The Hill

Job Bill

Julia Newman

On March 4, 2010 a job creation bill was delayed. The House of Representative amended the $15 billion bill before passing it therefore sending it back to the Senate to be cleared. This jobs bill comes on the heels of news that in February the US lost 36,000 more jobs and the unemployment rate now stands at 9.7%. This bill includes: exemption for employers from Social Security payroll taxes on new hires who were unemployed, funding for highway and transit programs, extending a tax break for business that spend money on capital investments. The House of Representatives added two provisions to help pay for the tax breaks by requiring foreign financial institutions to give the Internal Revenue Service more information to help it close tax loopholes and to delay tax breaks for foreign interest payments.

• Social Security payroll taxes: State and federal taxes that employers are required to withhold and/or to pay on behalf of their employees.
• Tax Breaks: Tax savings
• Capital Investments: The money paid to purchase a capital assets (such as equipment and supplies) or a fixed asset (equipment or supplies not consumed or sold during the normal course of a business but their owner uses them to carry on its operations).

• Argument for the bill: The unemployment rate is high enough that this bill could potentially relieve some of the financial burdens of hiring on employers.
• Argument against the bill: Many claim the bill is not going to help enough people and that it does not give enough money. Some also think the bill is wasteful spending at time when the government is struggling.

Additional Reading:

http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/05/news/economy/jobs_february/index.htm?cnn=yes

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/mar/05/business/la-fi-us-jobs6-2010mar06