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Monday, October 13, 2008
Obama unveils middle class “rescue plan”
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has a four-point “Economic Rescue Plan for the Middle Class.”
Obama was to unveil the plan today, Oct. 13, in a speech in Toledo. Here are the four points, according to the campaign:
Temporary tax credit for firms that create job s in the U.S. over the next two years.
Penalty-free withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s in 2008 and 2009.
90-day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners acting in good faith.
A lending facility to address the credit crisis for states and localities that would have the Federal Reserve and federal Treasury lend to state and local governments.
“We’ve already lost three-quarters of a million jobs this year, and some experts say that unemployment may rise to 8 percent by the end of the year,” Obama said in his prepared remarks.
“We can’t wait until then to start creating new jobs.”
Tucker Bounds, McCain-Palin campaign spokesman, dismissed Obama’s proposal.
“The American people heard a series of new proposals from Barack Obama today, but what they did not hear was a promise to stop pursuing his massive tax increases,” Bounds said in a prepared statement.
“As our economy and our financial markets struggle through unprecedented turmoil, one thing is certain: raising taxes on the American people and American business will have a devastating effect.”
Obama has said most Americans would get a tax cut under his plans.
Here are a few more details in a summary from the Obama campaign:
JOB CREATION: A New American Jobs Tax Credit. Obama is calling for a temporary tax credit for firms that create new jobs in the United States over the next two years.
RELIEF TO FAMILIES: Penalty-Free Withdrawals from IRAs and 401(k)s in 2008 and 2009. Obama is calling for new legislation to allow families to withdraw 15% of their retirement savings - up to a maximum of $10,000 - without facing a tax-penalty this year (including retroactively) and next year.
RELIEF TO HOMEOWNERS: 90 day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners that are acting in good faith. Financial institutions that participate in the Treasury’s financial rescue plan should be required to adhere to a homeowners code of conduct, including a 90-day foreclosure moratorium for any homeowners living in their homes that are making good faith efforts pay their mortgages.
RESPONDING TO THE FINANCIAL CRISIS: A Lending Facility to Address the Credit Crisis for States and Localities. Obama is calling on the Federal Reserve and the Treasury to work to establish a facility to lend to state and municipal governments, similar to the steps the Fed recently took to provide liquidity to the commercial paper market.
Obama’s plan also calls for temporarily eliminating taxes on unemployment insurance benefits; keeping all options on the table to help our automakers weather the financial crisis; having the Fed and Treasury prepare for guaranteeing a broader range of liabilities of the banking system; and instructing Treasury to help unfreeze markets for individual mortgages, student loans, car loans, loans for multi-family dwellings and credit card loans.
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Marist Poll: Obama ahead in Ohio
Democrat Barack Obama leads Republican John McCain 48 points to 40 points among registered Ohio voters and 49 to 45 among likely Ohio voters, according to The Marist Poll released Monday, Oct. 13.
A month ago, the Marist Poll had Obama and McCain tied at 44 points each.
Among independent voters, 47 percent support McCain, 44 percent support Obama and 6 percent are undecided, according to the latest poll conducted by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
The poll said both presidential candidates are viewed favorably by a majority Ohio voters, Obama’s running mate Joe Biden is seeing an upswing in his popularity, and McCain’s running mate Sarah Palin is seeing a decline in popularity.
The telephone poll was conducted Oct. 5 to Oct. 8 with 961 registered Ohio voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percent.
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Schmidt recovering from hit-and-run injuries
U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt, who was struck by a hit-and-run driver last week while jogging near her Loveland home, has been diagnosed with two broken ribs and two fractured vertebrae as a result of that incident.
Schmidt, who was hit Wednesday, Oct. 8 at about 5:45 a.m., sought medical treatment after being hit on Loveland-Miamiville Road, but was treated, released, and back at work in her district office by Wednesday afternoon.
Her spokesman, Bruce Pfaff, said she thought she was just bruised.
But when Schmidt left Friday for a congressional trip to Afghanistan, it became obvious she was more seriously injured than doctors had originally thought.
“Upon landing at the United States Air Force base in Germany on her way to Afghanistan, Rep. Jean Schmidt experienced a great deal of pain and was temporarily unconscious,” Pfaff said. “She was immediately taken to a local hospital where upon a CT Scan it was revealed that the incident on Wednesday when she was struck by a hit and run driver had caused more injuries than first detected at a local Cincinnati Hospital.”
Schmidt was diagnosed in Germany with two fractured vertebrae and two broken ribs that x-rays did not previously detect.
She was treated in Germany and flew back to Cincinnati for examination and further treatment at University Hospital in Cincinnati, and is now “supposed” to be resting, Pfaff said. He said the campaign will reassess her schedule later in the week, depending on how she is healing.
Police continue to search for the person driving the dark-colored sedan that hit Schmidt.
Schmidt, a Republican, will face Democrat Victoria Wulsin and independent David Krikorian in the Nov. 4. election.
