Jobs Bill is Rhetorical Nonsense

After performing an exhaustive study on current events in America, I have concluded that the state of the economy is crap. While my primary source of evidence for this study is that I don’t have as much money as I would want, there is no doubt that our economy is stuck in a rut.

Since economic growth seems to have stalled and unhappy, impoverished voters do not re-elect presidents, President Obama gave a speech last Thursday to unveil a new proposal called the American Jobs Act.

This new proposition calls for another $447 billion to be injected into the economy, mainly through tax cuts to small businesses and employee payrolls. Will this be the final piece to solve the economic puzzle?

Probably not. In many ways, this proposal does not yield any new, groundbreaking ideas; tax cuts for small businesses and stimulus money for the unemployed always sounds really great.

Another familiar problem is where this money will come from. President Obama proposed the creation of a super committee to oversee the handling of the money and to make sure it does not increase the debt, but that will be easier said than done.

In fact, everything about this proposal will be easier said than done. President Obama has a way with words, but the critical component for getting this new bill passed will require a little more cajones than compromise.

President Obama has a chance to the force the Republicans’ hand, since even though he has dismal approval ratings, Congress’ approval ratings are worse.

This means that the Republican opposition cannot afford to be seen as obstructionist and will probably have to at least take President Obama’s ideas into consideration without dismissing them entirely. House Speaker John Boehner already admitted that the proposal “merits consideration:” a surprisingly conciliatory tone from the opposition.

This tone shows that Obama has succeeded in taking the initiative; the ball is now in his court and he is the one wearing the daddy pants. Unlike his past initiatives, however, Obama has got to maintain that aura of urgency and forcefulness.

If he backs down and is seen to be giving too much in compromises to the Republicans, it will be a fatal blow to his image as a capable leader of the country just as the GOP nominees are gaining steam.

This will not be Obama’s last chance to show his mettle before the next election, but it might be his best. Here’s to hoping something good comes out of it.