President Obama released his jobs bill on Monday. You needn’t read it; it has no chance of passing the House.
Back in July, President Obama stated he’s all for compromising.
Either way, I’ve told leaders of both parties that they must come up with a fair compromise in the next few days that can pass both houses of Congress -– and a compromise that I can sign. I’m confident we can reach this compromise. Despite our disagreements, Republican leaders and I have found common ground before.
Well, it’s election time so who needs compromise? Apparently, not President Obama:
Obama’s top political adviser David Axelrod said Tuesday that the administration was unwilling to break up the president’s $447 billion jobs plan if Republicans were only receptive to passing certain elements.
“We’re not in a negotiation to break up the package. It’s not an a la carte menu. It’s a strategy to get this country moving,” Axelrod said Tuesday on ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Meanwhile, how is this package (which won’t pass) be paid for? Tax increases! From Roth Tax Updates,
The President has released the tax increases he wants to see as part of his “jobs” bill. They should be familiar, because he keeps proposing them:
– Taxing partnership carried interests as ordinary income
– Repeal bonus depreciation on private jets
– Take away some deductions from the oil industry — including some that are allowed to all taxpayers otherwise, like the Sec. 199 manufacturing deduction
– Cap the tax benefit of itemized deductions at 28%
In the end, this is all irrelevant. The package isn’t going to pass. The House will take what’s been proposed and will put a few things out, a la carte. The Senate will ignore it, and nothing will happen. And if the package should somehow survive the House (which it won’t), the tax increases won’t.