Axelrod: Hell No, We Won't Compromise with Republicans on the Jobs Plan

Townhall.com ^ | September, 13, 2011 | Guy Benson

[Kaslin]

Republicans to the White House: Hey, not all of the president's "new" proposals are dreadful, so we'd like to play ball on some of them.  Cool?  The White House to Republicans: Pound salt, you uncompromising, unpatriotic SOB's.  Welcome to compromise, Obama campaign style:

 

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.  "The president has a package; the package works together. We need to do many things to get this economy moving," Axelrod said.

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By the way, how much would this non-negotiable jobs package cost per job "saved or created," based on the most optimistic of projections?  Zero Hedge runs the numbers and reaches an astonishing verdict:

The overall AJA plan will cost $250,000 per job created (excluding the interest expense) and $312,500 per union job, er job created (including interest).

Let me amend something I just wrote.  These numbers are not especially astonishing.  Simulus 1.0 spent hundreds of billions of borrowed dollars on an economic policy that failed, according to its own benchmarks.  Even if you accept the White House's crazy-sunny Recovery Act statistics on job savings/creation, each job cost taxpayers nearly $300,000.  The true Stimulus 1.0 employment numbers -- based on ground-level findings, not theoretical multipliers -- is much bleaker.  Asked about last night's GOP debate, Axe patronizingly regurgitates classic leftist thinking on how jobs are created:

 

"What voters learned was that they — really none of them had much to say about how they were going to create jobs now, how they were going to build an economy that works," said Axelrod.  “The president has a specific plan that would put teachers back in the classroom, put construction workers back at rebuilding bridges roads, that would put veterans back to work. There was nothing like that last night," he said about the GOP debate.

Actually, most of the Republican candidates spoke extensively about job growth.  Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman outlined their specific plans, Herman Cain discussed how he created jobs in the private sector, and Rick Perry spoke of lifting onerous regulation and frivolous litigation off of job creators' backs.  Newt Gingrich summarized:  "The American people create jobs, not government."  But in Axelrod's (ie, Obama's) world the only worthy jobs proposals require huge outputs of ineffective and inefficient (see above) federal spending, funded by increased borrowing and previously rejected forms of higher taxation. 

[Ole Okie]

Wait, I forgot the department of labor and OSHA and minerals management service and USDA and, well, you get the idea...

You didn't mention the two year wait for an environmental impact statement in re: hole.

That ought to provide at least 20 "environmental scientist" jobs over the two year span.

[Raycpa]

The absolute gall and nerve of our congressmen. Imagine the arrogance of these men thinking that they can improve on the presidents job plan.

If we left it to our congress, they would operate the House and Senate as if it was a coequal branch of government that was a check on the Executive branch.

[KoRn]

I find myself disliking this small joke of a “president” more and more with each passing day. There has to be a bottom to it somewhere, but just when I think he’s found it, he persists in digging himself to new lows!

[presently no screen name]

GOOD! No one should do anything until this commie is out of our WH! Don’t agree on anything - we don’t want one more drop of his commie agenda.

[Mike Darancette]

We're not in a negotiation to break up the package. It's not an a la carte menu.

It's more like a turd burger. Get it scored then bring it up for a vote, the Democrats might not even vote for it. We'll get the goods part passed.

[Joe Boucher]

Anyone out there pay $5.00 for a lotto chance at kicking Axelrod and a whole lot of other admin officials?

[JimRed]

Compromising with bad fiscal policy is like putting just a little sewage in your drinking water. It pollutes it.

[Gritty]

Congressman Luis Goehmert (R-Tx) was on Hannity a short time ago. He spent all last night and today reading the entire bill.

One of the most obnoxious things in it (of many and he had a long, long list) is there is a provision for turning the unemployed into a "protected class" like minorities or homosexuals. If you are unemployed and you get turned down for a job, you can sue the potential employer if you think you were discriminated against because you are unemployed.

Trial lawyers everywhere are cheering that but no doubt it will have employers running for the hills (or moving to China... where it is still a somewhat free country). This will ruin all hiring in this country.

And that's just only one of the horrendous features in this bill. It is not only a jobs killer, it is an economy killer. No doubt it is that way on purpose.

So Axeldork insists it's all or nothing? Sure.

[WOSG]

I say give Obama exactly what he wants, but then add 3 provisions:

- repeal obamacare
- pass an 18-month regulation moratorium
- repeal davis-bacon

[rdcbn]

Congressman Luis Goehmert (R-Tx) was on Hannity a short time ago. He spent all last night and today reading the entire bill.
One of the most obnoxious things in it (of many and he had a long, long list) is there is a provision for turning the unemployed into a “protected class” like minorities or homosexuals. If you are unemployed and you get turned down for a job, you can sue the potential employer if you think you were discriminated against because you are unemployed. This will be the kiss of death for hiring because the last thing we need to do is is make it harder and more risky to interview people who are currently unemployed.

Trial lawyers everywhere are cheering that but no doubt it will have employers running for the hills (or moving to China... where it is still a somewhat free country). This will ruin all hiring in this country.

And that's just only one of the horrendous features in this bill. It is not only a jobs killer, it is an economy killer. No doubt it is that way on purpose.

So Axeldork insists it's all or nothing? Sure.

---

WOW.

It's already hard enough to get a job. What employer would want to put up with this BS.

Employers are already skittish about taking a chance on interviewing new hires and are looking to recruit new people from a pool of currently employed people who are looking at upgrading their job position

[Kaslin]

Here is an update of the article by Guy Benson

WH: Come to Think of It, Maybe We Will Compromise on the Jobs Bill After All

[ridesthemiles]

All or nothing? Then stuff it.”””

Wanna bet that no one will be allowed to read anything 7 ‘it MUST be passed before anyone can find out what is in it”???

Fool us once-—shame on you, Pelosi & Barry.

Fool me twice?? I don’t think Cantor & Boehner will let that happen.

[ridesthemiles]

One of the most obnoxious things in it (of many and he had a long, long list) is there is a provision for turning the unemployed into a “protected class” like minorities or homosexuals. If you are unemployed and you get turned down for a job, you can sue the potential employer if you think you were discriminated against because you are unemployed.”””””

Let’s see if I understand this:

I have ONE job opening. There are 50 applicants for this ONE job. ALL 50 are currently UNEMPLOYED.

No matter which ONE of the 50 applicants I choose to employ, I can be sued by ANY or ALL of the remaining 49 because they can do so based upon the language in this ‘bill’????

My ad for ONE new employee is no longer going to be out there- online or in print or anywhere. I will instantly withdraw such an ad for ONE employee & NEVER place another.

Hiring ONE & fighting 49 potential lawsuits just isn’t worth it.

Barry—Michelle- Ayers— & Soros sure know how to stop the gears in the USa, don’t they?

Where is John Galt???

[rdcbn]

Exactly.

Of course, currently employed people are not part of that protected class.

So if you already have a job, I could recruit you to come work for me at a lower risk than interviewing people who are unemployed.

This is a great idea if you want to kill hiring of unemployed workers.