginia ConservaDem Joe Manchin has already said he has “serious questions about the level of spending”. Thanks, Joe. It’s great having you in our corner.

The adult in the room

Meanwhile, there are things the Executive Branch can do interdependently to make job creation happen, without relying on unjamming Congress. Here’s Obama tonight:

My administration can and will take some steps to improve our competitiveness on our own. For example, if you’re a small business owner who has a contract with the federal government, we’re going to make sure you get paid a lot faster than you do now. We’re also planning to cut away the red tape that prevents too many rapidly-growing start-up companies from raising capital and going public. And to help responsible homeowners, we’re going to work with Federal housing agencies to help more people refinance their mortgages at interest rates that are now near 4% — a step that can put more than $2,000 a year in a family’s pocket, and give a lift to an economy still burdened by the drop in housing prices. (Full text here)

As Chris Bowers points out:

In June, the White House Council on Jobs released a series of recommendations on how to increase employment without new legislation. Just last week, President Obama directed ”several federal agencies to identify ‘high-impact, job-creating infrastructure projects’ that can be expedited now, without Congressional approval.” Additionally, last year Robert Kuttner discussed how high-road contracting and tougher enforcement of labor laws could improve many existing jobs without Congress doing anything at all. Earlier this week, former White House advisor Jared Bernstein endorsed Kutnner’s ideas.

Bowers is trying an exercise in crowd-sourcing to come up with more ideas – he calls it “Jobs Without Congress”. Read about it, post your ideas here in the comments, and send them here as well…

You can read the full text of President Obama’s speech here on Red Green and Blue.

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