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John Boehner: Stimulus bill threatens Ohio jobs

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12:54 PM Tuesday, May 5, 2009

We recently marked the 100th day of President Barack Obama’s tenure in the White House. While I like the president personally, I disagree with his economic policies which, I believe, are reviving the era of big government that President Bill Clinton once said was “over” and are threatening the jobs of tens of thousands of Ohioans.

Middle-class families and small businesses are struggling in today’s economy, and they need help. Instead of providing help, the president and Congress have raised taxes on the middle class, paved the way for a new national energy tax that will affect every family and small business, and embarked on a spending and borrowing spree that unfortunately our children and grandchildren will pay for.

Contained within the federal budget recently passed by the Democratic Congress is a national energy tax that will cost every American family and small business as much as $3,100 a year – and the revenue from this tax will be used to pay for an expansion of government-run health care. What’s more, the tax cut that President Obama promised to middle-class families during his campaign was tossed out by congressional Democrats – and the president didn’t so much as blink. These decisions make it harder for our economy to create jobs, and harder for middle-class families to make ends meet.

My Republican colleagues and I voted together against this budget because we believe America can do better, and we offered a fully detailed alternative free of the higher taxes and jobs-killing policies that mark the budget that was actually passed. You can read our proposal, “The Path to Prosperity,” on my Web site (www.JohnBoehner.House.Gov).

The so-called “stimulus” spending bill rushed through Congress may actually hurt the economy and threaten jobs, too. You read that right. The Buckeye Institute, a nonprofit think tank based in Columbus, recently issued a report on the likely impact of the trillion-dollar “stimulus” law on Ohio. The report, “The Economic Impact of Federal Spending on State Economic Performance: An Ohio Perspective,” notes:

“Federal government spending comes with costs; it should not be expected as the free lunch it is frequently thought to be. Every dollar the government spends must first be removed from the pocket of the private sector – through higher taxes today, or higher borrowing today, implying higher taxes tomorrow. Either way, government spending crowds out private-sector spending, diminishing the private economy’s rate of growth. In other words, increased government spending makes citizens poorer because it takes their money now while reducing their future income.”

In Ohio, the Buckeye Institute estimates the eventual cost of this massive influx of federal dollars will be the loss of between 66,400 and 91,200 jobs. At a time when Ohio’s unemployment is 9.7 percent, the highest it’s been in 25 years, working families in Ohio can hardly absorb such a hit.

The Buckeye Institute is not alone in predicting the “stimulus” may hurt the economy. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the same thing when it analyzed the legislation, concluding it would likely do more harm than good to our nation’s economy over the long haul. But the Democratic Congress, seeking a political victory, dismissed these warnings and passed it anyway.

I often like to highlight the folly of politicians spending money we don’t have. Many workers have become familiar with a concept known as “Tax Freedom Day,” which is the day on which Americans begin working for themselves each year, after having covered Uncle Sam’s tax bill for the year. “Debt Day” is very similar. It is the day of the fiscal year – beginning on Oct. 1 of the previous calendar year – on which total government spending exceeds total federal revenues. This year, Debt Day fell on April 26 – about three months earlier than last year, and barely 100 days into President Obama’s term.

Washington’s attitude gives new meaning to the common sales phrase “buy now, pay later.” Congress and the White House have burned through our government’s “income” for the current fiscal year – a practice that shows no signs of stopping. In light of the Buckeye Institute’s report showing the loss of up to 91,000 jobs from the so-called stimulus package alone, one must wonder how many more jobs Ohio – and our nation – will lose as we return to the Era of Big Government.

U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester Twp., represents Ohio’s 8th District.

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What Bushy boy didn't tear down obama is going to bankrupt.Seriously if any one can support any of these clowns in dc they just haven't read up on what they are commenting about.Our Government has handed the key to our nation to the communist chinese they could send us all into soup lines and chaos by simply not buying any more of our debt.But is that keeping obama and the dems from spending more and more? figure it out.

fedup
12:23 AM, 5/8/2009

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Hopeful future? Don’t understand? Interesting. Well, I understand: the CBO’s analysis; that foreign countries own 49% of our debt; and that total indebtedness for current liabilities and unfunded promises may reach $56.4 Trillion – or $483,000 per hhld. Plus, I understand that 50% of 2008’s budget was spent on SS, Medicare, Medicaid and net interest. That’s hardly hopeful. Yet you support spending a lot more. Then again, people who don’t pay and have their hands out the farthest usually do.

Anon
3:32 PM, 5/7/2009

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fiscally irresponsible and unsustainable" Sounds like the Bush Administration. Don't you people understand? The President has to spend, and why not on things that the country needs, because of everything Bush did wrong. The only way this economy will get better is if the President creates controlled, massive stimulation to counteract the damage Bush has done. It is better to "invest" in a hopeful future than to continue the irrationality of the Bush years.

Savanation
1:59 PM, 5/7/2009

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Blast the messenger as you’d like, but the message is pretty clear: government spending is already out of control and burdening taxpayers and businesses even further to pay for additional “investments”, i.e. spending increases to support consumptive stimuli and costlier entitlement programs, is fiscally irresponsible and unsustainable.

Anon
9:47 AM, 5/7/2009

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Mr. Boehner: You and your Republican colleagues failed to stand up to the liberals when you held the reins of power! How can you possibly expect to oppose them from the minority position???

The huge number of American conservatives have absolutely NO representation in Washington D. C.!

Mike Presta
5:43 PM, 5/6/2009

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