Yesterday, President Barack Obama was interviewed by several cable and network news outlets on matters ranging from Tom Daschle to the Trillion Dollar Spending Bill. Below are some excerpts of what he said in those interviews, and why President Obama needs to visit readthestimulus.org as soon as possible, so he can learn why this Trillion Dollars would buy America nothing but debt.
“Now, keep in mind that our intention has always been that, in addition to this recovery and reinvestment package, that we’re also going to have a housing bill, that we have also got to fix the banking system, that we’re going to have to make sure that, for example, issues like executive compensation for banks that are getting money through the TARP, that that’s dealt with. So we’re moving on parallel tracks on a whole host of issues.” — President Obama to Chris Wallace (Fox News, 2/3/09)
- Most Americans have yet to be told that the Trillion Dollars currently being debated by Congress is just the tip of the iceberg. Current estimates on debated housing bailouts range from $300 billion to another $1 trillion. Add all of that to a possible $1 Trillion Omnibus Appropriations Bill that may be considered this month, and the FY’10 Budget, and we are already talking about $4 Trillion in Spending. Four Trillion Dollars.
“And most of the criticisms that have been leveled and, you know, that are — that you’ve heard on your show about various pet projects that members of Congress might have put in there, when you tally all those up, amount to less than one percent of the entire package.” — President Obama to Chris Wallace (Fox News, 2/3/09)
- Less than one percent of this bill is currently close to $9 billion, which in itself is staggering. NASA’s entire budget is $17 billion. Less than 15% of this bill goes towards infrastructure. This bill doubles the size of the Department of Education. This bill doubles the size of the Department of Energy. The argument isn’t over which 1% is wasteful, but which 1% we should leave in the bill.
“Not only does it stimulate the economy, but it gives families immediate relief.” — President Obama to Charlie Gibson (ABC News, 2/3/09)
- The alternative plan, the American Option, is the only bill under consideration that will provide families with immediate relief. In fact, under the American Option, disposable personal income for an average family of four would rise by $1,300 in 2009 and quickly rise to more than $4,500 by 2013.
“The AMT has been a problem. I think a lot of the public doesn’t know exactly what’s going on there, but because it wasn’t indexed inflation, you’ve got a tax that was originally targeted towards upper income Americans starting to hit middle class Americans. I want to protect the middle class, but I don’t want that to push out important investments and tax breaks for working families.” — President Obama to Charlie Gibson (ABC News, 2/3/09)
- On this point, President Obama is heading in the right direction. If the AMT isn’t repealed, over 24 million middle-class Americans would be hit with a tax raise in the next year. The American Option calls for a permanent repeal which will immediately provide relief to working families.
“The last point I’d make is that many of the critics, what they’re calling for are more tax cuts when, in fact, this is already $300 billion worth of tax cuts.” — President Obama to Chris Wallace (Fox News, 2/3/09)
- A $240 million targeted tax cut for the largest Hollywood studios isn’t the type of tax cut that will help all Americans. The American Option calls for reducing business taxes from 35% to 25%; reducing individual rates to 10%, 15% and 25%; keeping tax rates on dividends and capital gains at 15% and permanently repealing the AMT. These tax cuts will create rapid growth in wages and business incomes, which in turn will significantly help struggling sectors of the economy, i.e. Smart Stimulus.
“There’s no earmarks in it. We’ve made sure that there aren’t individual pork projects in there.” — President Obama to Charlie Gibson (ABC News, 2/3/09)
- Here are just $11 billion worth of “pet projects” courtesy of the National Taxpayers Union: $20 million for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to remove small and mid-sized fish barriers; $1 billion for the 2010 census; $600 million for the federal government to purchase energy efficient vehicles; $500 million for NASA climate change studies; $850 million to bail out Amtrak; $100 million for the Department of Defense to purchase hybrid vehicles; $2.25 billion for groups engaged in neighborhood stabilization programs, such as ACORN; $2 billion to re-start the defunded and inefficient FutureGen, a near-zero emissions coal power plant in Illinois; $246 million tax break for Hollywood movie producers to buy motion picture film; $650 million for the digital television (DTV) converter box coupon program; $248 million for furniture at the new Dept. of Homeland Security headquarters; $600 million to buy hybrid vehicles for federal employees; $400 million for the CDC to screen and prevent STD’s; $412 million for CDC buildings and property; $125 million for the Washington, D.C. sewer system; $150 million for Smithsonian museum facilities; $75 million for “smoking cessation activities”; $200 million for public computer centers at community colleges; $75 million for salaries of employees at the FBI; $25 million for tribal alcohol and substance abuse reduction; $88 million for renovating the headquarters of the Public Health Service; $500 million for building and repairing NIH facilities in Bethesda, MD; $160 million for “paid volunteers” at the Corporation for National and Community Service.
