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4A Daily News – Tuesday, September 13, 2011 WORLD BRIEFING Obama proposes tax hikes to pay for jobs bill WASHINGTON (AP) — In a sharp challenge to the GOP, President Barack Obama proposed paying for his costly new jobs plan Monday with tax hikes that Republicans have already rejected, and he accused them of political motives if they still refuse to go along. "The only thing that's stopping it is politics," Obama declared. The president's proposal drew criticism from House Speaker John Boehner, who'd previously responded in cautious but somewhat receptive tones to the $447 billion jobs plan made up of tax cuts and new spending that Obama first proposed in an address to Congress last Thursday. "It would be fair to say this tax increase on job cre- ators is the kind of proposal both parties have opposed in the past. We remain eager to work together on ways to support job growth, but this proposal doesn't appear to have been offered in that bipartisan spirit," Boehner spokesman Brendan Buck said. The biggest piece of the payment plan would raise about $400 billion by elimi- nating certain deductions, including on charitable con- tributions, that can be claimed by wealthy taxpay- ers. Plan to extend tax cut brings worries WASHINGTON (AP) — Some Social Security advocates fear that Presi- dent Barack Obama's desire Let's Talk About Hair Jeannie Stroing Perm, Cut & Set Special $ 450 Antelope Blvd. Bus 528-2900 Cell 526-1304 Sept. 1st through Dec. 31st long hair extra 35 to cut taxes supporting the program will undermine its vaunted stature as a self- financing pension system that provides checks to retirees based on contribu- tions they made while working. For now, though, the administration insists — and many experts agree — that the proposal would have no impact on the pro- gram's financial soundness or ability to pay benefits averaging $1,077 a month to 55 million recipients.. Cutting Social Security taxes is the keystone of Obama's $447 billion plan to create jobs and leave more cash in people's pock- ets, an effort by the presi- dent to bolster the ailing economy and his own 2012 re-election prospects. The payroll tax cut — an enlargement of one already in effect this year — would take a $240 billion bite out of Social Security revenues in 2012. Obama would replenish the lost FICA (Federal Insurance Contri- bution Act) taxes with money from the overall fed- eral budget — keeping Social Security whole but forcing the government to borrow more and further swelling the federal debt.. The problem with Obama's proposal, critics say, is that propping up Social Security with general funds from the Treasury erodes its revered status as a self-funded insurance pro- gram in which payroll taxes collected from workers pay benefits for retirees, the dis- abled and their survivors. Contenders hope to press Perry on Soc Security TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Republican presidential hopefuls plan to use a televised debate Monday to press frontrunner Rick ENGLAND'S BOOKKEEPING SERVICES Need help organizing your information for your tax preparer? Email acownteen@yahoo.com Call or Text 530 739-9413 First Church of God Preschool Is accepting enrollment applications for 2011-2012 school year 1005 S. Jackson Street, Red Bluff Contact Director Pam Maret for enrollment information at 527-4516 Perry to justify his criti- cism of Social Security, which has dominated the contest in recent days. Perry, the Texas gover- nor, partly explained his remarks in an op-ed arti- cle in USA Today. In it he said his proposed changes would not affect current and soon-to-be retirees. Perry wrote that "reforms," which he did not specify, are needed to shore up the program's long-term health. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, tout- ing an endorsement from a former rival Monday, has sharply criticized Perry for calling Social Security's funding arrangement a "Ponzi scheme" and "monstrous lie" in a California debate last week. The government pre- dicts that unless Social Security is modified it will be unable to fully fund benefits starting in 2037. Romney is running second to Perry in recent polls of Republicans. The two men and six other candidates planned to face each other Monday in a two-hour debate sponsored by CNN and the Tea Party Express. Serene 9/11 memorial opens to the public NEW YORK (AP) — Exactly 10 years ago, ground zero was a smoking, fire-spitting tomb, a ghastly pile of rubble and human