President Obama traveled to Tennessee on Tuesday, another event in his recent push to emphasize jobs and the economy.
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President Obama's economic road trip took him to Chattanooga, Tennessee, today. He visited an Amazon warehouse just after the Internet retailing giant announced that it's adding more than 5,000 jobs. The president spoke of employment as a source of pride and dignity.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: It's proof that you're doing the right things and meeting your responsibilities and contributing to the fabric of your community and helping to build the country. That's what a job is all about.
CORNISH: The White House also used today's event to roll out a proposal to change the corporate tax code. President Obama said it will help create middle-class jobs. NPR's Ari Shapiro was traveling with the president and joins us now. And, Ari, what exactly is being proposed here? And is there anything in it to attract Republicans?
ARI SHAPIRO, BYLINE: The president says the fact that he wants to lower corporate tax rate should attract Republican interest. Right now, the standard rate is 35 percent. He wants to bring it down to 28 percent with an even lower tax rate for manufacturers of 25 percent. Right now, some companies use loopholes to pay almost no taxes. And the president wants to eliminate some of those loopholes so there would be more tax revenue even with the lower rates.
Republicans are not crazy about the revenue part of this plan. They like the lower rates. But they also don't want other family-owned businesses that pay taxes as individuals to pay a higher tax rate.
CORNISH: And what about his own party? What's in this for Democrats?
SHAPIRO: Well, President Obama wants to impose fees on overseas profits. He says that'll encourage U.S. companies to create jobs here at home. And then the president wants to use the new revenue from closing loopholes and those fees to repair roads and bridges, to improve community colleges and fund other kinds of spending that he says will help build a strong economic foundation for the country. Here's how he put it in Chattanooga.
OBAMA: I'm willing to work with Republicans on reforming our corporate tax code as long as we use the money from transitioning to a simpler tax system for a significant investment in creating middle-class jobs. That's the deal.
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CORNISH: That's the deal, the president says.
(LAUGHTER)
CORNISH: What's the reaction so far from the Republican side?
SHAPIRO: The reaction from Republicans is no deal. A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said that the so-called grand bargain is neither grand nor a bargain. Republicans...
CORNISH: And I believe we just lost Ari. Oh, Ari, are you there?
SHAPIRO: I'm here on the phone. The Republicans say...
CORNISH: OK.
SHAPIRO: ...it's a mistake to change the corporate tax code without lowering individual tax rate at the same time. They also opposed government spending or stimulus to boost the economy.
And then finally, this morning, Speaker John Boehner's office said the fact that President Obama began by leaking the details of his plan to the media shows that he's not serious about negotiating. But then on Air Force One, Press Secretary Jay Carney told us that the White House legislative director actually called Boehner's office yesterday, but Boehner's chief of staff did not return the call.
CORNISH: Finally, Ari, this is President Obama's fourth economic speech in less than a week. You've heard them all. What you hear, you know, judge how it's going so far.
SHAPIRO: You know, we keep asking the White House how they'll judge success. And the answer is a little bit murky. Aides say they want to re-center the debate in Washington on helping the middle class and boosting the economy.
And strictly speaking, it's true that every time President Obama gives one of these speeches, Republicans engage in the debate. But so far, that debate doesn't seem to be very productive. The president makes suggestions, Republicans dismiss them as old news or unhelpful. That said, this is just the first week of this approach and a lot of this may be a buildup to a series of fiscal showdowns in the fall. It could be that the real test of whether these speeches work is whether those showdowns go the way the White House wants or whether Republicans are able to get some significant concessions from the White House on spending and deficits.
CORNISH: That's NPR's Ari Shapiro. He is traveling with President Obama. Ari, thanks for getting on the line with us.
(LAUGHTER)
SHAPIRO: No problem, Audie.
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CORNISH: You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News.
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