Where is the US economy headed?

As rjb has pointed out, it's not Obama that's holding up the FTA.

Congress must approve the trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia

The Seattle Times editorial board argues for the trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, with or without special Trade

FINALLY the Obama administration is pushing the trade agreements the Bush people negotiated with Panama, Colombia and South Korea. This is good news for our trade-dependent state, particularly in regard to Korea, which buys airplanes here and ships its products to U.S. markets through ports here.

Three and a half years ago, candidate Obama was campaigning against free trade, telling workers in the Rust Belt that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was stacked against them. Once in office he abandoned this position, and good for him. He began talking about exports, and that the United States should double them in five years. It was a fine goal, but it could not be done without lowering trade barriers.

Obama sent his U.S. trade representative to renegotiate parts of the three deals to make them more palatable to organized labor. The deals were signed, but there was no move to ratify them.

Now there is, but with a catch. Under "fast track," the legislative package cannot be amended once the president introduces it. And he has made it clear that he will include Trade Adjustment Assistance. This offers better-than-normal unemployment benefits and training for workers who have lost their jobs because of competition from overseas.

Republicans in the Senate object. There is no economic reason, they say, to favor this group of unemployed workers over all other such workers. Republicans say they will block the trade agreements until the unnecessary spending is taken out.

They have a point, but it is not worth it. The cost of extra assistance is perhaps one-tenth of the value of the additional trade these deals will bring. On Korea our exporters and importers have been waiting since 2007, and their rivals in Europe now have a Korean deal and the Americans don't. Our traders should not have to wait any more. This state needs the business, the income and the jobs now.

Ratify the trade deals and argue about the adjustment assistance later.

So, what's next? A measure to help small businesses -- which Republicans are also trying to kill.

Perhaps the last best hope of Democrats to pass legislation aimed at creating jobs before the November elections seemed to be crumbling in the Senate on Wednesday as Republicans signaled that they would block a bill to expand government lending programs and grant an array of tax breaks to small businesses. [...]

[W]ith some Democrats viewing the small-business bill as critical to their political prospects in November, Senate Republicans were not about to let it through easily, and have insisted on a chance to offer amendments.

Yep, Republicans are fighting against a measure to help small businesses because it's more important to undermine Democrats than it is to help the economy.

That is not true. The Obama Administration has been in place for more than two years now. The Columbian and South Korean agreements were ready for ratification when Obama took office

You asked about the cost between private and Medicare. That explains it totally. Where did you learn English?

You wrote,

Quote:

But that doesn't precisely compare Medicare/Medicaid to private, now does it?

Yes, it does. You're too stupid; I'm putting you on Ignore.

Which party had the senate majority that first two years?

The primary problem is that the GOP is out to make sure Obama fails no matter what the expense to our economy.

What is more damning about the GOP is their fixation to make Obama look bad without any regard to jobs or our economy.

I don't detect any efforts on the part of Republicans to "make Obama look bad".

They are opposing more of his useless and wasteful giveaways of public money in the interest of restraining the recently explosive growth of our public debt.