A Jobless Rescue?
Commentary: There's $700 billion for Big Finance but no bailout for American workers. Without job creation, all bets are off for an economic recovery.
October 13, 2008
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The crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression imprinted an enduring image on the American imagination: millions of jobless workers on breadlines. By 1933, more than 25 percent of the US workforce was unemployed. This fact, more than anything else, locked the national economy in a state of depression, and the country in a state of hopelessness.
Despite the lessons of history—and despite the grim unemployment numbers released October 3—Congress included no meaningful job creation initiatives in the legislation it passed in response to the financial crisis. Instead, in the days preceding and following the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, Senate Republicans and George W. Bush repelled the modest measures approved by the House to help the unemployed and the poor. In doing so, they once again showed where their true loyalties lie.
While unemployment has increased every month this year, the September figures were the worst yet, exceeding all forecasts. According to the Department of Labor, employers cut 159,000 jobs—more than double the number for August or July, and the largest monthly decline since 2003. And the survey on which these numbers is based was conducted during the week of September 8—before the worst developments in the credit crisis, and long before the stock market entered its current freefall.
The current unemployment rate of 6.1 percent measures only a fraction of the truly unemployed, because it only counts those who are out of work and actively looking for a new job. It also does not reflect the people working part time because they cannot find full-time work, which has increased to more than 1.5 million in September, compared with 400,000 a year ago. And even those with jobs are suffering losses. In the last year, the increase in weekly pay for workers has risen only 2.8 percent, while inflation has been about 5 percent. The New York Times' David Leonhardt points out that "unlike some other indicators, like gross domestic product, the jobs statistics describe the tangible effect that the economy is having on households."
More ominous is the broad-based nature of the job losses. They began in the hard-hit industries like construction and real estate, but they have extended to manufacturing, retail, and hotels and restaurants, and are likely to deepen and widen in the coming months.
Writing in the New York Times, Princeton economist Alan Kreuger predicted that "this financial crisis is likely to threaten middle- and upper-income jobs to a greater extent than has been the case in past recessions." First to go, Kreuger projected, will be jobs producing durable goods that are purchased on credit—and already, auto sales are crashing. Next will be high-skilled jobs that depend upon investments in "new plant and equipment, especially high-tech information and computing equipment."
Aggressive job creation is likely to be vital to any effective recovery effort, just as it was in the 1930s. In a concise report issued last Friday, the Center for Economic and Policy Research recommended a "coordinated fiscal stimulus...on the order of $300 billion to $400 billion (2.0-2.7 percent of GDP)," which is "essential for counteracting the sharp falloff in consumption." This money would be spent on "aiding state and local governments, extending unemployment benefits, tax rebates to low income individuals, accelerating infrastructure spending and support for energy conserving retrofits of homes and businesses." CEPR directors Dean Baker and Mark Weisbrot noted:
It is possible that even larger boosts to spending may be necessary to restore normal economic activity. The federal government must be prepared to spend whatever amount is needed to keep the economy creating jobs. This was the main lesson that we learned from the Great Depression. Concerns over deficits prevented the government from taking sufficient measures to boost the economy out of its slump until World War II left the government no choice. It would be an enormous tragedy for the country and the world if the United States were to repeat the same mistakes almost 80 years later.
This, of course, is basic Keynesian economics—the idea that when hard times make people stop spending and money stops flowing, the government should expand the money supply and start spending money itself, "priming the pump." After the 1929 crash, Republican Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon advised the government to cut spending to balance the budget, and left desperate banks, businesses, and families to fend for themselves because it would "purge the rottenness out of the system." But Keynes said he did "not understand how universal bankruptcy can do any good or bring us nearer to prosperity," and he insisted that there was "no hope of a recovery except in a revival of the high level of investment." The most fundamental way to do this is by creating decent jobs that give people money to spend and restore confidence in the economy—something that was done to a degree through New Deal programs, and then more completely through wartime spending.
Bush (and the Repub's) dropped the ball by not sounding a loud warning signal from the bully pulpit when this dirty math was going on. And a one time, or even short term tax break of $3G's per year isn't enough incentive to hire anybody, especially if there is no productivity or expansion in the business to be had. It's called, charity pays at $3G, or a 3G handout.
