Economic Crisis Boils Democratic Message Down to Jobs

[Cirque du So-What]

Source: Washington Post

Economic Crisis Boils Democratic Message Down to Jobs

Health Care, Energy Still Part of Agenda

By Alec MacGillis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, November 16, 2008; Page A06

For most of his campaign, President-elect Barack Obama's economic message was a call to restore balance to an off-kilter system, with investments in health care and education and reforms to the tax code and labor laws. But the Democratic message on the economy is now boiling down to a more blunt and focused rallying cry: jobs, jobs, jobs.

With unemployment claims at a 14-year high, and with Goldman Sachs economists predicting that the jobless rate could rise to 8.5 percent by the end of 2009, Democrats are seizing on job creation as an argument for aggressive action that they say will be hard for Republicans to resist.

Democrats are using the promise of tens of thousands of new jobs building bridges, public transit lines and port facilities to push for an infrastructure program that carries echoes of the New Deal's Works Progress Administration. After Republican opposition last week scuttled talk of a more limited stimulus package in the short term, Democrats plan to wait until January -- when Obama takes office and an even larger Democratic majority controls Congress -- to move forward with legislation for the infrastructure program, which would be part of a stimulus package that some economists say needs to be at least $300 billion.

The Democrats' talk of energy is being framed more than ever around the prospect of more "green" jobs: building wind turbines and solar panels, for example, or retrofitting buildings to make them more efficient. Even Democratic plans to expand health coverage are being billed as job-creation measures. The thinking is that universal coverage will lower health-care costs and make companies more willing to hire, as well as create new health-care jobs.

more...

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/15/AR2008111502438.html?hpid=topnews

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I look forward to January, when the repugs will be told to sit down, shut up & stay the hell out of our way. I don't pretend to be an economist - and from all appearances fancy degrees & years of experience don't amount to a hill of beans when it comes to putting theory into practice. It seems to me that taking action of some sort is better than doing nothing at all, and our infrastructure could definitely use some attention. Expansion of public transit is also high on my 'wish list' of what we as a nation need to be accomplishing.

[HereSince1628]

1. IMHO that font isn't big enough!

:rofl:

[w4rma]

4. Good news requires big font. :-) (nt)

[OHdem10]

2. When is someone going to "honest up" and explain to the American

people we have been hit by the Convergence of two asteroids. The
Banking System Failure in US and two the Globalization Failure around
the world. Those trade agreements have not worked out exactly as planned.
We must all prepare to have a much lower standard of living in this
country. This has affected the world---Americans having their incomes
drop and the others losing their jobs--thus,Americans can no longer buy even
the "cheap goods" from overseas.

It was predicted just after the 2006 Election that we were in for
at least 40,000,000 (forty million) job dislocations. Jobs at all
levels including professionals). (Senate Hearing--Chuck Schumer)

There are two things hitting us but to listen to the Media you
would think it is just the Housing and Financial System Debacle.

We are also in the process of harmonizing living standards downward
to be more in keeping with the the rest of the world. The problem
is America cannot be expected to consume all these imports if their
jobs have been outsourced and or transported overseas. OOOPS????

[WriteDown]

3. That would be political suicide....

And I do believe that the US still has its best times ahead under new leadership.

[Cary]

5. What did the Bush administration do over the last 8 years to help average earnings?

Nothing.

So you conclude that average American wages have to go down to be equalized with the rest of the world because we've had such horrible leadership over the last 8 years?

Sounds a little defeatist to me. I'm not willing to accept that notion.

An New, New Deal sounds good to me. We're all Keynesians now, dammit.

[fascisthunter]

6. nah... you have to be center-right without any ideology whatsoever...

;-)

"An New, New Deal sounds good to me. We're all Keynesians now, dammit."

I couldn't agree with that statement more.

[lib2DaBone]

7. Jan 20th.. let the Adults take over....God let this Republican nightmare end....

[OhioChick]

8. Agreed.

A "nightmare" is putting it mildly.

[Energy]

9. Green Collar Jobs

Our last stimulus package cost 168 BILLION. It didn't do a thing to improve our economy. Not enough credit is being given to the role the record breaking cost of gas played in the downward spiral of our economy. The average family broke the budget filling up the car alone. Then to add insult to injury, every consumer product cost us more due to increased production and shipping costs. Food, clothing, everything imaginable now cost more as well. So, we cut back and this sadly results in even more jobs being lost! OPEC responds to our lowered consumption by cutting production and they continue to cut and will do so until they get the price per barrel back up. We have so much available to us in the way of FREE energy sources such as wind and solar. We have modern technologies such as hybrid and electric plug in cars. Why don't we invest in America becoming energy independent. 168 billion would go a LONG way towards getting some of these things set up plus would create millions of badly needed new jobs. We are using oil at the rate of 2x faster than new oil is being discovered. World demand is rising as 3rd world countries become more modernized and populations explode. Jeff Wilson has a new book out called The Manhattan Project of 2009 Energy Independence NOW. I highly recommend this book for anyone worried about our economy and our dependence on foreign oil.

<http://www.themanhattanprojectof2009.com>

[Danascot]

10. Nailed it

Great post; thanks for the book rec and welcome to DU ... a very auspicious beginning!

[KakistocracyHater]

11. BUSH TAX CUTS SAME GUYS GOT "BAILOUT"

it didn't create American jobs (just Chinese & Indian jobs, so technically...)The "bailouts"(welfare for wealthy) are the very same bunch........what was that bit about madness doing the same thing over & over expecting different results?...Idiots

[undeterred]

12. When is there going to be a non-politicized, accurate way of measuring unemployment?

Unemployment insurance lasts for 26 weeks/the extension is 13 more. Not everyone qualifies for this in the first place, and not everyone gets re-employed during the time that they are collecing it. I know several people who had small businesses fail- they are now in the job market and not collecting UI. I am told that the jobs I apply for have as many as 100 applicants. The rate of people who want to work but cannot find suitable work has got to already be much higher than they are reporting.

[4dsc]

13. May not be a good plan after all...

Check out this interesting read about stimulas spending and infrastructure.. It makes a few very good points on why it may not be the savior everyone is looking for here..

Paving the Way for Stimulus Spending

The question is whether infrastructure expenditures will provide the type of short term boost to the economy that will help turn the current downturn around quickly. Infrastructure spending is a net positive, because when you are done there are tangible improvements to the nation’s roads, airports, and water systems. Because the current economic downturn is expected to be fairly lengthy, some believe the time is ripe to use infrastructure spending to stimulate the economy, despite the longer lead time to get these projects moving.

The problem with this approach is that it is deficit spending, leaving taxpayers on the hook to pay for these projects. In addition the short-term benefits are limited, especially as stimulus spending. As a result, any stimulus package including infrastructure projects should be limited as well. Some are of the opinion that funding for ready to go projects, especially road repairs, could be justified as stimulus spending, but any larger infrastructure investment should be considered long-term and should be paid for.



http://taxpayer.net/search_by_category.php?action=view&proj_id=1547&category=Wastebasket&type=Project

[KillCapitalism]

14. Wow, the media is finally starting to catch on.

They are dead wrong about the unemployment rate forecast for the end of 2009. We already surpassed 8.5% unemployment a long time ago. I wouldn't be shocked to see 20% unemployment by the end of 2009.