Obama Asks to Unveil Jobs Plan to Congress

For starters, wrongly blame Obama for unemployment

(NEWSER) - Republicans have won the political argument over the economy with a "nifty" two-step strategy, writes Jonathan Chait. First, blame President Obama for unemployment by focusing on the simple—make that simplistic—fact that more people are out of work now than when he took office. Second, beat him up even more as a whiner when he rightly points out that he inherited this mess. More»

They're down over the last decade, in contrast to overall numbers

(NEWSER) - The group getting hit the hardest by plummeting wages caused by high unemployment is the young. The hourly pay for male college graduates ages 23 to 29 fell 11% over the past decade to $21.68 while their female counterparts saw a dip of 7.6% to $18.80, reports the Wall Street Journal . By contrast, the wages for production workers and non-supervisors of all ages ticked up 3% over the same period. More»

Would grow economy 2%, says expert

(NEWSER) - President Obama’s jobs plan would put some 1.9 million people back to work and grow the economy 2%, says Moody’s chief economist. The plan could slice the unemployment rate by a percentage point, adds Mark Zandi, whose analysis comes as the president heads to Virginia to push his proposal. Obama is set to speak at the University of Richmond’s 9,000-seat arena this morning, UPI reports. More»

He has to offer specific solutions, not platitudes: John Nichols

(NEWSER) - President Obama gives his jobs speech next week, and John Nichols of the Nation has some words of advice: Don't blow it. This speech cannot be political boilerplate, for the sake of Obama's presidency and the economy. Nichols offers some suggestions:

• Be specific: Skip vague generalities. He must offer "specific plans, specific goals and specific timelines."
• No compromise: Obama must make clear that his plan can't be watered down—what he failed to do with the 2009 stimulus bill.

He asks president to postpone address to joint session of Congress

(NEWSER) - This might not bode well for President Obama's chances of getting Republicans to go along with his jobs plan: The two sides can't even agree on when he should unveil it. In response to Obama's request to address a joint session of Congress on Sept. 7, John Boehner has asked him to postpone the speech one night, reports the Hill . Boehner noted in his letter that the House isn't scheduled to reconvene until 6:30 on the 7th, which would raise "logistical impediments" in getting the chamber ready for a speech 90 minutes later. More»