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Economy
- Enact a Windfall Profits Tax to Provide a $1,000
Emergency Energy Rebate to American Families:Barack Obama
and Joe Biden will enact a windfall profits tax on excessive oil
company profits to give American families an immediate $1,000
emergency energy rebate to help families pay rising bills. This
relief would be a down payment on the Obama-Biden long-term plan to
provide middle-class families with at least $1,000 per year in
permanent tax relief.
- Provide $50 billion to Jumpstart the Economy and Prevent
1 Million Americans from Losing Their Jobs: This relief
would include a $25 billion State Growth Fund to prevent state and
local cuts in health, education, housing, and heating assistance or
counterproductive increases in property taxes, tolls or fees. The
Obama-Biden relief plan will also include $25 billion in a Jobs and
Growth Fund to prevent cutbacks in road and bridge maintenance and
fund school repair - all to save more than 1 million jobs in danger
of being cut.
Provide Middle Class Americans Tax Relief
Obama and Biden will cut income taxes by $1,000 for working families
to offset the payroll tax they pay.
- Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families: Obama
and Biden will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150
million workers the tax relief they need. Obama and Biden will
create a new "Making Work Pay" tax credit of up to $500 per person,
or $1,000 per working family. The "Making Work Pay" tax credit will
completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans.
- Eliminate Income Taxes for Seniors Making Less than
$50,000: Barack Obama will eliminate all income taxation of
seniors making less than $50,000 per year. This proposal will
eliminate income taxes for 7 million seniors and provide these
seniors with an average savings of $1,400 each year. Under the
Obama-Biden plan, 27 million American seniors will also not need to
file an income tax return.
- Simplify Tax Filings for Middle Class Americans:
Obama and Biden will dramatically simplify tax filings so that
millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than
five minutes. Obama and Biden will ensure that the IRS uses the
information it already gets from banks and employers to give
taxpayers the option of pre-filled tax forms to verify, sign and
return. Experts estimate that the Obama-Biden proposal will save
Americans up to 200 million total hours of work and aggravation and
up to $2 billion in tax preparer fees.
Trade
Obama and Biden believe that trade with foreign nations should
strengthen the American economy and create more American jobs. He will
stand firm against agreements that undermine our economic security.
- Fight for Fair Trade: Obama and Biden will
fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support
good American jobs. They will use trade agreements to spread good
labor and environmental standards around the world and stand firm
against agreements like the Central American Free Trade Agreement
that fail to live up to those important benchmarks. Obama and Biden
will also pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade
agreements and stop countries from continuing unfair government
subsidies to foreign exporters and nontariff barriers on U.S.
exports.
- Amend the North American Free Trade Agreement:
Obama and Biden believe that NAFTA and its potential were oversold
to the American people. They will work with the leaders of Canada
and Mexico to fix NAFTA so that it works for American workers.
- Improve Transition Assistance: To help all
workers adapt to a rapidly changing economy, Obama and Biden will
update the existing system of Trade Adjustment Assistance by
extending it to service industries, creating flexible education
accounts to help workers retrain, and providing retraining
assistance for workers in sectors of the economy vulnerable to
dislocation before they lose their jobs.
- End Tax Breaks for Companies that Send Jobs Overseas:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that companies should not get
billions of dollars in tax deductions for moving their operations
overseas. Obama and Biden will also fight to ensure that public
contracts are awarded to companies that are committed to American
workers.
- Reward Companies that Support American Workers:
Barack Obama introduced the Patriot Employer Act of 2007 with
Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) to reward
companies that create good jobs with good benefits for American
workers. The legislation would provide a tax credit to companies
that maintain or increase the number of full-time workers in America
relative to those outside the US; maintain their corporate
headquarters in America if it has ever been in America; pay decent
wages; prepare workers for retirement; provide health insurance; and
support employees who serve in the military.
