Obama Scolds Private Jet Owners and Yet His Stimulus Bill Gave Them Tax Credits

Is anyone surprised?  In today's press conference Obama trotted out the tried-and-true class warfare card, scolding private jet owners who receive tax breaks on their purchases.  But in February, 2009, Obama's own stimulus bill made that possible:

Just a few months after lawmakers scolded auto executives for flying to Washington in private jets, Congress approved a tax break in the stimulus package to help businesses buy their own planes.

The incentive - first used to help plane makers recover from the 2001 terror attacks - sharply reduces the upfront tax bill for companies who buy assets such as business planes.

The aviation industry, which is cutting jobs as it suffers from declining shipments and canceled orders, hopes the tax break in the economic-stimulus bill just signed by President Barack Obama will persuade more companies to buy planes and snap a slump in general aviation that began last year.

"This is exactly the type of financial incentive that should be included in a stimulus bill," said Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan. in an interview. His state lost at least 6,900 jobs at Cessna and Hawker Beechcraft, both based in Wichita.

Twitter was quite active on the issue:

@iowahawkblog: Obama doesn't want executives traveling on $20m private jets. He wants them traveling on $20b public trains.

@ExJon: I'd like to pre-emptively thank all Hollywood celebrities for giving up their private jets. #Obama12

Obama operates as though none of us have Google.