Research Briefing

Wagering Billions Of Dollars Only To Lose Millions Of Jobs, Obama’s Next Gambles Will Only Make Things Worse

OBAMA $800+ BILLION ECONOMIC GAMBLES HAVE LED TO MILLIONS OF LOST JOBS

After Passing $787 Billion Stimulus In February, Over 2.6 Million American Jobs Lost, Unemployment Grows To 9.8 Percent. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 10/2/09)

• Including 263,000 Americans Losing Their Jobs In September. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 10/2/09)

After $36 Billion Government Takeover, General Motors To Shed As Many As 13,000 Jobs After Shutting Down Saturn. “General Motors said today it would shut down Saturn after respected Detroit businessman Roger Penske shocked GM and 350 Saturn dealers by saying that his plans to buy the storied brand had fallen apart. The announcement came a day before GM and its dealers expected the deal to be finalized. The failure could cost as many as 13,000 jobs at dealerships nationwide and GM.” (Tim Higgins, “Penske-Saturn Deal Collapses After Renault-Nissan Backs Out,” Detroit Free Press, 9/30/09)

BUT IT’S NOT STOPPING DEMS FROM PUSHING OBAMA’S NEXT JOB-KILLING GAMBLES

Obama, Congressional Dems Rushing Through Obama’s Health Care Experiment. “As the Finance Committee continued into the second week of marking up its bill, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) surprised colleagues on Wednesday by canceling a weeklong Columbus Day recess … Reid’s move came after White House officials publicly called on lawmakers to pass a final bill by Thanksgiving … The comments suggest the White House is trying to light a fire under congressional negotiators, but it doesn’t appear to be working.” (Alexander Bolton and Sam Youngman, “New Focus As The Democrats Sense That Healthcare Clock Ticking Fast,” The Hill, 9/30/09)

• Which Includes Job-Killing Taxes On Small Business. OBAMA-REID JOB TAX: “The research and data on the devastating impact of an employer mandate is clear – it is a job killer … hardly what this country needs in these challenging economic times …” OBAMA-PELOSI SMALL BUSINESS SUCCESS TAX:  “This [surtax] would hit job creators especially hard because more than six of every 10 who earn that much are small business owners, operators or investors, according to a 2007 Treasury study ... America’s successful small businesses would pay higher tax rates than the Fortune 500, and for that matter than most companies around the world ... “ (National Federation of Independent Business, “Health Reform Must Help, Not Harm Small Businesses,” Press Release, 6/10/09; Editorial, “The Small Business Surtax,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/14/09)

Senate Dems Introduce Their Version Of National Energy Tax, “More Stringent” Than House Version. “The Senate climate change bill to be introduced Wednesday will seek to set even more stringent regulations on emissions than is called for in legislation passed by the House. The draft cap-and-trade bill to be introduced tomorrow by Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) will call for a 20 percent reduction in emissions by 2020, compared to the 17 percent reduction mandated by the bill which passed the House in late June.” (Michael O’Brien, “Senate Climate Bill Aims For More Aggressive Targets Than House,” The Hill’s “Blog Briefing Room” Blog, 9/29/09)

• That Could Mean Nearly 1 Million Jobs Lost Per Year. “Overall, a cap-and-trade system that reduces annual GDP by 0.34 percent per year can be expected to reduce U.S. employment by roughly 964,900 jobs per year, reduce household earnings by $37.8 billion, and reduce total U.S. economic output by $136.1 billion.” (Andrew Chamberlain, “Who Pays For Climate Policy? New Estimates Of The Household Burden And Economic Impact Of A U.S. Cap-And-Trade System,” Tax Foundation, 3/09)

Senate Dems Forge Ahead With “Employee Free Choice Act.” “A key Senate negotiator trying to advance a contentious union-organizing bill said a modified version could pass the upper chamber this year … Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is one of a half-dozen senators trying to craft a compromise on the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which if passed would make union organizing much easier … Brown expressed confidence that Congress will at some point move the union bill — if not this year, then next — saying senators have made progress on negotiating a new version of the bill.” (Kevin Bogardus, “Key Dems Confident Card-Check Will Pass,” The Hill, 10/1/09)

• Which Will Increase Unemployment Rate By 1% For Every 3% Gained In Union Membership. "The precise effect on unemployment will depend on the degree to which EFCA increases union density, but for every 3 percentage points gained in union membership through card checks and mandatory arbitration, the following year's unemployment rate is predicted to increase by 1 percentage point and job creation is predicted to fall by around 1.5 million jobs." (Anne Layne-Farrar, "An Empirical Assessment of the Employee Free Choice Act: The Economic Implications," SSRN.com, 3/4/09)