Invest in the Manufacturing Sector and Create 5 Million New Green
Jobs
- Invest in our Next Generation Innovators and Job
Creators: Obama and Biden will create an Advanced
Manufacturing Fund to identify and invest in the most compelling
advanced manufacturing strategies. The Fund will have a peer-review
selection and award process based on the Michigan 21st Century Jobs
Fund, a state-level initiative that has awarded over $125 million to
Michigan businesses with the most innovative proposals to create new
products and new jobs in the state.
- Double Funding for the Manufacturing Extension
Partnership: The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)
works with manufacturers across the country to improve efficiency,
implement new technology and strengthen company growth. This
highly-successful program has engaged in more than 350,000 projects
across the country and in 2006 alone, helped create and protect over
50,000 jobs. But despite this success, funding for MEP has been
slashed by the Bush administration. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will
double funding for the MEP so its training centers can continue to
bolster the competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers.
- Invest In A Clean Energy Economy And Create 5 Million
New Green Jobs: Obama and Biden will invest $150 billion
over 10 years to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel
infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids,
promote development of commercial scale renewable energy, invest in
low emissions coal plants, and begin transition to a new digital
electricity grid. The plan will also invest in America's
highly-skilled manufacturing workforce and manufacturing centers to
ensure that American workers have the skills and tools they need to
pioneer the first wave of green technologies that will be in high
demand throughout the world.
- Create New Job Training Programs for Clean Technologies:
The Obama-Biden plan will increase funding for federal workforce
training programs and direct these programs to incorporate green
technologies training, such as advanced manufacturing and
weatherization training, into their efforts to help Americans find
and retain stable, high-paying jobs. Obama and Biden will also
create an energy-focused youth jobs program to invest in
disconnected and disadvantaged youth.
- Boost the Renewable Energy Sector and Create New Jobs:
The Obama-Biden plan will create new federal policies, and expand
existing ones, that have been proven to create new American jobs.
Obama and Biden will create a federal Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)
that will require 25 percent of American electricity be derived from
renewable sources by 2025, which has the potential to create
hundreds of thousands of new jobs on its own. Obama and Biden will
also extend the Production Tax Credit, a credit used successfully by
American farmers and investors to increase renewable energy
production and create new local jobs.
New Jobs Through National Infrastructure Investment
Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that it is critically important
for the United States to rebuild its national transportation
infrastructure – its highways, bridges, roads, ports, air, and train
systems – to strengthen user safety, bolster our long-term
competitiveness and ensure our economy continues to grow.
- Create a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will address the infrastructure challenge
by creating a National Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank to expand
and enhance, not supplant, existing federal transportation
investments. This independent entity will be directed to invest in
our nation’s most challenging transportation infrastructure needs.
The Bank will receive an infusion of federal money, $60 billion over
10 years, to provide financing to transportation infrastructure
projects across the nation. These projects will create up to two
million new direct and indirect jobs and stimulate approximately $35
billion per year in new economic activity.
Technology, Innovation and Creating Jobs
Barack Obama and Joe Biden will increase federal support for
research, technology and innovation for companies and universities so
that American families can lead the world in creating new advanced jobs
and products.
- Invest in the Sciences: Barack Obama and Joe
Biden support doubling federal funding for basic research and
changing the posture of our federal government from being one of the
most anti-science administrations in American history to one that
embraces science and technology. This will foster home-grown
innovation, help ensure the competitiveness of US technology-based
businesses, and ensure that 21st century jobs can and will grow in
America.
- Make the Research and Development Tax Credit Permanent:
Barack Obama and Joe Biden want investments in a skilled research
and development workforce and technology infrastructure to be
supported here in America so that American workers and communities
will benefit. Obama and Biden want to make the Research and
Development tax credit permanent so that firms can rely on it when
making decisions to invest in domestic R&D over multi-year
timeframes.
- Deploy Next-Generation Broadband: Barack Obama
and Joe Biden believe we can get broadband to every community in
America through a combination of reform of the Universal Service
Fund, better use of the nation's wireless spectrum, promotion of
next-generation facilities, technologies and applications, and new
tax and loan incentives.
