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News
The Clarion \ Oct . 21,2011
Obama speaks in Asheville on the American Jobs Act
By Caleb Welborn
Contributing writer
President Barack Obama spoke to an
enthusiastic crowd of about 2,500 on the
tarmac of the Asheville Regional Airport on
Monday.
“There are things we can do right now to
put people back to work — right now. There
are things we should do right now to give the
economy the jolt that it needs,” the president
said.
The stop was the first of a three-day bus
tour through North Carolina and Virginia
promoting the American Jobs Act. Obama
arrived at the airport in Air Force One.
According to independent economists, the
American Jobs Act could create nearly 2
million jobs. It would do so mostly through
tax cuts for workers and firms, investments in
infrastructure, prevention of teacher layoffs,
keeping police officers and firefighters on the
job, and providing pathways to employment.
Obama criticized the Republicans in the
Senate for trying to block the bill, suggesting
that they were letting politics get in the way of
what would be best for America, as audience
members booed in agreement.
He pointed out that the kinds of proposals in
the bill have received support in the past from
both Democrats and Republicans. It is likely
that the bill will not be passed as a whole, so
it will be broken up into individual pieces for
Congress to vote on.
The five key components of the American
Jobs Act:
Tax cuts to help America’s small businesses
hire and grow
• Payroll tax cut to firms by cutting in
half their payroll tax on the first $5
million in payroll. Next year, instead
of paying 6.2 percent on their payroll
expenses, firms would pay only 3.1
percent. Focused relief will be given to
the 98 percent of businesses with less
than $5 million in payroll
• A complete payroll tax holiday for new
jobs or wage increases
• Extend 100% business expensing
through 2012, which rewards firms
for making investments by allowing
them to deduct the full value of those
investments from their tax obligations
Putting workers back on the job while
rebuilding and modernizing America
• A helping hand for veterans: tax credits
for companies that hire unemployed
veterans, maximization of career-
readiness in service members
• Prevention of teacher layoffs and
keeping police officers and firefighters
on the job
• Modernizing at least 35,000 public
schools
• Immediate investments in infrastructure
that will create hundreds of thousands
of jobs
• Proj ect Rebuild: Putting people back to
work rehabilitating homes, businesses
and communities
Pathways back to work for Americans
looking for jobs
• Tax credits for businesses that hire the
long-term unemployed
• Ending discrimination against the
unemployed
• Investing in low-income youth and
adults
More money in the pockets of every
American worker and family
• Cutting payroll taxes in half for 160
million workers next year
• Helping more Americans refinance
mortgages at today’s historically low
interest rates
Fully paid for as part of the President’s
long-term deficit reduction plan
• According to Obama, the plan will
be completely paid for “by asking the
wealthiest Americans, those making
more than $1 million a year, to pay
their fair share.”
President Barack Obama kicked off a three-day bus tour of North Carolina and Virginia IVIonday with a speech at Asheville Regional Airport. The president is
touting his jobs bill, which is currently facing stiff opposition by Republicans and some Democrats in Congress.