Katrina vanden Heuvel: Obama Should Stay Focused on Job Creation

Katrina vanden Heuvel: Obama Should Stay Focused on Job Creation

Katrina vanden Heuvel: Obama Should Stay Focused on Job Creation

Congress is set to vote on President Obama’s Job Act today, and the ramifications could be major.

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Flipboard
Pocket

Congress is set to vote on President Obama’s Jobs Act today, and the ramifications could be major. Yesterday, the president criticized the “do-nothing” Congress for wasting taxpayers’ time and money on debating over a commemorative coin for baseball and reaffirming “in God we trust” as the national motto, rather than focusing on the more pressing issue of job creation. He urged Congress to “get moving and put America back to work.” The $60 billion package in the Jobs Act would create 150,000 jobs and would be paid for by a 0.7 percent tax on all income over $1 million, which would affect only 0.2 percent of the US population in terms of income tax.

The Nation’s editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel joined The Ed Show on MSNBC yesterday to talk about the impact of the president’s shift to focusing on job creation and how the Republican Congress is obstructing progress on the economy. Commending the president’s strong position on job creation, vanden Heuvel stresses the importance for President Obama to “stay on it with deeds and continuing to expose people like Boehner and what they stand for.”

Jin Zhao

Can we count on you?

In the coming election, the fate of our democracy and fundamental civil rights are on the ballot. The conservative architects of Project 2025 are scheming to institutionalize Donald Trump’s authoritarian vision across all levels of government if he should win.

We’ve already seen events that fill us with both dread and cautious optimism—throughout it all, The Nation has been a bulwark against misinformation and an advocate for bold, principled perspectives. Our dedicated writers have sat down with Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders for interviews, unpacked the shallow right-wing populist appeals of J.D. Vance, and debated the pathway for a Democratic victory in November.

Stories like these and the one you just read are vital at this critical juncture in our country’s history. Now more than ever, we need clear-eyed and deeply reported independent journalism to make sense of the headlines and sort fact from fiction. Donate today and join our 160-year legacy of speaking truth to power and uplifting the voices of grassroots advocates.

Throughout 2024 and what is likely the defining election of our lifetimes, we need your support to continue publishing the insightful journalism you rely on.

Thank you,
The Editors of The Nation

Ad Policy
x