By Pat Bradley
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-985574.mp3
Plattsburgh, NY – The President offered a plan that includes tax credits for employers that hire unemployed veterans, workers with a service-related disability or unemployed individuals that have been seeking work for more than 6 months. His plan would increase and extend a payroll tax cut for workers. It also provides a tax cut to employers.
But economists in the region say the plan is unlikely to create many jobs nor jumpstart the economy as strongly as the President predicts. SUNY Plattsburgh Professor of Economics and Finance Colin Read notes that the proposal addressed tens of thousands of new jobs, when millions of people are un- or under-employed.
Vermont Economy Newsletter publisher and Economist Dick Heaps anticipates only a minor economic boost.
Hugh Johnson Advisors Chairman and Chief Economist Hugh Johnson says how much the plan helps increase jobs and the economy depends on what parts of the plan pass.
The economists are also dubious about the Presidents affirmation that the plan is paid for. Hugh Johnson.
Again, Dick Heaps.
The President plans to rally public support for his plan and is beginning with a stop today in Richmond, VA.