(ThyBlackMan.com) The Tax Holiday legislation was successfully enacted and signed into law in private, away from the lights of glaring cameras and the public, by the President of the United States on February 22, 2012. That is unusual for a piece of legislation of its magnitude which received so much media attention. The debacle or failure of the legislation has nothing to do with its enactment, but with its quality and ultimate price of passage. It reveals something disturbingly troubling about this Administration and the value it places upon Black support.
Republicans in late December of 2011, refused to give the President enough votes to pass the legislation now known as the Payroll Tax Holiday Plan, and instead granted an extension of the legislation for only two months. To have the Payroll Tax Holiday legislation extended beyond two months to the end of 2012, the measure which was officially renamed, “The Middle Class Tax Relief 
and Job Creation Act of 2012,” the President and the Democratic Party ceded among other changes, the following to the Republicans:
1) The duration of unemployment benefits was reduced. By the end of this year, the longest anyone can claim unemployment benefits will be reduced to 73 weeks from 99 weeks. (The difference is more than 6 months in benefits, gone!).
2) States will be able to require drug tests of some benefit recipients.
3) New civilian federal employees and members of Congress will pay more for their pensions. The “benefits” of the legislation are, a reduction in the payroll taxes to the Social Security Trust Fund of two percentage points through the end of the year for a purported 160 millions workers or approximately $83.00 per month credit to the paychecks of those workers with a household income of $50,000.00. The act also provides for 100% federal funding for extended unemployment insurance benefits and delays a rate deduction for physicians reimbursement under the Medicare program.
The reduction in the duration of unemployment benefits will hit the African
American community like a ton of bricks because as the old saying goes, “Blacks are usually the first fired and last hired!” This saying, to some extent is
reflected in the national unemployment rate. The White unemployment rate for January was 7.4% and the Black unemployment rate was 13.6%. This compromise caused an uproar in the Congressional Black Caucus. Out of the forty Democratic Party voting Caucus members, fourteen voted “NO” against the legislation. Among the Caucus members voting “NO” was Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, Chairman of the Black Caucus, Alcee Hastings and Frederica Wilson of Florida. Among Black Caucus members supporting the legislation were Maxine Waters of California, John Lewis of Georgia and Jessie Jackson Jr. of Illinois. For a complete list of how other Congressional Representatives voted, go to http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/112/house/2/votes/72/.
Does this mean we should not vote for Mr. Obama? No, it does not mean that at all. Look, our position as the most supportive group of this President should be straight forward. These pro Obama folks are asking us to cast our vote for this President against the back drop of the worst conditions economically in the Black community since the Great Depression. And this slap in the face, caused by this legislation does not help matters. For heaven sake, the Black community has been in double digit unemployment for three straight years and now face a fourth year with little relief coming from this White House. Heck, they don’t even talk about it, unless it is in hushed tones as if we should be embarrassed about our economic situation. Our priority should not be “only” to re-elect a Black President! If that is the case, we make our votes completely worthless, because we make no demands upon this “politician!”
Our priority should be to elect a President who can clearly articulate his vision of a long term Job Creation Plan, which will heal our community and the nation. For us to move forward in any conversation with these pro Obama folks, this is the point where we should start the conversation. Such a Job Creation Plan can be googled @ Jobs and Their Creation. If Mr. Obama and his advisors do not like that plan, they should come up with one of their own. The Black community is in dire straits. This legislation clearly adds to our burden. Those people like, Mr. Obama and the pro
Obama folks need to step up and address our issues!
Staff Writer; James Davis
More information about JD and his Deficit Neutral Stimulus Plan Can be founded at http://www.sslumpsum.com and http://www.change.org/petitions/how-to-create-jobs-now-join-us
