Annenberg Classroom - Speak Outs - What do you think about President Obama’s plans to help the economy?

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What do you think about President Obama’s plans to help the economy?

Starting on Labor Day, and pledging to continue until November, President Barack Obama has been rallying support for two proposals, a transportation and infrastructure development plan and a middle- class tax break that he says will help turn the economy around.

The transportation plan would rebuild 150,000 miles of roads, lay and maintain 4,000 miles of rail track, repave 150 miles of runways, and upgrade the air-traffic control system. The plan would also help state and local governments make the necessary upgrades to bridges, roads and public transportation systems. Obama also proposed developing a series of high-speed rail lines to reduce air traffic and cut down on greenhouse gases.

“We want to put more Americans back to work rebuilding America – our roads, our railways, our runways. When the housing sector collapsed and the recession hit, one in every four jobs lost were in the construction industry,” Obama said in his Labor Day speech.

Should the government cut spending and reduce taxes or increase spending and raise taxes to help the economy? That is a tricky question that economists can’t agree on. Essentially two schools of thought have dominated American economics for the past 70 years. Keynesian economics, which became popular during the Great Depression with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, argues that the private sector (think Wall Street) is inefficient and that the public sector (the government) is what drives the economy the best. This normally means higher taxes but more government spending. This fell out of favor in the 1980s when President Ronald Reagan adopted the supply-side economy theory, which favors less government spending and lower taxes. Supply-side economists argue that smaller government and private industry are the best ways to help the economy.

Dealing with the issue of taxes, Obama has pledged to extend the middle-class tax cut enacted by his predecessor, George W. Bush, which is set to expire at the end of the year. He said he will eliminate the tax breaks for households with income that exceeds $250,000 a year. The president said that 97 percent of Americans would receive a tax break, and that the households earning over $250,000 a year would receive a break for the first $250,000, but would be taxed more for any income over $250,000.

Obama said in his Sept. 10 press conference that under the current tax rate, for every million dollars that a household makes in yearly income, it receives $100,000 in tax breaks, “which would cost over the course of 10 years, $700 billion, and that economists say is probably the worst way to stimulate the economy.”

And stimulating the economy is the reason for creating the transportation plan and continuing the tax break for households that earn less than $250,000 a year. While avoiding specific numbers, the president said the transportation plan will put more Americans back to work, and the tax relief will help families struggling to make ends meet.

The president’s proposals have not been met with open arms by Republicans, who are hoping to take control of the House of Representatives in November. House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio has spoken out against Obama’s transportation plan and his tax cuts. He argues that a tax cut across the board is necessary for stimulating the economy, and that government spending will only put the country further into debt without helping put Americans back to work.

Appearing on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” Boehner said that he will vote for the tax cut for middle-class families, but that an across-the-board tax break is what is necessary. “If the only option I have is to vote for some of those tax reductions, I’ll vote for them, but I’ve been making the point now for months we need to extend all the current rates for all Americans if we want to get our economy going and we want to get jobs in America,” said Boehner.

What do you think?

Do you think that President Obama’s transportation and tax plans will help turn the country’s economy around? Do you think that increasing the tax rate for wealthier Americans will hurt or help the economy? Which economic theory is President Obama advocating? Which theory is House Minority Leader Boehner arguing for? Join the discussion and let us know what you think!

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Comments

2/21/2012
Springfield, Missouri

Sam
Smith/ Springfield Middle School
Obama has done nothing to help rebuild the economy. His stimulus bills have failed. So, adding more bills and taxes won't rebuild the economy. If the middle class is getting cut, who's taxes are being raised? What he needs to do is not pass bills which will eventually fail, but to really try to get the economy out of the ditch. Cut programs. Don't be afraid. Not everyone will approve of what you're doing. Be like Nike and just do it.

10/19/2011
Sidney MT

Zack
Fontana
What economy

10/23/2010

Sarah
BCMHS, Vacaville, CA
I think that President Obama's plan could possibly help the economy. The middle-class tax cut will continue to help those people. The only problem about this is that it's not fair that the rich should get a tax break if they have an extremely high income, and it really wouldn't hurt them as much as the people who don't earn the same amount. If the government places more taxes and increases spending, it will dramatically dive the economy further into debt. The only way to help the people, overall, is to make taxes and other spending expenses more reasonable. The more affordable things are to people, they can take advantage of situation and get a job, or even strive to do even better in the workforce. It will give more people an opportunity to spend that extra money, not spent for government purposes, to pay for things such as a higher education.

10/14/2010

Angelica R
BCMHS, CA
Obama makes a good speech and is making his plans seems convincing. Although i do not agree with not extended the Bush Tax Cut will help our economy. I fear that it will do the exact opposite. Obama's claims to stimulate the country our just empty promises to me. Giving people a break on taxes wont help our debt. I feel like Obama is just talking to make the people happy, in all honestly the chances of him fixing this economic recession are very slim. As well, the way he is going about it doesn't seem like the most efficient. So in conclusion i do not agree with Obama's plan to help the economy. It seems unlogical!