Half the money this STUPID gov't of ours is spending on Wall Street could go a long way towards fixing this problem (the gov't caused in the first place) if better invested elsewhere. And, NOTICE the first thing they did NOT do is tighten their own belts. How much pork was this $700 billion bill laden with?
Unless the ability for the rich to evade taxes by hiding their money offshore is stopped, an increase in taxes on the rich will not work...
This leavees the middle class who cannot hide the money they make to pay more taxes to support the economy,,
The money made in a country should be paid in taxes to that country and not hidden offshore..
Also profits made by companies using cheap offshore labor for manufacturing and then selling that product in their home country should be taxed on the the huge pofits they get by using this practice..In other words tax the markup..
I'm not sure job growth of this sort is going to help most people -- I work administration and can't see how public works is going to directly help me if I lose my job (I'm non-fiduciary).
My thought is, and please help me here, if the Gov can stop short-selling for a limited amount of time, can it not stop interest rates from consumers to creditors for some time?
My rationale is if there was a profit to the companies, say Citi, healthy enough to not hurt their overall balance sheet, a curtailment of interest, across the board on loans would help all of those (us) with debt.
Say, a maximum percent of 3% to 4% based on risk. Add a moratorium on fees until further notice. Those of us with credit debt (nearly any householder younger than 60, except the affluent) would be able to use the savings, now. Plus, the advantage to those with credit card debt, a huge amount of people, would be decreased.
I honestly don't understand the back-biting being done on those who succumb to the credit bubble, especially credit cards. When the average person won't read their contractual obligations to a company, it is not the person nor the company whose ultimate fault belies: it is our education system. That is not an issue that can be resolved when people, and especially children, are trying to find a means for everyday living.
Currently, I've got a job, and don't feel desperate. I've got debt, but it's manageable. Yet, if the dollar drops, or if the Chinese decide to sell dollar bonds, we're all in a for a big fall. Help now those who need it.
Both GDP and employment are functions of total capital employed by the private sector. Accordingly, the only "stimulus" that can do any good is stimulus to private investment.
Employment is driven by private business investment. It takes a 5% increase in private business investment (over that of the previous year) to produce a 1% increase in jobs. Right now, the number of jobs is falling because private business investment is falling.
All of Obama's economic policies will have the effect of depressing investment, and therefore depressing employment. When you tax something, you get less of it. This may be a price worth paying for an Obama victory, but it is a price that will be paid.
I think as reasonable, pragmatic adults, we can chew on this knowledge and ask ourselves: Is Obama's proposal for another stimulus package really a sound idea? If we were all truly reasonable, we could skip that question and ask ourselves why we're entrusting the fate of the world to a man with a void resume. Economists all over the world are wincing at the prospect of execution of his economical proposals. When Obama increases your capital gains tax, Canada welcomes your industries (and job creation) with arms wide open.
http://www.indeed.com (aggregated listings)
http://www.simplyhired.com (aggregated listings)
http://www.realmatch.com (matches you to the jobs)
Good luck to those that need jobs!
As Tony Saporano said, "Money flows uphill, sh-t flows downhill......
this is getting old.i have never met a republican in my life who ever admitted to voting wrong or to admit they had very poor judgement. it is 1932 all over again. and now the democrats have to cleanup the goddamn mess once again. for all you republicans out there, please move to alaska or the south or some other country and leave the good people of this country alone. you are not even human. Obama will win and so give it up. you screwed it once again. on nov. 5th i am going to enjoy talking to the few republicans in my democrat state. i will tell them, thanks for the goddamn mess...and go to hell....
At least our two-party leaders will agree on one of the main solutions to help American workers and the job shortage: Importing ever more millions of slave-wage legal and illegal immigrants! Mass immigration is like a religion to liberal-Democrat and Bush-Republican elites. Nothing, and I mean nothing will get them to sit down and rationally look at the economic and environmental consequences of the coming America of a billion population and beyond.
