AFL-CIO Chief: Raising Taxes Will Create Jobs
Yahoo! Finance. Posted Feb 24, 2011 07:30am EST by Peter Gorenstein
What's the best way to get Americans back to work?
Raise taxes, according to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka. Specifically, he wants to raise the federal gas tax as a means to fund infrastructure spending. "We need a dedicated source of revenue to create infrastructure in this country," he tells Aaron Task in the accompanying clip.
"We need to create jobs. The best way to do that is through infrastructure development." Simply maintaining the existing infrastructure in this country will cost $2.2 trillion over five years, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers. That doesn't include Obama's objective of high-speed rails and green energy projects.
Trumka didn't say specifically how much he would raise the gas tax, but mentioned he's shown the President a $256 billion plan to improve infrastructure. If every billion spent on infrastructure creates 35,000 jobs, as he claims, this package would create close to 9 million jobs over the next five years.
The idea would also improve America's fiscal and competitive future, says Trumka. "There's also a downstream effect, you put people back to work, they pay taxes, they don't use services, they're contributing, other jobs are created along the way as well," he explains.
The White House isn't on-board with the plan. Addressing the issue on "Face the Nation" in January, White House Chief of Staff Richard Daley said he isn't in favor of raising taxes right now.
Trumka does have an unlikely supporter for higher gas taxes in the right-leaning Chamber of Commerce. However, the Chamber of Commerce does not support Trumka's other tax initiative: creating a financial transaction tax.
An idea raised by Democrats during the Dodd-Frank bill debate, the transaction tax would charge financial institutions a minimal fee (less than a penny) for each trade they make. Trumka says that could raise another $100 billion in revenue without taking money out of the pockets of the middle class.
Link: http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/afl-cio-chief-raising-taxes-will-create-more-job-535955.html?tickers=xlf,skf,^dji,^gspc,ge,iyj,xom&sec=topStories&pos=9&asset=&ccode= (http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/afl-cio-chief-raising-taxes-will-create-more-job-535955.html?tickers=xlf,skf,%5Edji,%5Egspc,ge,iyj,xom&sec=topStories&pos=9&asset=&ccode=)
Another example of why those on the left are clueless when it comes to job creation. We have heard Nancy Pelosi claim that unemployment checks creates jobs. Now we have AFL-CIO's head union goon, Richard Trumka, proclaiming that raising taxes will create jobs. Hey genius. Obuma spent billions on infrastructure with his $812 billion stimulus. The unemployment rate went up, not down.
And how exactly are people going to drive to their new job (if it even existed) with fuel prices going even higher?
Idiots. All of them. >:(
Quote from: mtcookson on March 01, 2011, 09:54:32 AM
And how exactly are people going to drive to their new job...
A horse, of course! (http://www.emoticonsfree.org/wp-content/uploads/yolks/grin.png) (http://www.emoticonsfree.org/page/6)
Are you kidding? Horses put out methane, which is bad for the environment!
Bicycles for everybody! :laugh:
Quote mtcookson:
Are you kidding? Horses put out methane, which is bad for the environment!
Bicycles for everybody
Bicycles ?? Surely you aren't serious Mr. Cookson. My pleasingly plump arse on a bicycle would look like a cub bear sitting on a football. It aint gonna happen !!!
Alright... alright... everyone is gonna have to WALK to work.
Wait, wait, wait... what am I thinking? There isn't going to be any work so all of this is just nonsense anyway. :laugh: