Obama spent more for dinner in Hawaii than his SOTU tax credit for families

“Such a deal.

Among the highlights of President Obama’s State of the Union address plans to pull the American family out of economic plight is a $500 tax credit for two-earner families.

Here’s how the White House presented it in a fact sheet: “Provide a new, simple tax credit to two-earner families. The president will propose a new $500 second earner credit to help cover the additional costs faced by families in which both spouses work — benefiting 24 million couples.”

The provision is included in his effort “to help middle class families get ahead.” Like who? Administration officials said families earning up to $210,000 would get a piece of the tax credit. That is four-times the earning of the “typical” middle class income of $51,939 calculated by the Obama-supporting Center for American Progress.It’s to pay for the added commuter and child care costs of two-earner families, but it wouldn’t cover much.”

Can GOP, Obama find common ground? New Congress eyes Keystone, ObamaCare, tax code

“Constructing the Keystone XL oil pipeline, overhauling the tax code and easing “excessive” regulations blamed for slow economic growth are at the top of the agenda for the new Republican majority in Congress.

But absent from a Wall Street Journal opinion piece penned by House Speaker John Boehner and presumptive Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is any mention of immigration, which Obama has vowed to pursue via the executive pen. The president also vowed to veto any attempts to repeal ObamaCare — which is front and center on the Boehner/McConnell agenda.

All of these and more are expected to be put on the table Friday, when Obama and Republican congressional leaders meet face-to-face for a White House summit.

The meeting on Friday could offer the first real clues as to whether the next two years will bring gridlock and partisan warfare — or some breakthroughs…”

To read the full article courtesy of FOX News: click here.

ECB ready to do more if needed, signs up to Draghi’s target

BY EVA TAYLOR

FRANKFURT Thu Nov 6, 2014 10:53am EST

“(Reuters) – European Central Bank members all stand ready to take more policy action if needed to revive a struggling euroeconomy and the bank’s staff will prepare the groundwork, President Mario Draghi said on Thursday.

The Italian doused concerns about his leadership style, saying the whole policymaking Governing Council had signed up to a statement which confirmed previous comments he had made on the amount of money the bank aimed to pump into theeconomy.

The ECB kept interest rates at a record low 0.05 percent at it monthly meeting, waiting to see how measures already in train unfold.

After the U.S. Federal Reserve ended its bond-buying program and the Bank of Japan increased its pace of money creation, markets are trying to judge how close the ECB is to launching more aggressive steps, such as quantitative easing money-printing to buy large amounts of government bonds.

Reuters reported this week that national central bankers in the euro area planned to challenge Draghi over his communication style at a dinner on Wednesday.

They were particularly concerned about his setting of an expanded balance sheet target after the Council agreed in September not to make any figure public.

Draghi has now built a united front…”

Read the full article via Reuters here.