Support Small Business
- Provide Tax Relief for Small Businesses and Start Up
Companies: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will eliminate all
capital gains taxes on start-up and small businesses to encourage
innovation and job creation. Obama and Biden will also support small
business owners by providing a $500 “Making Work Pay” tax credit to
almost every worker in America. Self-employed small business owners
pay both the employee and the employer side of the payroll tax, and
this measure will reduce the burdens of this double taxation.
- Create a National Network of Public-Private Business
Incubators: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will support
entrepreneurship and spur job growth by creating a national network
of public-private business incubators. Business incubators
facilitate the critical work of entrepreneurs in creating start-up
companies. Obama and Biden will invest $250 million per year to
increase the number and size of incubators in disadvantaged
communities throughout the country.
Labor
Obama and Biden will strengthen the ability of workers to organize
unions. He will fight for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Obama
and Biden will ensure that his labor appointees support workers' rights
and will work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers.
Obama and Biden will also increase the minimum wage and index it to
inflation to ensure it rises every year.
- Ensure Freedom to Unionize: Obama and Biden
believe that workers should have the freedom to choose whether to
join a union without harassment or intimidation from their
employers. Obama cosponsored and is strong advocate for the Employee
Free Choice Act, a bipartisan effort to assure that workers can
exercise their right to organize. He will continue to fight for
EFCA's passage and sign it into law.
- Fight Attacks on Workers' Right to Organize:
Obama has fought the Bush National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
efforts to strip workers of their right to organize. He is a
cosponsor of legislation to overturn the NLRB's "Kentucky River"
decisions classifying hundreds of thousands of nurses, construction,
and professional workers as "supervisors" who are not protected by
federal labor laws.
- Protect Striking Workers: Obama and Biden
support the right of workers to bargain collectively and strike if
necessary. They will work to ban the permanent replacement of
striking workers, so workers can stand up for themselves without
worrying about losing their livelihoods.
- Raise the Minimum Wage: Barack Obama and Joe
Biden will raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and
increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time
workers earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families
and pay for basic needs.
Protect Homeownership and Crack Down on Mortgage Fraud
Obama and Biden will crack down on fraudulent brokers and lenders.
They will also make sure homebuyers have honest and complete information
about their mortgage options, and they will give a tax credit to all
middle-class homeowners.
- Create a Universal Mortgage Credit: Obama and
Biden will create a 10 percent universal mortgage credit to provide
homeowners who do not itemize tax relief. This credit will provide
an average of $500 to 10 million homeowners, the majority of whom
earn less than $50,000 per year.
- Ensure More Accountability in the Subprime Mortgage
Industry: Obama has been closely monitoring the subprime
mortgage situation for years, and introduced comprehensive
legislation over a year ago to fight mortgage fraud and protect
consumers against abusive lending practices. Obama's STOP FRAUD Act
provides the first federal definition of mortgage fraud, increases
funding for federal and state law enforcement programs, creates new
criminal penalties for mortgage professionals found guilty of fraud,
and requires industry insiders to report suspicious activity.
- Mandate Accurate Loan Disclosure: Obama and
Biden will create a Homeowner Obligation Made Explicit (HOME) score,
which will provide potential borrowers with a simplified,
standardized borrower metric (similar to APR) for home mortgages.
The HOME score will allow individuals to easily compare various
mortgage products and understand the full cost of the loan.
- Close Bankruptcy Loophole for Mortgage Companies:
Obama and Biden will work to eliminate the provision that prevents
bankruptcy courts from modifying an individual's mortgage payments.
They believe that the subprime mortgage industry, which has engaged
in dangerous and sometimes unscrupulous business practices, should
not be shielded by outdated federal law.
Address Predatory Credit Card Practices
Obama and Biden will establish a five-star rating system so that
every consumer knows the risk involved in every credit card. They also
will establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights to stop credit card
companies from exploiting consumers with unfair practices.
- Create a Credit Card Rating System to Improve
Disclosure: Obama and Biden will create a credit card
rating system, modeled on five-star systems used for other consumer
products, to provide consumers an easily identifiable ranking of
credit cards, based on the card's features. Credit card companies
will be required to display the rating on all application and
contract materials, enabling consumers to quickly understand all of
the major provisions of a credit card without having to rely
exclusively on fine print in lengthy documents.
- Establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights to Protect
Consumers: Obama and Biden will create a Credit Card Bill
of Rights to protect consumers. The Obama-Biden plan will:
- Ban Unilateral Changes
- Apply Interest Rate Increases Only to
Future Debt
- Prohibit Interest on Fees
- Prohibit "Universal Defaults"
- Require Prompt and Fair Crediting of
Cardholder Payments
Reform Bankruptcy Laws
Obama and Biden will reform our bankruptcy laws to protect working
people, ban executive bonuses for bankrupt companies, and require
disclosure of all pension investments.
- Cap Outlandish Interest Rates on Payday Loans and
Improve Disclosure: Obama and Biden will extend a 36
percent interest cap to all Americans. They will require lenders to
provide clear and simplified information about loan fees, payments
and penalties, which is why they'll require lenders to provide this
information during the application process.
- Encourage Responsible Lending Institutions to Make Small
Consumer Loans: Obama and Biden will encourage banks,
credit unions and Community Development Financial Institutions to
provide affordable short-term and small-dollar loans and to drive
unscrupulous lenders out of business.
- Reform Bankruptcy Laws to Protect Families Facing a
Medical Crisis: Obama and Biden will create an exemption in
bankruptcy law for individuals who can prove they filed for
bankruptcy because of medical expenses. This exemption will create a
process that forgives the debt and lets the individuals get back on
their feet.
Work/Family Balance
Obama and Biden will double funding for after-school programs, expand
the Family Medical Leave Act, provide low-income families with a
refundable tax credit to help with their child-care expenses, and
encourage flexible work schedules.
- Expand the Family and Medical Leave Act: The
FMLA covers only certain employees of employers with 50 or more
employees. Obama and Biden will expand it to cover businesses with
25 or more employees. They will expand the FMLA to cover more
purposes as well, including allowing workers to take leave for elder
care needs; allowing parents up to 24 hours of leave each year to
participate in their children's academic activities; and expanding
FMLA to cover leave for employees to address domestic violence.
- Encourage States to Adopt Paid Leave: As
president, Obama will initiate a strategy to encourage all 50 states
to adopt paid-leave systems. Obama and Biden will provide a $1.5
billion fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help states
offset the costs for employees and employers.
- Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities:
Obama and Biden will double funding for the main federal support for
afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to
serve a million more children. Obama and Biden will include measures
to maximize performance and effectiveness across grantees
nationwide.
- Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit:
The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides too little relief
to families that struggle to afford child care expenses. Obama and
Biden will reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making
it refundable and allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50
percent credit for their child care expenses.
- Protect Against Caregiver Discrimination:
Workers with family obligations often are discriminated against in
the workplace. Obama and Biden will enforce the recently-enacted
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines on caregiver
discrimination.
- Expand Flexible Work Arrangements: Obama and
Biden will create a program to inform businesses about the benefits
of flexible work schedules; help businesses create flexible work
opportunities; and increase federal incentives for telecommuting.
Obama and Biden will also make the federal government a model
employer in terms of adopting flexible work schedules and permitting
employees to request flexible arrangements.
Barack Obama's Record
- Housing: In the U.S. Senate, Obama introduced
the STOP FRAUD Act to increase penalties for mortgage fraud and
provide more protections for low-income homebuyers, well before the
current subprime crisis began.
- Predatory Lending: In the Illinois State
Senate, Obama called attention to predatory lending issues. Obama
sponsored legislation to combat predatory payday loans, and he also
was credited with lobbying the state to more closely regulate some
of the most egregious predatory lending practices.
- American Jobs: Barack Obama introduced the
Patriot Employer Act of 2007 to provide a tax credit to companies
that maintain or increase the number of full-time workers in America
relative to those outside the US; maintain their corporate
headquarters in America; pay decent wages; prepare workers for
retirement; provide health insurance; and support employees who
serve in the military.
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