10/5/2010

Mikayla M-P
BCMHS, Vacaville, Ca
I have mixed feelings about Obama's plan. He does mention any exact number in how much he will cut from taxes. The middle class can't expect much, considering that too big of a cut will further hurt the national debt. The transportation plan does sound like a good idea if it means more jobs and generating money that will stay in America. As for raising taxes on the higher class, it may sound like a good a idea at first, considering the fact that they will be able to pay for it. However, for those who keep their wealth by making investments, will they start to make those investments overseas because of their raised taxes here?

9/19/2010

Lorna
BCMHS, Vacaville,CA
Cutting taxes will only create a larger nationwide debt. With a larger debt, the economy will worsen. It is a good idea to continue taxing people with higher incomes because they are able to provide the money. I think that creating more jobs will worsen the economy because the people will be paid by the government. If the government is paying the people then it will increase the nation's debt.

9/17/2010

Ron Burgundy
Warren Hills High School, Washington, NJ
I understand where Obama is coming from with the infrastructure overhaul, but with millions of Americans out of work, the jobs that this program would provide will barely make a dent in unemployment. Also, with the tax cuts, how are we going to pay for the 787 billion dollar stimulus package? The US is in a budget crisis and with less money going into the government than going out, the situation is only going to get worse.

9/17/2010

Tyler
BCMHS, Vacaville
I think that giving money back to middle class families will help. Although i dont really think that spending even more money on making roads better, just to give people more jobs will not help the economy. It will only put us more in debt.

9/17/2010

Sean C.
Buckingham, Vacaville, CA
Obama's plan will create jobs, but at the same time, jobs will have to be cut if the government is spending money they don't have. While right now construction may have a large unemployment rate, it's just going to switch over to people that hold a government paid job. Money has to come from somewhere...

9/17/2010

Henry
BCMHS, Vacaville CA
The Transportation plan is exactly what we need. This is the thing that FDR used to stimulate America out of the ressession. The Tax cuts are perfect as well, Most americans are middle class and the different cuts on couple and single people is reasonable.

9/17/2010

brian
bcmhs, vacaville
Obama plan may work and help our economy problem, but i dont see it happening anytime soon. His plan will help in the long term. It is a good idea to reduce the tax fund for most familys providing them more money but the way the gain the money is over a period of time. I think Obama needs to find a plan that helps more rapidly.

9/17/2010

Sabrina
BCMHS, Vacavillian Ca
I think that this might just work out, because if Obama cuts taxes then it means we get more money in our pockets which will in one way or another be beneficial to the economy. SO as of right now I’m not 100% sure of this is going to work out or not, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what’s going to happen with this whole thing…. But in my opinion I think Obama is actually going to be doing something good for the United States instead of for another country.

9/17/2010

Justin
BCMHS, Vacaville,CA
The tax cut on the middle class can go multiple ways. To make up for the money that is normally generated by taxing the middle class, the people who received the breaks would need to start spending. The government and other agencies could start propagandizing the middle class population to do so.

9/17/2010

luke
buckingham, california
I think that the plan for the tax break that gives money back to 250000 or below will work. I like it that Obama is trying to help a little bit for the middle class and lower class. I think that we should keep the Bush plan however. The upper class does make a lot of money yes, however where do you think they spend this money? They spend it on helping the poor and donating money to schools, disaster relief, poor foundations and etc. Either way I think that if we keep the plan people will be happy or if we enforce the new Obama plan people will still be happy.

9/17/2010

Tanner
BCMHS, Vacaville, CA
Obama seems to be trying to help, but im not convinced that this tax break will end the recession. It couldn’t hurt us, but I don’t know if it will help us. I don’t agree with everything that Obama does, but I think this is proof that he is trying to help, and I give him credit for that. I think that ending the US presence in the Middle East will have the greatest positive impact on the economy, but I cant make that decision for us.

9/17/2010

Jen
BCMHS, Vacaville, Ca
I have mixed feelings about Obama's plan for the economy. I do not think that the rich, who are making over $250,000 a year, should receive any type of tax break.The only people who need a tax break are the lower and middle class. Clearly they have the money to pax taxes, which is money that the government needs. I do agree that the government should fund more jobs for citizens. There is no way the economy can prosper if there aren't enough jobs for people. But the government should not be funding jobs unless it has the money to do so. The only way I see this money coming in, is through taxing those making over $250,00 a year more heavily than those making less.

9/17/2010

Lauryn
BCMHS, Vacaville, CA
I don't think Obama's plan will help much. A tax break would be nice and will help many families, but not all that money will go back into the economy. Also, I think the transportation plan would cause more bad than good. It might create a good number of jobs, but it would involve spending more money. We are already in enough debt. We shouldn't be spending any more money.

9/17/2010

Taylor
Buckingham Charter Magnet High School, Vacaville, CA
I agree and disagree in many ways. I feel that if you cut the taxes it would be a good thing and we wouldn’t have to pay for all the illegal aliens’ healthcare when we can’t even get healthcare. By cutting it, it will just put more money in our pockets so we are able to spend it and help the economy that way. With us spending more money with stores and things like that we will be able to give more money to the government that way.

9/17/2010

Nyckette
Buckingham Charter Magnet High School, Vacaville, CA
I do not agree with Obama's plan at all. I think we need to reduce government spending. I think the tax break should include all Americans because it's unfair to tax the wealthy a lot of money simply because they are wealthy. The government should stop spending money and sit down and think of a way to fix the economy before taking action. Think really, really hard and when you have a solution that you know will fix our problem, act on it. But you have to be sure that the solution is a good solution. We don't have time to dabble and experiment on different things until we find out what works. We need to brainstorm, get a good plan, and stick with it.

9/17/2010

tamara
BCMHS, vacaville, CA
Obama's plan sounds like it could definitely work to improve the economy. I do think that spending should be cut, but to create more jobs for the public, the government will have to spend money. As for the tax cuts, it's a great idea to extend the tax cuts for the middle class. And i don't see anything wrong with the taxing on the wealthy, since they will still be getting more tax on the income that exceeds 250,000. Creating more jobs is definitely one of the better ways to improve the economy, but it shouldn't be limited to construction. A great deal of people in the education department have lost jobs, and it's obveous that schools are suffering as a result.

9/17/2010

Joanthan
BCMHS, Vacaville,CA
Obama's tax cuts for the middle class sound enticing. they seem good but i think ther would be a great consequence to this; where are the going to get the money they need for the stimulus? cutting taxes means less money for the government. With a budget crisis already on our hands where else will the government turn? borrow more money from China? like i said the tax cuts sound very tempting and surely he will receive a lot of support from middle class families but i fear there be a larger consequence after the fact.

9/17/2010

Macie
BCMHS, Vacaville, CA
I don’t think that Obama’s plan will work nothing he ever seems to do works. If he does this, all it’s going to do is take even MORE money out of our pockets. What will happen to us? We’ll be in debt even more than what we’re in now, I don’t think that we can take anymore of these debts. But if people all disagree on it and he doesn’t go on with the plan, then the taxes will be cut and lowered and we may actually FINALLY have money in our pockets, for once. Instead of always being in debt because Obama has some plan that ends up failing and we don’t have the money.

9/17/2010

Kenna
Buckingham, Vacaville, CA
Because we are in debt, spending more money on road ways and other things will not help with our debt. Giving those people that need the tax reduction is a good idea, but where are we going to get that money from? The wealthier group doesn’t need to have all their money to themselves. They should be giving back to the government to help us with our debt. Obama needs to see that we need to find ways of pulling money in order to get those who need that money, the money. This is a great idea, but I honestly think we should pulling more troops home and then using them and those construction workers to do work on the roads and such. We should be making budget cuts, saving money, pushing for having those whom have the money to give back. We need to find a new way of making money, like the weed industry. Yes, it isn’t a good idea for it to be sold in stores, but the government needs to open their minds.

9/17/2010

Shawnee
BCMHS, Vacaville, California
I think President Obama makes a good point. I believe that Obama’s transportation and tax plans will help start to turn the economy around. I honestly don’t believe that it will be a good long term thing. I do think that by taxing the wealthier American’s (those who make more then $250,000 a year) is a good idea. Giving the middle class a bit of a tax break is good because many have families that they are trying to support and are having a really hard time with money. I think that there needs to be another plan that can be a long time thing.

9/17/2010

Sarah
BCMHS, Vacaville, Ca
How will this work? How can spending more money help us get out of a recession when we are already cutting back on everything. I understand that this will give more people jobs, but how else will this help? Taxing the wealthy will also help this cause, but is this going to be a longterm thing. Or is it this just to help us out for now until we can find a smarter solution to this problem.

9/17/2010

Michael G.
Buckingham Charter, Vacaville, CA
I can't exactly speak my opinion on dropping taxes because I don't know the numbers of how it will result positive. However, I also find his plan comparable to FDR's plan to increase building projects. I'm sure this will help turn the economy around, but I'm not so sure it will progress quickly; though, I'm sure it will satisfy the needs of our people in the process.

