Posted on 10/28/2011 11:16:31 AM PDT by tutstar
Edited on 10/28/2011 12:25:59 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
(Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama, sidestepping Republicans in Congress who have thwarted his $447 billion jobs plan, has invoked his executive powers to help homeowners, students and veterans struggling to find work.
Touring the country with the slogan that Americans "can't wait" for lawmakers to act, he has rolled out a series of initiatives this week and the White House promises a steady stream of more measures for months to come.
On Friday, Obama told federal agencies to streamline their research efforts to get innovative breakthroughs into the marketplace faster, and to create a website aimed at helping firms that want to export.
The administration has declined to predict how many jobs any of these initiatives will create, with the exception of help for veterans, where the goal was a modest 8,000 over three years. Critics say the moves are political gimmickry that lack economic heft and will do very little to boost hiring.
Following are a list of the actions taken so far:
RESEARCH AND EXPORTS
Obama issued a memorandum to instruct federal agencies to speed up public-private research partnerships, help agencies partner with the private sector, and devise a five-year plan to keep closer track of progress and patent creation.
He also issued a second memo to create a new website called BusinessUSA, mainly aimed at small businesses, to aid export-hungry firms find information on federal programs.
Obama wants to double U.S. exports by the end of 2014 and is on track to reach that goal, although to hit it the United States must grow exports by 15 percent annually from now onward.
HOMEOWNERS
On October 24 the White House announced steps to make it easier for some homeowners to refinance their mortgages, allowing credit-worthy borrowers to reduce their payments thanks to currently low interest rates. The changes eliminate some fees and increase competition for refinancing business.
The Obama administration also extended the length of time unemployed borrowers can suspend mortgage payments without being foreclosed to 12 months from four months, and simplified the process for distressed borrowers to get help with loans.
STUDENTS
On October 25 Obama unveiled a "pay as you earn" proposal to help reduce monthly student loan payments for some college graduates. Accelerating a program that starts in 2014, borrowers from next year will be able to reduce monthly student loan payments to 10 percent of their discretionary income, and debt balances will be forgiven after 20 years of payments.
Current U.S. law allows borrowers to limit their loan payments to 15 percent of discretionary income and forgives all remaining debt after 25 years. The White House says this will help around 1.6 million students.
Obama also used an executive order to allow students to consolidate federal college debt into a single monthly payment, and offer a 0.5 percentage point cut in the monthly interest rate on that debt. Up to six million students could benefit from this initiative.
U.S. students graduating last year had an average debt of $24,000. More than 36 million Americans have federal student loan debt, but only 450,000 have so far taken advantage of the existing income-based repayment program.
VETERANS
On October 25 Obama challenged community health centers to hire 8,000 veterans -- including former military medics -- over the next three years. The White House also asked health centers to start reporting on the number of veterans they employ.
It also announced an initiative to help train veterans for careers as physician assistants, a fast-track to get military medics into the civilian health field. Physician assistants work in emergency care, counseling and follow-up care.
(Reporting by Laura MacInnis and Alister Bull; Editing by Paul Simao)
Really? You expect them to do something? You are not series...?
It is over. Scrape it up off the pavement with 4 orders this week alone and no one CAN stop him.
WHO really is behind him, that everyone is so afraid of him?
I think you’re on the right path with your assessment. I also think Obama is trying to sucker the Republicans into accepting the responsiblity off his back for the economy by trying to trick them into cutting off funding, or other actions that he can blame on them.
If backed into a corner the Democrat, the Leftist “victim” will often if not always look past the aggressor, the opposition and then point at something irrelevant to divert their attention, and use that trick to attempt to make their escape while the aggressor/opposer is occupied with the phony diversion.
Obama’s backed into a corner.
1. Create problem
2. Run around the Country blaming previous administration for problem
3. Introduce plan to fix problem that doesn't fix but furthers agenda
4. When opponent rightfully denies plan, run around Country blaming opponent
5. Go 'tough guy rogue' with pretend solution so idiot masses think you're bullying the 'establishment' for them
6. Get re-elected?
I think Boehner knew it was coming. That's why he said what he did earlier about obama circumventing the Congress. I hope he's prepared to act. If not, we need to bombard all of congress with phone calls and emails and head down to DC. This should not stand.
Obama is prepared to really take power and begin to RULE from day one
Valerie Jarret co-chair of the Messiah's transition team, early 2009.
The time and patience has paid off. The old guard is getting ready to pass the torch *literal maybe* to the millennial generation. Welcome to the Dawning of the Age of Aquarius.
If one reads and believes the Bible, Chapter 17 and 18 may be very instructional.
Now businesses can go to one place to find out anything and everything they need in order to hire more people!
This is fantastic!
Lemme guess...
Here's the BusinessUSA Czar
and our so called media just keeps on covering for this turd and his admin.
So now we have a King/dictator.
Imagine the media if Bush had done half of what this admin had done, green energy pay offs with our money, pay off to unions, gun running, black racists alllowed to go free, racist policies in the DOJ, illegals getting allowed to stay here, states being sued for enforcing the law the list is endles
I AM SICK AND TRIED OF THE CRAP FOR OUR MEDIA AND THAT GOES FOR FOX.
Yesterday it came out the dept of education in NY will not teach kids in middle school homosexuality, eating crap, molesting kids all under the umbrella of sex education and where is our so called talk radio , the phony conservative Hannity on this.
Aye when it comes to conservative social issues most on the right keep their cowardly mouths shut thus helping the left to destroy this country
NAIL ON HEAD
The media is a true enemy to this country and their bias is disgusting and the cowardly GOP stay silent about the media and the dictator just like they do when it comes to conservative social issues.
America fought against a king and this bozo thinks he is one .
TIME TO STAND UP AND STOP THIS MADNESS GOP , call out the media, call pout their bias and hypocrisy and call out this gun running, green energy/ union,admin pay offs with our money.
That’s right!! What’s up with mods anyway? Unconstitutional action by the president and they take it out of breaking news .
Heritage,CAGW,NTU or some other think tank should add up the cost of all these EOs to implement.
not to worry- another Exective Order will declare it all these as deficit neutral.
Wikipedia has a chart listing the number of EOs by each President and summarizing the major ones. FDR holds the record, having issued about 3,500. According to that same chart, Obama has issued only 73 so far.
That statement tells me a whole lot of nothing.
I received an email the other day that chilled me to the bone.
It reads like a conspiracy theory. I'll PM it to you when I get home from work...tell me what you think.
Just sent this to my Congressman, Kevin McCarthy
According to this article http://news.yahoo.com/factbox-obama-rolls-more-executive-office-job-measures-164816910.html, Obama has ...”rolled out a series of initiatives this week and the White House promises a steady stream of more measures for months to come.”
I want all you useless bastards in the Congress and Senate to just quit. I can’t see any reason to pay your salaries and benefits to keep you there when apparently Obama can just do whatever he wants through Executive Order.
Sincerely,
A taxpayer (one of the 1%ers)
Perfect.
Mind if I borrow it for my critters ?
I just called and left a message for John Boehner!!!! STOP THIS NOW!!!!!!!!!
1-202-2256205
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.