Politics
U.S. Economy: Obama proposes ‘Grand Bargain’ for jobs
Signaling that the White House may not be in the mood to compromise further, Obama communications director Jennifer Palmieri said the new “bargain” the president is proposing, “isn’t supposed to be for the Republicans. It’s supposed to be a bargain for the middle class.”
Senior administration officials described the corporate tax proposal as the first new economic idea Obama plans to offer in the coming months, with budget deadlines looming in the fall.
Administration officials wouldn’t put a price tag on the proposal or say how much would be a “significant” investment in jobs since the dollar figures would be part of negotiations with Congress. But in an example from this year’s State of the Union address, Obama proposed US$50 billion to put Americans to work repairing roads and bridges and other construction jobs.
The officials said money to pay for the jobs creation would come from a one-time revenue boost from measures such as changing depreciation rules or having a one-time fee on earnings held overseas.
Obama planned to make his remarks from an Amazon fulfillment center in Chattanooga, one of more than a dozen warehouses operated by the world’s largest online retailer, which announced Monday that it would increase hiring. The company said it would add 7,000 new jobs, including 5,000 more at U.S. distribution centers that currently employ about 20,000 workers who pack and ship customer orders. Amazon.com Inc. has been spending heavily on order fulfillment to help its business grow.
Obama planned to tour the packing floor of the Chattanooga warehouse, which opened in September 2011. It is one of the company’s largest and newest facilities, with more than 1 million square feet – the size of more than 28 football fields full of merchandise.
The plant was the source of tax controversy when it opened; Amazon originally was granted an indefinite waiver on collecting sales tax in a deal to bring two distribution centers to Tennessee. The state’s retailers were outraged that they were put at a competitive disadvantage, and Amazon has agreed to start collecting Tennessee sales tax next year.
