Washington, get to work on jobs

Washington may actually have been listening.

President Barack Obama and Republican congressional leaders seem to finally get that an exasperated public desperately wants them to stop the partisan bickering and attack the nation's problems with the urgency befitting our dire economic condition.

The urgency Obama communicated in his long-awaited jobs speech, together with recent signals from Republicans that they're ready to abandon their opposition to all things Obama and support some of his proposals, is even more important than the specifics of the American Jobs Act laid out last night. Without pragmatic compromise, good ideas will never be translated into action. We've seen that polarization for far too long.

As Obama noted, the next election is 14 months away and the American people, many living paycheck to paycheck, can't wait that long for Washington to get on the case.

There were no bold or game-changing ideas in the president's proposal. It was instead a comprehensive list of initiatives he's been talking about for awhile now -- including many ideas that have enjoyed some bipartisan support in times past. Things such as tax cuts for small businesses that hire new workers. Extending unemployment compensation and the payroll tax cut for another year. More aid to states to preserve the jobs of teachers and other public employees.

Also included was money to repair and rebuild bridges, roads, airports and especially to modernize 35,000 public school buildings. Obama again asked for an infrastructure bank to leverage those public dollars with private investment. It's a good idea that would institutionalize a new way to fund projects based on need and economic impact rather than congressional clout.

All those things should put money in people's pockets, boosting demand for goods and services. That's a reliable way to get businesses to hire new workers.

The American Jobs Act comes with a big price tag, about $450 billion. Obama said it will all be paid for and won't swell the deficit, but that remains to be seen. He promised to deliver a plan for offsetting spending cuts to the congressional "supercommittee" already working to cut deficits by $1.5 trillion over the next decade. Combined, such cuts would be deep and it's easy to be skeptical about plans that spend now in exchange for promises of cuts down the road.

But Obama is looking in the right place for savings by putting Medicare and Medicaid on the chopping block -- not to maim those programs, but to make them affordable and sustainable. He's also looking in the right place for revenue, pushing for tax reform that would lower rates, broaden the base and close loopholes. The code is too complex and outrageously favors those with good lobbyists.

Even if Congress were to deliver every item on Obama's wish list, it wouldn't solve all our economic problems or provide a balm for everyone. Washington can't do that. But it needs to do what it can and do it now.