DEMS PLOT 'SECOND STIMULUS'...

Oct 8, 6:19 PM (ET)

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER


WASHINGTON (AP) - Confronted with big job losses and no sign the U.S. economy is ready to stand on its own, Democrats are working on a growing list of relief efforts, leaving for later how to pay for them, or whether even to bother.

Proposals include extending and perhaps expanding a popular tax credit for first-time home buyers, and creating a new credit for companies that add jobs. Taken together, the proposals look a lot like another economic stimulus package, though congressional leaders don't want to call it that.

Democratic leaders in Congress and the White House say they have no appetite for another big spending package that adds to the federal budget deficit, which hit a record $1.4 trillion for the budget year that ended last week.
But with unemployment reaching nearly 10 percent, many lawmakers are feeling pressure to act. Some of the proposals come from the Republicans' playbook and focus on tax cuts, even though they, too, would swell the deficit.
"We have to do something for the unemployed, politically and economically," said Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.

The House already has voted to extend unemployment benefits an additional 13 weeks for laid off workers in the 27 states where the jobless rate is 8.5 percent or above. Senate Democrats reached a deal Thursday to extend the benefits an additional 14 weeks in every state. Both proposals are paid for by extending a federal unemployment tax.

Also on the table: extending subsidies for laid-off workers to help them keep the health insurance their former employers provided, known as
COBRA. The current program, which covers workers laid off through the end of the year, costs nearly $25 billion.
Congressional leaders haven't settled on the length of an extension, or how to pay for it.

Several bills would issue extra payments to the more than 50 million Social Security recipients, to make up for the lack of a cost-of-living increase next year. One bill would set the one-time payments at $250, matching the amount paid to Social Security recipients and railroad retirees as part of the stimulus package enacted in February.

The payments would cost about $14 billion and would be paid for by applying the Social Security payroll tax to incomes between $250,000 and $359,000 in 2010. Currently, payroll taxes apply only to the first $106,800 of a worker's income.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she is also considering a Republican proposal to allow money-losing companies to use their losses to get refunds of taxes paid in the previous five years. Under current law, most companies can only use current losses to get refunds from the previous two years.

"The issue of a net operating loss carryback to five years rather than two is an idea that has some currency," Pelosi said.
Pelosi didn't offer specifics, but a similar proposal that was dropped from the first stimulus package had a cost of $19.5 billion.
Pelosi said she is also looking into extending and expanding a popular tax credit for first-time homebuyers. The credit, set to expire Dec. 1, allows first-time homebuyers to reduce their federal income taxes by 10 percent of the price of a home, up to a maximum of $8,000.
Pelosi said the credit could be expanded to people who already own homes, though she offered no details. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has announced his support for extending the existing credit an additional six months.

"The question is, would that be just first-time homeowners or would you open it up to other purchasers of homes?" Pelosi said.
The program is scheduled to run for 11 months this year and cost a projected $6.6 billion. Extending or expanding the program would add to the costs.

Lawmakers are also working on proposals to award tax credits to companies that add jobs. Obama's economic team proposed a similar incentive during negotiations over the stimulus package enacted in February but the idea was abandoned amid questions over its implementation.
A proposal by Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., would provide a $4,000 tax credit, to be paid out over two years, for each new employee. His office could not provide a cost estimate.

Pelosi said lawmakers need to hear from economists before settling on a package to create jobs. "What is it that we can afford? What works the fastest?" Pelosi said.

Rep. Dave Camp, D-Mich., the top Republican on the Ways and Means Committee, said: "The fact that they're putting forward all of these things is really an indication that the stimulus was a failure. It didn't work."

Congress passed a $787 billion economic stimulus package in February, providing tax cuts for individuals and businesses, relief for the unemployed, spending on infrastructure and aid to the states.

President Barack Obama and other Democrats are adamant the package has lessened the effects of the recession, saving jobs that would have otherwise been cut. Nevertheless, the unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent in September, the highest since 1983. A total of 15.1 million people are unemployed, and 7.2 million jobs have been eliminated since the recession began in December 2007. (This version CORRECTS cost of tax refunds for companies to $19.5 billion, not $35 billion.)


Who here lives in SanFran? You gotta get rid of this skank



these fuckers used the first stimules bill to put thier pet projects in them and now they wanna finally do the stimules the right way?????

this is unbelievable


if I didnt know any better i would take an axe to this bitches head and get the chair for it. It would be doing everyone a favour.

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well...

i was eating....

then i saw nancy.... lost my appetite

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lol sorry man,


I dont get why the dems would make her speaker of the house. the only place in america that thinks she is not a peice of hot garbage is SanFransico

and lets be honest if New Jersey is the armpit of america then San Fransico is the ass crack of america

theres only so much I can take

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what a bitch

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honey, i forgot to duck

attention:

please refrain from posting pictures of nancy pelosi on this site. it's bad enough my great grandchildren will be paying for her mindless drivel without forcing us all to stare at that greedy maw.

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When her work is done, she forgets it. That is why it lasts forever.
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.

Undertheice who is electing this woman? does anyone know? why is she with us? who could be fond of such and obvious villian character perfect for any movie who needs a good villian?

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obviously you've never spent much time in the bay area. as much as i may love san fransisco, their political scene never seemed to have gotten beyond that rebel without a clue stage. they love the homeless because there is nowhere there for them to sleep, they adore illegal immigrants because none can afford to stay there long and their fond memories of being an epicenter of 60's revolutionary thought has made them amongst the most self-important cities in america. the residents seem to consider themselves invincible. maybe it comes from having survived so many catastrophic earthquakes, but even the wealthy seem oblivious to the damage a few tax and spend liberals can do. i think that, being one of the most expensive cities to live in in the u.s., they just feel guilty about their ability to afford living there.

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When her work is done, she forgets it. That is why it lasts forever.
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.

yes I agree with that I think thats why all these actors are cluless liberal pricks, they feel so guilty about being so rich and have so much they grasiously want to offer my money to people who need it.

too bad they dont see themselves for the greedy hypocrates they are, I guess I would feel like a greedy prick too if I drove a $500,000 car instead of helping out my familiy & freinds let alone any of those skinny kids with the flies on thier faces.

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anywhere there are those who acquire great wealth without knowing true risk or labor, most notably in the arts and academia, there will be an abundance of those who feel guilt for their success. they cannot help but feel disdain for their riches and, by association, the wealth of anyone else.

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When her work is done, she forgets it. That is why it lasts forever.
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.

and we call them douchebags

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honey, i forgot to duck