Earlier today the Alabama House of Representatives passed my Reemployment Act of 2010 (HB 260). According to the legislative fiscal office, not only will it create jobs, but it will reduce state spending because the people we put back to work will pay income and sales taxes that will more than offset the deduction.
I’m very pleased that my colleagues saw fit to pass this important jobs creation measure, and I implore the Senate to act soon on the bill. I also ask Governor Riley for his support of this Alabama job creation bill to make sure that it makes it into law. Providing businesses with an economic incentive to hire unemployed Alabamians is exactly what we need to do right now. Based on our state’s past experience with the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit program, I estimate the Reemployment Act will create over 5,000 jobs for Alabamians.
I also would like to thank the people on our committee that worked with me on this bill, creating jobs should be a bipartisan effort and we as republicans and democrats should work together. .
Dr. Bentley,
The current jobs bill sounds good, but I have an issue with it. I know of many people, including myself, who have lost their full-time jobs and are working 2 or more part-time jobs with no benefits just to stay afloat. With the bill that was passed just this week, does it give an incentive to a prospective employer for hiring someone who is unemployed over someone who is not employed full-time?
Right now I am employed part-time, out of my career field, just to survive. Last year, my family went on food stamps and Medicaid for the 1st time in our lives (and hopefully the last). I got a small part-time job making around 400/month and medicaid said that I made too much money to stay on. This has been aggravating for me and my family since I have never been without a full-time job for more than a week in my life (I am 45 years old). We are surviving though. My wife and I started back to college and that is how we are surviving at the present time, but I would prefer not going into further debt.
I would propose an addendum to your bill for employers who hire more full-time workers, regardless of their employment status, to receive a tax break. Employers can hire a lot of part-time workers and still not help the economy. Full time workers can better afford to spend their wages. Part-time workers move around more, creating an unstable job market also.
Thanks for letting me comment. I appreciate the open forum.
Comment by Nobleman — February 26, 2010 @ 2:29 am