Inquirer Editorial: Obama's plan can work

President Obama's job-creation program is a pragmatic approach to reduce unemployment that doesn't deserve to be derailed by partisan politics.

In sending his American Jobs Act to Congress on Monday, the president explicitly highlighted elements that should please Republicans, including tax cuts for employers and small businesses. The proposal would also extend payroll tax cuts for workers. The stimulus portion of the plan would fund sorely needed repairs to schools, roads, and airports.

The act attempts to reemploy the teachers, police, and firefighters who lost their jobs as state and local governments struggled with sagging revenues. It would create work for veterans and for construction workers whose jobs disappeared in the housing bust.

America will soon see if Congress heard Obama when he introduced his plan Thursday with a call to eschew politics. "The next election is 14 months away. And the people who sent us here, the people who hired us to work for them, they don't have the luxury of waiting 14 months," he said.

This country will soon see whether Congress lets political aspirations blind it to the desperation of the 14 million unemployed Americans trying to support their families. Another 8.8 million part-timers are looking for full-time jobs to make ends meet, while 2.8 million among the jobless have given up looking for work.

You can connect the dots between politicians' falling poll numbers and Americans' loss of faith in government to solve the nation's economic problems. But if Republicans think they can avoid blame by failing to act even on those parts of Obama's plan that agree with with their positions, they are mistaken.

The public is smart enough to figure out the politics being played by both sides. Voters are ready to send a message to every politician who talks a good game about the need for bipartisanship but makes no effort to cross the aisle so that more people who want to work can get a job.

That's not to say Obama's plan is perfect, It correctly puts job creation at the top of the national agenda. But it's disappointing that the president glossed over the mortgage crisis, a root cause of the sick economy. The mortgage woes of almost a quarter of the nation's homeowners have sapped their ability to drive the economy through consumption.

Nor does Obama's plan aggressively pressure U.S. companies with overseas operations to bring jobs home. But at a time when triage is necessary, Obama's plan is movement in the right direction. Now, Congress must put aside its political posturing.