Obama Taps Unspent TARP Funds for Job Creation
Voice of America
Transcript
[Music] President Obama announced his plan to reduce the nation's unemployment rate before the nonpartisan Brookings institution in Washington for even though we've reduced the Deluge of job losses to a relative trickle we are not yet creating jobs at a pace to help all those families who've been SW swpt up in the flood there are more than 7 million fewer Americans with jobs today than when this recession begin to get more Americans working Mr Obama plans to tap into the same fund that was used to bail out troubled banks at the height of the recession and use it to create new jobs on Main Street with $200 billion left unspent in the troubled asset relief program or tarp the President says some of the money should be used to give small businesses a helping hand we're proposing a complete elimination of capital gains taxes on small business investment along with an extension of writeoffs to encourage small businesses to expand in the coming year and I believe it's worthwhile to create a tax incentive to encourage small businesses to add and keep employees and I'm going to work with Congress to pass one but the president's plan is not sitting well with opposition Republicans Congressman Mike Penn says any unspent money should be used to pay down the nation's burgeoning deficit for this president or or this Democratic Congress to propose using tarp funds for anything other than deficit reductions is simply a violation of the law some say the political bickering is not helping Economist Carl shrem says small businesses create about 65% of all new jobs in the United States and the real problem is come Republicans Or democrats Washington never gets it that entrepreneurs starting new businesses are Central and CR itical to the growth of the economy particularly the creation of new jobs the president's proposal includes tax rebates for consumers who want to make their homes more energy efficient Mr Obama will also ask Congress to make more money available for the so-called shovel ready infrastructure projects and on clean energy programs M arga VA news
Chancellor Alistair Darling has admitted the recession was deeper than we thought
Sky News
Transcript
The chancellor's tax on jobs. Bankers were expecting to be told it was payback time, but workers and bosses are feeling the pain, too. After the pre-budget report, they face another increase in national insurance as public sector staff are told their pay and pensions will be capped. The measures were designed to claw back some of the rising debt with Alistister Darling admitting the recession was deeper than thought. Sky political correspondent Joey Jones reports. So, will we really thank him for this? Telling us like it is, laying out years of hurt to come. Just as voters minds are turning to an election year, no chancellor would want to have to convey a message of barely mitigated gloom. But circumstances left Alistister Darling no choice. Order statement. The Chancellor of the Exjeer. Remember though, he told the Commons it could have been worse. Mr. Speaker, we chose not to let people sink when they lost their jobs, but to intervene to help them stay afloat. Spending cuts, tax rises, and why? Because Britain is deep, deep in the red. Because of the severity of the recession, my forecast for this year's borrowing is 178 billion. Next year, it will fall to 176 billion. And as the recovery rec as the economy recovers and the deficit reduction plan starts to take effect then it falls to 140 billion then 117 billion pounds and it reaches 96 billion in 20134 slightly lower than I forecast in April. The tries enjoyed ridiculing the chancellor and there was more where that came from. Mr. Speaker, we take these decisions from a position of strength. In 1997, the public services were in crisis. The morning visit was to a hospital because frontline NHS, schools, and the police are the only areas that will escape the acts. The Conservatives say the lack of overall detail on what cuts are being planned is cowardly. That spending review is the massive missing piece of this pre-budget report. lavish detail on the few things they say they're protecting almost nothing on the many things they're planning to cut inside this building then occasions like the pre-budget report are generally quite sober they don't have the same drama as prime minister's questions say but you know there could be some sound and fury among the public when the implications of the PBR sink in because let me tell you this is going to hurt pain for bankers we knew about I've decided to introduce from today a special one-off levy for 50% on any individual discretionary bonus above £25,000 paying for the public sector on pensions contributions by the state to public sector pensions for teachers local government NHS and civil service will be capped which will save around 1 billion pounds a year more paying for public sector workers on pay I can announce that for the two years from 2011 we will ensure that all public sector pay settlements ments are capped at 1%. And paying for most of the rest of us, I intend to increase all employer, employee, and self-employed rates of national insurance by a further half pence from April 2011. The Tories were withering. The message to aspiring families from these tax changes is pretty clear. If you want to get on in life, if you want to own your own home, if you want to save for a pension or leave something to your children, then the Labor Party is not for you anymore. The Lib Dems know better. We've had an economy that's been built on sand on the assumption that property prices rise forever on consumer borrowing. And the economy is now being rebuilt on sand. One final thought, it wasn't all bad news. I will cut bingo duty from 20 to 20%. [Music] Well, that is a relief. Alistister Darling has set the scene. Now it's eyes down for a general election. Joey Jones, Sky News, Westminster.
US congress debates financial sector reform
Al Jazeera English
Transcript
more than a year after wall Street's Financial collapse plunged the world into the worst recession in decades the US Congress is finally beginning debate on financial industry reforms the legislation would create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency give regulatory agency's formal authority to dismantle failed Financial Mega corporations like the AIG insurance company and permit Regulators to break up even healthy banks that are so big they pose a risk to the financial system President Barack Obama supports the measure will set and enforce clear rules of the road close loopholes and oversight charge a new agency with protecting consumers and address the dangerous systemic risks that brought us to the brink of disaster banks that got taxpayer bailouts last year because they were considered too big to fail have only gotten bigger Bank of America swallowed meril Lynch Wells Fargo bought wacovia and JP Morgan Chase took over Bear Sterns analysts say those Banks and other behemoths like Goldman Sachs could bring the financial system crashing down all over again yes I think it is possible and maybe even probable that in a much shorter cycle than you would expect we're going to have this happen again critics say the Reform Bill has been watered down under pressure from the banks they want a clear order from Congress saying the existing big Banks should be cut down to eyes the regulatory reform that's about to go through unless it's amended will let the two big to fail institutions remain too big and no mandatory breaking up of the banks while Congress is moving slowly to tighten rules and regulations the financial industry has lost no time in marshalling Legions of lobbyists and spending millions of dollars to fight reform so far this year the financial industry has spent more than $340 million on lobbying and that doesn't even include political donations to politicians and attack ads on TV they spend Millions like it's pennies for you and me and they spend their Millions very effectively the American Bankers Association says the new measures would dry up credit damage the economy and hurt consumers by credit card Obama will meet with heads of big banks on Monday and try to convince them not to oppose reforms Rob Reynolds Al jazer Washington