It’s not a good sign when even staunch allies of the President have such sharp criticism for his proudest legislative achievement. Though you can’t blame the unions for agreeing with the majority of Americans- Obamacare is not working for the nation.
For conservatives though, the value of teamwork shows promise. As NRO’s Patrick Brennan recently wrote on YG Network’s “On The Record” conference call, AEI economist Michael Strain’s “new jobs agenda wins a fan in the Senate: John Thune.”
Brennan noted that, “the senator’s own proposal closely follows a number of Strain’s ideas:
- “It would create a six-month holiday for the employer side of payroll taxes for any long-term unemployed worker who’s hired (that’s about a 5.8 percent reduction in the cost of employing someone),
- exempt such workers from the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate (this won’t matter till 2015, when the mandate is enforced, but it would be worth thousands per worker),
- and offer low-interest relocation loans for people who are moving more than 50 miles away to a place with a lower unemployment rate.”
It’s encouraging to see that smart conservative policy can reach consensus and provide legitimate ways to help the millions of Americans struggling in the Obama economy. It’s key that conservatives continue to show policies that they’re for, because Americans are thirsting for an alternative to the liberal agenda.