President Obama has made it clear that he wants congress to re-authorize payroll tax cuts implemented to stimulate the economy in late 2010, and do so before they adjourn for the year. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack is appealing to rural America to support that vote:
“Rhonda, here’s the story; got good news on the unemployment scene, as unemployment ticked down to 8.6%, that’s good news, but frankly we’ve got to accelerate those numbers at a much more rapid pace, and to do that we can’t take a step back. Which is why the President is so insistent on republicans and democrats working together to get the payroll tax cut extension into 2012. The President not only wants to extend this tax cut, but he wants to expand it to not only include $1,000 in tax relief for the average family but $1,500 in tax relief for an average family, which will help to stimulate the economy even further.”
Vilsack explains that most are in agreement that failure to re-authorized these tax cuts will be a step backwards:
“Economist on all sides -- progressives, conservatives -- understand and appreciate that this payroll tax credit works, and the fact that we’ve had 21 months of private sector job growth is some indication, I think that there’s some fear that we’ll take a step back if we don’t get this done.”
Much of the thought is that business isn’t hiring because of the instability in the economy, and Vilsack agrees:
“Absolutely, there’s hundreds of thousands of small business owners out there that want to buy a new piece of equipment or hire a new individual to work in their firm they just need certainty. And the failure of congress to act, the failure of the Senate to not to get this thing passed, you know, let’s get things done. That’s what happens in the countryside, you know, you find a way to compromise and you find a way to work together, and the reality is that there’s just been a lot of finger pointing in congress and it’s just unfortunate.”
Vilsack goes on to explain that the continued reduction in payroll taxes is part of Obama’s American Jobs Act:
“It’s an integral part of the Jobs Act. And the Jobs Act is really a comprehensive effort to continue the momentum it does a couple of things in addition to providing tax relief for families and small businesses, it also includes a commitment to rebuild and modernize the infrastructure. At the same time, if we want to maintain progress we can’t take a step back if we’re laying off teachers, first responders, firefighters and police officers, at the local and state level. So, the American Jobs Act provides resources to do all this and it doesn’t add a penny to the deficit.”
And how the continued payroll tax reduction avoids adding to the deficit is by forcing government agencies to work smarter with their allocated federal funding. And Vilsack is appealing to rural America to contact their representatives on this issue:
“Well, to the extent that they've got representatives in congress that are republicans, I think, that are encouraging them to understand the significance of inaction, which is that there will be a tax increase on the part of American families and businesses. And 160 million hard-working Americans are going to see their taxes increased, there’s got to be a way to get this done.”
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack.
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