remains. On Monday it was a place of serenity — an expanse of trees and water in the middle of a bustling city — as the 9/11 memori- al opened to the public. As they walked through a grove of oaks and traced their fingers over the names of the nearly 3,000 dead, Counseling Center Giving Families Hope! Did you think we were just for children? • Individual & Family Counseling • Couple/Relationship Issues Professional Personal Convenient • Premium Digital Ask about our Open Fit Technology Discreet and Comfortable Hearing Aids for every budget • FREE hearing evaluations • Service/Repair, Red Bluff Community Center 1500 So. Jackson Wed., Sept. 14, 2011 10:00 am - 3:00 pm 1-800-488-9906 Appointments CALL Limited all makes and models • Batteries & accessories • Preferred provider for most insurance plans: Including PERS, Carpenters, Blue Cross/ Blue Shield, etc. • Low monthly payment plan available • Trial Period/ Satisfaction Guaranteed Performed for proper amplification selection only. Counseling Center • Anger • Depression • Anxiety • Emotional Trauma • Family Relationships • Parenting Call our office for more info. 529-9454 Red Bluff 590 Antelope Blvd. Suite B-30 Corning 275 Solano Street #2 visitors were deeply moved by the monument, whose centerpiece is two sunken pools ringed by bronze plaques. "When we walked in, those images were popping in my head from 10 years ago," said Laura Pajar of Las Vegas. "But when I saw the memorial, all of that went away. This is so peace- ful, and you kind of forget about what happened and you look toward the future." About 7,000 people reg- istered online for free tickets to visit on opening day, and 400,000 are signed up for the coming months, accord- ing to the nonprofit organi- zation that oversees the memorial. Many visitors made pen- cil-and-paper rubbings of the names to take back home. Others sat on bench- es or clustered for photos. Some people cried; others embraced. Some left flow- ers or stuffed messages into the letters. At least 75 dead after gas pipeline explodes NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Joseph Mwangi hoped and prayed his children had escaped the inferno caused when a leaking gasoline pipeline exploded on Mon- day, sending flames racing through a Nairobi slum and killing at least 75 people. Then he saw two small blackened bodies in the wreckage of his home. "Those were my chil- dren," he sobbed, collapsing in anguish amid the charred corrugated iron sheets and twisted metal. Mwangi had been feed- ing his cow when the call went out around 9 a.m. — a section of pipe had burst near the river that cuts through the slum and gaso- line was pouring out. Men, women and children grabbed pails, jerry cans, anything they could find to collect the flowing fuel. Mwangi had planned to get a bucket and join them — he'd done so before with earlier diesel leaks without any problem, he said, and a bucket of fuel could pay a month's rent. "Everybody knows that fuel is gold," the 34-year-old said. Bodies of 22 Shiite pilgrims found in western Iraq BAGHDAD (AP) — Gunmen forced their way onto a bus of traveling Shi- ite pilgrims Monday and shot the 22 men as they traveled through western Iraq's remote desert on a trip to a holy shrine, securi- ty officials said. The bodies were discov- ered late Monday night, hours after the gang of gun- men stopped the bus at a fake security checkpoint and told all the women to get off, according to one security official who inter- viewed a survivor. The gunmen then drove the bus a few miles (kilo- meters) off the main high- way between Baghdad and the Jordanian border in Iraq's Sunni-dominated Anbar province. The pil- grims were ordered off the bus and shot one by one, the security officials said. Two Iraqi security offi- cials and a political leader from the southern Iraqi city of Karbala, where the pil- grims were from, con- firmed the shooting details. All spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information. Shiite pilgrims have been a favorite target for Sunni insurgents who are trying to revive the sectari- an violence that brought Iraqi to the brink of civil war just a few years ago. Monday's attack comes fewer than four months before U.S. troops — who surged into Iraq in 2007 to stem the religious killings — are scheduled to leave the country. LAST DAYS Sale Ends Sept. 17th Come by and check out our additional mark downs Gold Exchange 413 Walnut Street, Red Bluff • 528-8000 OPEN: Mon.-Fri. 10am - 5:30pm • Sat. 11am - 4pm www.redbluffgoldexchange.com