Obama to Propose $300 Billion Job Package
President Obama will give a speech Thursday. He's going to propose a $300 billion job package.
Obama will call on Congress to offset the cost of the short-term jobs measures by raising tax revenue in later years. This would be part of a long-term deficit reduction package, including spending and entitlement cuts as well as revenue increases, that he will present next week to the congressional panel charged with finding ways to reduce the nation’s debt.
Almost half the stimulus would come from tax cuts, which include an extension of a two-percentage-point reduction in the payroll tax paid by workers due to expire Dec. 31 and a new decrease in the portion of the tax paid by employers.
Will he mention raising the age for Medicare eligibility? Jay Carney said yesterday the speech would "include some new proposals that you have not heard us talk about.” We haven't heard Obama talk about raising the age for Medicare eligibility, only reports that he was okay with it. This better not be one of his proposals. If it is, his pink slip is coming.
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