Here's what you don't understand about AJA. It is warmed-over Stimulus, which itself didn't work. AJA, like Stimulus works on the flawed Progressive Liberal idea of spending, any spending is what get the economy going. Since any spending works (kinda like maxing out the credit card just to get the miles), Progressive Liberals figured they might as well spend on a wish list of Progressive agenda items they wanted to spend on anyway. Not only is AJA just warmed-over Stimulus, it is half the spending of stimulus and half the duration of Stimulus. What on Earth makes anyone think it would work?!!
Not only that. After Stimulus, 15 months or so after declaration of "Recovery Summer" and other economic-infusing programs, Obama pulls AJA out of thin air as if all the prior "job creation/stimulus" policies didn't exist. He promotes THIS was the Bill everyone was waiting for, the fruition of his tireless, unceasing laser-like dedication to jobs, that will get the economy rolling again [cue drum roll] and it will be unveiled...........right after his month-long vacation at Martha's Vineyard.
Much of what you list is just more government pushing the economy car and saying, "Look, it's moving forward again!" Obama's vision of what drives the economy is government. This was punctuated during his Roanoke firehouse speech last week, spending money to put teachers and construction workers back to work sounds nice but it's just pushing the car, with little to show for it except debt. Obama has no clue how to make the engine of that car run on it's own again.
Invest in clean Energy manufacturing. You sound like a commercial talking point! Supporting "green" energy is just more pushing the car! Haven't you heard of Solyndra or any of a dozen of other solar or green project that have tanked! Throwing money at the problem will not kick off a recovery. You want an energy boom that supports itself and is creating jobs? Oil and other fossil fuel. It is a boom technology that is straining to take off. As computer tech fueled the late 80's/90's economy. This wants to lead the way now. Obama pathological hatred of oil is keeping it from happening. What little is able to go ahead is booming! There nothing wrong with actual investment into green energy, but it's not ready ready for prime time. It's like asking a little league kid to save the day in the major league game.
Providing tax breaks for small business that hire new workers is the closest to Obama understanding how tax breaks work. It still falls short and says loads about his understanding of the needs of business and the economy. He expects a company to hire a $40,000 a year worker, take on the health care costs of them, for years to come, all to get a one-year, one shot $5,000 tax break? The only companies that would consider that are ones that were going to hire anyway. All this would be is a $5,000 fruit basket to the employer with a note saying, "Thanks for hiring". In other words, a total waste of money, just like the rest.
The only time we were able to spend our way out of a serious economic downturn (very slight ones, spending can work), was in 1940. Prior to this FDR proceeded on massive government social and prime-the-pump spending like now. He, like Obama distrusted big business, thinking they should be more employee support centers rather than profit centers, working in partnership with government. All this kept the Great Depression great for 7 more years. Then in 1940, despite himself, he was forced to buy planes, tanks, ships, bombs, bullets and beans. This was government spending, but spending straight AT business, an example of a spending version of supply (trickle-down) economics. The Depression was over within a year.
Pushing the economic car does little good unless the engine is working again. The engine of the economy is NOT government as Obama believes, it is private sector business. Obama has built of a business-hostile environment that is stifling a real recovery (36 months and still waiting). He has put a big, fat jockey on the back of the economic racehorse and is dumbfounded on why it's not winning races again.
I could go on but I'd run out of room to post. I do that occasionally. Explaining political realities sometimes requires in-depth explanation. This is why reacting to issues is easier than understanding them.