Tom Andres
Sierra foothills
name me one piece of legislation they have ever passed that benefitted the middle class. nothing , nothing. the republican party is the party of the white trash south and rednecks. lincoln told the republican party to go to hell. the republican party will never admit failure. they did not in 1932 and again in 2008. mccain just loves teddy roosevelt even though he quit the party. we can talk all we want, but the fact remains Obama will win on nov.4th and you know it. to the republicans, your argument is not with me, it is with the 90% of americans who recently said they think the country is headed in the wrong direction.you screwed it again, like you always do. look in the mirror on nov. 5th and you will see the face of a loser....
why of course yes.
so why dont the republicans feel guilty about their vote for gw bush to invade iraq and the result 4,000 americans dead and 200,000 dead iraq people.
First of all, public works projects were, of course, a major part of the New Deal. The result? Nothing to write home about: Unemployment rate in 1932: 25%. Unemployment rate in 1938: 19%. Indeed only WWII brought us out of the Depression.
Secondly, as a small business owner, a $3000 tax credit is not going to get me to hire another employee. I will only hire a new employee if I need one, credit or no credit. This will only help those who are ALREADY PLANNING TO EXPAND, which IS NOT FAIR IN THE LEAST! Why? For the rest of us, the credit would absolutely have to pay for the full cost of the employee in order for us to accept it. But $3000 is definitely not enough for that (much like McCain's ridiculous health care insurance credit). Indeed, I would LOSE money by hiring a new employee and taking the credit! We need to create demand, not offer credits. This will only help larger companies who have rainy-day funds that the rest of us small business owners do not.
This is just politics.
We are printing and borrowing money like crazy. GW has run up the debt and deficit to absurd levels. We barely have an economy anymore as we have gone from creditor to debtor and exporter to importer. If we do not create real jobs, we are in trouble. If we keep spending we are in trouble. Oh well !
A loaf of bread will cost $20 and then we will get a few cents and go to Ameros.
Next year that will change, and with the R's out of the way maybe the country can be rebuilt.
Which will actually be good for the R's too, though they're not bright enough to recognize it.
If it was not for the action FDR took in creating the WPA during the 1st Great Depression and making Social Security possible, non of us would be here today. Social Security is an Insurance Program not Welfare. The WPA made it possible for anyone who did not have a job to make a living to support their families. Now for the past 8 years we have been living through a Recession that has turned into the 2nd Great Depression. Emperor Bush nor his Dick as in shoot your best friend in the face Cheney and their Fascist Neo Con Dictatorship have done nothing to help the Middle Class or Poor in the Job Market but to allow Corporate America to all go South to Mexico or the Far East to China for Slave Labor and take away the jobs of hard working Americans.
We just witnessed the U.S. Congress once again approve by the majority to spend $750 Billion. Now I do not know how you feel but to give a $750 Billion Bail out to Corporte America and Wall Street still is supporting the 1% Rich!
I have never understood and never will understand the following. When 'OUR' U.S. Congress provides funds to American Citizens they call it Welfare. When the U.S. Congress gives money to Corporate America they call it, 'Bailing Out Corporate America'. Where all the $750 Billion dollars is going to go to the 1% Rich. Then it is put through a shredding machine placed next to a window on Wall Street and turned into Confetti and for one day on Wall Street they have their own parade only to watch the next day all the money is gone once again. Today we just witnessed the 2nd worst low on Wall Street since 1987.
Now to deal with reality for just one minute here, if the $750 Billion was to be given to the American Citizens it should be called 'Bailing Out American Citizens'. By doing this American Citizens could pay off their homes and bills and in so doing would inject into the American Economy a real Stimulus Plan with substance. We would not be in a Depression nor would we once again be watching the 1% Rich obtain more money and allow the 99% of all Americans to have just this year 3 Million Homes Forclosed on and 1 Million Americans fired just this year alone.
The 1% Rich do not want American Citizens to maintain a Middle Class and Poor Class. I will give you one of my quotes to make my case.