9/17/2010

Erin
BCMHS, Vacaville, CA
I think extending the tax break for the middle class is a good idea. It will allow people to keep more of their money and have more to live off of. Discontinuing the tax breaks for the wealthy will bring more money to the government. Although it may not seem fair to the wealthy, I think it is a necessary action. If Obama extended the tax breaks for all people, then there would be less money going to the government, and as the government continues to spend the economy would either stay the way it is now or it would get worse because of the lack of money coming in to the government. As for continuing construction projects, yes it would open up more jobs for the unemployed, however there are many people in our country without jobs that have no skill in the construction industry. Just opening jobs in the construction industry would not help those people.

9/17/2010

Bryce
BCMHS, Vacaville CA
I think tax cuts are the way to go, and getting people more jobs is a great idea if only big businesses not run by our tax money, and debt were doing it. That would be the real help, and not taxing investments is a great idea because that will help big businesses grow and help small businesses start. Sense America is run by a free market government jobs are not the answer. The answer is private businesses.

9/17/2010

Safa
BCMHS, Vacaville, CA
I think Obama’s plan might work but even if it does it will take a long time to make a big impact on the economy. It will create more jobs, and help the unemployment rate which is a good thing. But I don’t think people who make more money should have to pay higher taxes and everyone else gets tax breaks. That doesn’t seem too fair to those who work hard to make more money. I mean I do think people making under the $250,000 shouldn’t have to pay high taxes but neither should people making that amount.

9/17/2010

JACQUIE
BCMHS, VACAVILLE,CA
i agree that things need fixing. but does obama need to spend so much money? Obama's plan to get us out of the hole isnt going to work if he keeps spending and spending the billions of dollars on projects that aren't needed.we need jobs not 13,14,15 trillion dollars in debt.

9/17/2010

zak
Buckigham , vacaville/CA
I think Obama’s plan will probably work; if not then it will still benefit the country. Essentially, he will create more jobs for people without them. It will benefit at least a little, and that’s how you start.

9/17/2010

kammarii
buckingham, vacaville ca
Creating these transportation and tax plans, Obama is trying to create new jobs throughout the country. I definitely see what Obama’s trying to accomplish. I believe Obama has the right ideas, but the logistics of these plans aren’t well thought out. I believe the tax break for people shouldn’t be as wide. If you’re making 250,000 or even 100,000 you shouldn’t be getting breaksThese are the people that need to be severely taxed so i agree with him in that sense.

9/16/2010

Alexis
South Adams, Berne IN
How can this work. How can we better the economy by spending more money to fix our transportation. how can cutting our taxes help our schools and other government funded things?

9/15/2010

Jorge(Vraj)
aHs, antlantis calhon
I think that Obama's plan will work. He is going to cut the taxes of working Americans. This will help the economy because people will have more to spend. He is also making job's for people that is here in America that can't be shipped over to China. The health care plan will help because it will be cheaper for people to buy. so then there will be more...people to buy it!

9/15/2010

Nat
AHS, Atlantis, Georgia
By creating these transportation and tax plans, Obama is trying to create new jobs throughout the country. Think about it. So many people are complianing about the unemployement rate when this plan will provide so much more jobs. All our roads, railways,airports and bridges are slowly deteriorating so our country could strongly benefit from it. While providing jobs, we are also creating a stronger infrastructure by investing more money.This is similar to the great building projects that FDR used to pull us out of the Great Depression. This just shows that Obama's new tax plans are needed. Are you really against paying a little extra in order for a stronger country?

9/15/2010

Harvey
Brandeis, New York
After giving trillions of dollars to the banks and the wars, Obama's program would not really do anything to decrease unemployment by the government providing jobs as in the New Deal. Instead it is a cover for his main strategy of helping the corporations by maintaining unemployment in order to allow wages and benefits to be cut.

9/15/2010

Sanjid
AHS, Atlantis,GA
I think that Obama's plan to help the economy isn't the best one. It is a very slow paced plan. It might be predictable to see it succeed in the near future. Obama is doing a good job, but he needs more critical thinking in his work ethics. He has probably put a mark on some people's lives in the U.S. so that's a good start.

9/15/2010

Kylee
AHS, Atlantis,GA
In theory, I like the idea of a tax break for the middle class. (I like the idea of any tax break!)But, doesn't that take a huge source of income away from the federal government? Most of the country is considered middle class...

9/15/2010

Emily
AHS, Atlantis, GA
As for the road and infrastructure plan, you might be creating jobs, but you are doing it through government spending which has to be paid back in the form of taxes by working Americans. You are still increasing government spending, which is increasing how much the government owes. As for Obama's tax plan, I don't believe it will help the economy. The wealthiest already pay the majority of the taxes. It would be unfair to not give them a portion of their money back, especially if people that don't work at all are going to get taxes back. The wealthiest are the ones that create the jobs, and pay the middle Americans' salaries. To tax them heavy might destroy their ability to pay the salaries.