On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate voted 68-29 in favor of a $17.5 billion job creation bill that would result in providing a tax credit to employers who hire unemployed Americans. The jobs bill passed in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, March 10 and now is en route to President Barack Obama’s desk for the final signature.
The Basics of the Bill
Democrats hope the centerpiece of the bill will help boost the economy by adding jobs immediately. This centerpiece is allowing businesses to be excused from paying their 6.2 percent federal payroll taxes for the remainder of 2010 on new employees that they hire.
The catch is that they employees will have to have been out of work for at least two months. Once the business hires the employee, if it keeps that employee on the books for one year, the business owner would receive an additional $1,000 tax credit.
In addition, the jobs bill legislation contains an extension of federal subsidies towards state government cuts that were incurred through road and bridge construction and repairs.
Will This Bill Work?
While Democrats hold out hope that the measure will work to create jobs again and help boost the economy, many remember the first stimulus package that was supposed to create 640,000 and are therefore holding their breath that this one will work. However, with the unemployment rate standing at 9.7 percent and not getting higher, some believe that the only place we can look at this point is up.
Senate Democrats said the jobs bill is just the first of at least four pieces of legislation aimed at stimulating job growth. We should see more about these forthcoming bills in the next few months.
Do you think the new job creation bill will make a difference?
It’s a start that ends with employers hiring for the one year, getting the tax cut and credit, harassing the employed individual, then eventually discharging the employee for some ludicrous issue and banking the monies.