"Emperor George W. Bush and his Dick as in shoot your best friend in the face Cheney have and continue to cause the 'Daily' Suffering and Deaths of the American Poor, Disabled, L.G.B.T. Community, Senior Citizens, Children, Veterans and the Unemployed by Economic Deprivation. It leaves no finger prints at the crime scene."
I watched the last debate tonight and it was like watching Grandpa McCain in the final stages of dementia. I have to admit I was a Hillary Supporter 100%. I joined the NAACP in 1975 and my whole life have worked for Civil Rights and watched them be taken way everytime a Republican is in power. They use the word 'Reform' which means to take away. I have been tired of the 'Good Old Boy Network' of the past 232 years and is way over due for a qualifed woman to finally be President of the U.S.A.. Since this was by-passed after watching tonights debate I have to put my support behind U.S. Senator Obama. To allow Grandpa U.S. Senator McCain and Gov. Wacko Palin with the knocked up teen age daughter represent the moral majority party they represent is the biggest oxymoron I have ever seen. I was so impressed that Gov. Wacko Palin foreign travels and experience has been to be able to see Russia and Canada from Alaska. With U.S. Senator McCain having melanoma cancer 5 times putting him at high risk to die from and to suffer from P.T.S.D. since Viet Nam and to be showing major signs of Dementia, does not make me want to sleep good at night at all nor the reality that Gov. Wacko Palin who has her own Troopergate going on and shown to have abused the power of Gov. of Alaska makes me wonder why she is so concerned about Joe 6 Pack! Then we have U.S. Senator McCain worried about Joe the Plummer. Do we see a theme here? I think so. Is there a Joe the Electrician waiting in the wings? I don't think any of these Joe's have to worry because the fields they work in make a great living at the prices they charge for their services.
So I have to with a clear mind put my support behind U.S. Senator Obama. I know he will with the people he has named he would have supporting him are very balanced and educated people to turn things around in America. Now don't get me wrong. U.S. Senator Obama when he becomes President is going to have 4 years of cleaning up to do after 8 years of a Fascist Dictatorship with Emperor Bush and his Dick. Still we would have someone living in our White House that owns one house not 10 homes as U.S. Senator McCain owns. As Chris Rock said, "vote for the person with one house."
I realize the U.S. Senate is the Million Dollar Club. We are not going to change this over night nor do I think it will change in our lives. In fact I doubt we will ever for the next 2 generations recover from the damage of the past 8 years of an alcoholic coke head and a Dick who has had a bad heart the past 8 years. Still it puts us on a direction that graduated from Harvard University with High Honors and did not get in by having someone pay to accept him because of who his father was and pass with D's an low C's.
We also have to face the reality that there is no place for the U.S. Government to be buying stock in our Community Banks in America. In fact there have only been 12 Community Banks in America fail this year. Of the thousands of thousands of Community Banks it is sad to realize 12 have been taken over by the Government. Still to think the U.S. Government is going into owning stock in our Community Banks that are the Heartland of all communities across America shows what happens when you have a Fascist Dictatorship in power. Leave our Community Banks alone. If the Emperor Bush and his Dick has looked how 99.9% of all Community Banks operate and have a good return on the loans they made, we would have never been in the situation America is in today. Then we have to realize Emperor Bush and his Dick never wanted things to work for the 99% of Americans. They were and continue to only be for the 1% Far Right Rich! They do not know how to boil water or cut their yards or fix their cars. They don't know how to put gasoline in their cars but they sure have known how to bring America down by allowing 9/11 to happen, then the Unjust War in the Mid East of WMD never there to begin with and then to allow for the Trojan Horse code name for triple the price of Oil to bring the country to it's knees. How can one make the journey to Washington D.C. to March on 'Our Mall' and Protest if we can not afford to fill our tanks with gasoline?
U.S. Senator Obama does not have all the answers but he surely has the country and economy, education, military, shelter, jobs, medical, food to eat on the agenda before he does about the 1% Rich agenda. It is called maintaining the basics and the rest are the toys of life. If people want toys let them have toys but don't put the toys before the basics to maintain life.
