AYFKM? $85 Billion New Stimulus (Oops) Jobs Bill

Wait until you read what the top two senators of the Finance Committee, Baucus and Grassley are putting forward as a jobs bill.  The left was bitchin’ that the $787 Billion Stimulus wasn’t big enough to get the job done and so far most of that Porkulus bill hasn’t even been spent.  Now they want to throw a drop of water on a ‘California wildfire’.  I have not yet read the bill, but I already know by reading the following article, I am going to be saying “Lord Deliver us from these fools”.

Baucus, Grassley Propose New Jobs Bill

The top Democrat and Republican on the Senate tax-writing committee today unveiled the main elements of a new jobs and economic recovery measure, hoping to put some rare bipartisan momentum behind major legislation.

Senators Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana and chairman of the Finance Committee, and Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the panel’s senior Republican, released a draft $85 billion plan that would give employers a payroll tax exemption for hiring those who have been unemployed for at least 60 days. The bill would also provide a $1,000 income tax credit for new workers retained for 52 weeks. (A draft of the bill is available here.)

Here in Hawaii, the unemployment insurance tax on employers is about to go from $90 to $1070 per employee.  Math states that $1070 is greater than $1000.  How about all the rest of the costs that small business incurs?  I am SURE small business is going to be lining up for this $1K.

The measure, which is scheduled to be reviewed by Senate Democrats this afternoon, also seeks to spur capital investment by extending tax benefits, by providing a federal subsidy for bonds issued for public works projects, and by taking steps to improve highway and transit construction. Jobless benefits and health care coverage for the unemployed would also be extended in the measure.

The costs of the bill would be offset by closing tax loopholes and shifting some money to be made available for future improvements in the Medicare program.

Calling the provisions time-sensitive, the two lawmakers said the bill was drafted in an effort to respond to current economic conditions, “We believe they reflect a balanced set of member views and priorities,” the two senators said in a joint statement.

Mindful of the difficulties of bipartisan cooperation in the polarized Senate, the lawmakers warned their colleagues not to alter the shape of the plan too significantly if they hoped to rally both parties behind it.

I will update this post after I have read the bill and add relevant data.