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Washington • Sen. Orrin Hatch lashed out at President Barack Obama's tax credit plan announced Tuesday, calling it a continuation of what he says is the administration's "job killing" effort.
The Utah Republican charged that Obama's attempts to churn the economy have actually crushed job prospects and will chase growth and hiring overseas.
"I don't think anyone believes an administration that created these problems is going to be able to come up with effective solutions to get us out of them," Hatch said. "That's like putting Bernie Madoff in charge of fixing your company's broken accounting system."
Madoff is a former investment broker charged with running what may be the largest Ponzi scheme in American history. He pleaded guilty to 11 felonies and is serving time.
Todd Taylor, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party, said Hatch's attack doesn't even make sense.
"I guess I just don't understand how, for a man elected in 1976, his history can only start in 2009," Taylor said.
The Democrat charged that Hatch and his GOP colleagues pushed cutbacks on regulations and oversight that led to the bubble burst that created the economic duress the country now faces.
Obama, in Cleveland to respond to Republican House Leader John Boehnor's criticisms a week ago, touted a proposal that would allow companies to write down the entire cost of investments they make next year instead of over a longer period.
"This will help small businesses upgrade their plants and equipment and will encourage large corporations to get off the sidelines and start putting their profits to work in places like Cleveland and Toledo and Dayton," Obama said.
Hatch proposed extending a research tax credit in July himself, but he disagreed with Obama's plan because it also cuts tax breaks for multinational corporations that Hatch said will push more jobs away from America. And he said the president's new push for $50 billion to upgrade the nation's roadways, runways and railways would just add to an already burgeoning deficit.
"A permanent research tax credit and allowing businesses to write off 100 percent of their investment in equipment are good ideas, but any positive impact on the economy would be crushed by tax increases on other parts of the economy," Hatch said.