When President Bill Clinton was in office we could afford to pay our house payments, utilites, food, gasoline, medical and maintain the basics. What is wrong with anyone wanting to deny anyone the basics to live? Only the 1% Rich can answer this question but you will never get them to answer the question. They talk in code as watching the last President Debate tonight, watching U.S. Senator McCain it looked like he was doing 'Morse Code' with his eyes as he was blinking so much he must have thought he was back in the Navy sending messages in code to those who support him. I only have pity for those poor critters. To allow U.S. Senator McCain and Gov. Wacko Palin be appointed and U.S. Senator Obama to not be elected to office will once again be a repeat of the past 8 years of Emperor Bush and his Dick.
http://www.impeachbush.org
Whenever governments get involved bailing out industry they keep the incompetent parts of the industry from being removed by natural selection, making it harder for the competent members of industry to survive. We have really screwed up in the bailout of the incompetents; we should have bailed out the consumers/citizens instead!
Giving a Drug Addict more Drugs without the Treatment
The Cor-pirate System is Flawed!
Corporate GREED is The Problem
That must be eliminated from the Solution.
Everything you have been told is a Lie.
Bad programming and Evil conditioning.
McCain is right about one thing.
We are Prisoners.
He blurts out the Truth in fits of his Aristocratic anger.
The Kennedy intervention.
We live in a Cor-pirate Delusion.
Prisoners in a Delusion that becomes more transparent every day.
Corporations are inefficient, slow to change, top heavy, over centralized, Jaded and Corrupt.
Rule from the top down has never worked for the Little Guy.
It is a Failed Hypostasis.
The Free Market is a Myth perpetuated by wealthy Aristocrats.
They use the capital appendages called Corporations to Rule.
Giving money to Bankers is Socialism for The Rich.
The Wealthy hold all the chips.
They have stolen and Privatized everything.
They own 99% of everything already and
Now they want the rest.
The money is right there in their Pockets, they are Hording it.
They want to steal everything you own for Pennies on the Dollar, preferably using your money.
This is the last trick in the Book, the last card to be played from a Stacked deck.
The Game is FIXED!
The Cards are Stacked!
They want U.S. to buy, so they can run the same scam again and again.
Decades of Banking Crisis, War, Assassinations, Dictatorship, Greed, Poverty, Propaganda, Oil Shortages and Scandal after Scandals.
What has changed?
Nothing!
Same War, same Channel.
Opps, but, now you pay $40 dollars a month for your own Indoctrination.
Bush/Cheney are Cor-pirate Parasites that feed off the blood, sweat and tears of
Americans.
They get a fat pension, socialized medicine and guards for life.
What did they ever produce?
Besides War, destruction, pain and suffering!
What did they invent?
Besides fake reasons to terrorize, torture and kill!
What have they created besides a line of BU__! SH__!
What did they ever build?
Besides a walls to separate, prisons, propaganda and a spying network?
They want to Destroy everything we hold dear:
Our families, friends, communities, Values, Goals and Ideals.
They are destroying the very Fabric of our own existence.
Disaster and Poverty follow in their wake.
Without a Patsy to victimize: there is no-game.
They’re ADDICTED to Power and Money!
Giving more money to these Corporate Crooks is like:
Giving a Drug Addict more Heroin without any Treatment,
Pouring water into a bucket with holes in it,
Giving a Blood Transfusion to a Person hemorrhaging with a bleeding artery without
Stopping the Bleeding, first!
Stop the Bleeding!
This Economic Crisis is only the Tip of The Iceberg.
It is an indication of something much more sinister at work.
The Whole Corporate System is ROTTEN to the Core.
They are Guilty of these Crimes against Humanity:
Lying,
Spying,
Thievery,
Corruption,
Censoring and the News,
Manipulating Information,
The Faux Media,
War,
Propaganda,
Terror &
Various other:
High Crimes and
Treason.
Our way of life is at stake!
Now is the Time for dramatic and sweeping Change instead of more of the Same.
Business as usual got U.S. into the mess and can never get U.S. out.
They had their chance.
Pull the Plug and start over.
Stop the BU__! SH__!
Surge
Purge
Update and
REBOOT!