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Tax Breaks for New Jobs Gain Bipartisan Support

But some dismiss move as 'corporate welfare'

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 7, 2009 7:46 AM CDT

(Newser) – Support is building in Washington for the idea of giving companies tax breaks when they hire new workers. President Obama’s economic team has been exploring the possibility for weeks, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle like the idea of helping unemployed constituents. “There’s a lot of traction for this kind of idea,” says GOP Rep. Eric Cantor. “I’m fairly positive it would be welcomed in a bipartisan fashion.”

Under one proposal, employers would get a credit worth twice the first-year payroll tax for their new hires. The last time something similar was tried, following the '73-'75 recession, employment shot up. “It’s a pity that this wasn’t done a year ago,” says Nobel laureate Edmund Phelps, one of several big-name economists behind the idea. But naysayers say the proposal’s just corporate welfare. “Some bad ideas never go away,” says one Urban Institute researcher.

In this Sept. 15, 2009 photo, people enter a job fair sponsored by the National Urban League in Louisville, Ky.
In this Sept. 15, 2009 photo, people enter a job fair sponsored by the National Urban League in Louisville, Ky.   (AP Photo/Ed Reinke)
A Now Hiring sign is seen in front of a Bennigan's Grill & Tavern restaurant Thursday, July 24, 2008, in Woodbridge, N.J.
A Now Hiring sign is seen in front of a Bennigan's Grill & Tavern restaurant Thursday, July 24, 2008, in Woodbridge, N.J.   (AP Photo/Mel Evans)
A woman looks through job listings at a job center in Menlo Park, Calif.
A woman looks through job listings at a job center in Menlo Park, Calif.   (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file)
Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich seen gives a commencement speech in this file photo, supports the tax break.
Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich seen gives a commencement speech in this file photo, supports the tax break.   (AP Photo/California State University, Fullerton, Kelly Lacefield)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 13 comments
ChickenChopper
Oct 7, 2009 12:48 PM CDT
wow, put the words tax and break together, and republicans like it. it doesn't matter what you are taxing or breaking, they like it.
Snarfeh
Oct 7, 2009 10:20 AM CDT
I think, in the end, the republicans will oppose it because they don't approve of some little detail. They don't know the meaning or purpose of compromise.
alkaseltzersammich
Oct 7, 2009 7:36 AM CDT
I guess socialism for the masses is different from socialism for the corporations. Or is it no different, I'm confused.

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