Poll: Did Obama's Jobs Bill Deserve a Vote?

Not unexpectedly, President Obama’s jobs package was defeated by Senate Republicans this afternoon.

In what even the president conceded to be a foregone conclusion, the $447-billion package did not get enough votes to overcome a Republican filibuster, and it is likely to be picked apart and voted on piece by piece.  

Republican members of the Senate were united in opposition to the bill, which, according to the Washington Post, would combine Social Security payroll tax cuts for workers and businesses and other tax relief totaling about $270 billion with $175 billion in new spending on roads, school repairs and other infrastructure, as well as unemployment assistance and help to local governments to avoid layoffs of teachers, firefighters and police officers.

It would be financed, in large part, by a 5.6-percent surtax on American households with annual incomes of $1 million or more.

“Tonight’s vote is by no means the end of this fight,” Obama said in a statement after the vote. “Because with so many Americans out of work and so many families struggling, we can’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

Jobs bill highlights according to the Congressional Budget Office:

Federal spending ($175 billion) including:

— $50 billion for highways, transit, rail and aviation improvements.

— $54 billion for unemployment benefits and job training.

— $35 billion for local governments to hire and retain teachers, police and firefighters.

— $30 billion for school construction.

Tax Cuts ($272 billion):

Extend and expand a payroll tax cut for workers that is scheduled to expire at the end of the year. For 2012, the legislation would reduce Social Security taxes paid by workers to 3.1 percent of their wages. Cost: $175 billion.

Cut in half — to 3.1 percent — the Social Security taxes paid by businesses on the first $5 million of their payroll in 2012. Exempt companies that increase their payroll in 2012 — through new hires or pay raises — from paying Social Security taxes on the increased payroll, with a cap of $50 million. Total cost: $65 billion.

Give a tax credit of up to $4,000 for hiring workers who have been unemployed more than six months. Cost: $8 billion.

Provide a tax credit of up to $5,600 for hiring military veterans who have been out of work more than six months.

Give a tax credit of up to $9,600 for hiring military veterans with service-related disabilities who have been out of work more than six months.

Extend tax provisions that enable companies to more quickly write off the cost of new equipment, saving companies an estimated $5 billion.

 Tax increase:

A new 5.6 percent tax on annual income above $1 million, beginning in 2013. The tax would be applied to wages and investment income. In 2013, an estimated 392,000 U.S. households would see their taxes increase by an average of $110,500. Over a next decade, the tax increase would raise about $453 billion.