How To Put America Back To Work

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

How To Put America Back To Work
posted with permission from: http://sane-ramblings.blogspot.com/2010/08/in-america-should-having-job-be-right.html

Nearly 15 million Americans are unemployed, 4.5 million of them for over a year, and millions more are no longer counted because they've given up looking for work.

The American economy is slowing and could collapse because of the ripple affect of having so many people jobless. The unemployed don't buy houses or cars or go on vacations, eat in restaurants, buy furniture or pay for other goods and services that keep the economy in gear. There is also a terrible psychological impact from being out of work, for in America a person without a job is made to feel worthless.

During the Great Depression the government created programs such as the Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corp to put people to work. These programs restored peoples' pride building some of America's infrastructure.

Here's how we put America back to work today. Create a government program to rebuild America's cities and its infrastructure, the thing our government claims it will do in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rebuild the crumbling highways, bridges and schools and launch other construction projects that will put vast numbers of people to work.

But that's not enough. Expand our educational system with the well educated who are out of work to train huge numbers of people to do jobs vital to Americans, such as sharply increasing the number of doctors, nurses and medical staff to service the government's new massive health care program but also to expand Medicare as our population ages. To attract students, issue scholarships and stipends.

Our public educational system, once the best in the world is faltering and at the high school level dropouts are endemic in our inner cities. Let's recruit and train teachers and motivate them so that they in turn will motivate their students. It is from a well qualified work force we encourage companies to build more of their products here.

Entrepreneurs have long been America's job engine so set up a pool of capital for entrepreneurs to launch or expand businesses, a program run by business experts who will select viable projects and offer skills those small businesspeople may lack.

If you think the government doesn't have the money to do these things, you're right! Except it finds the money to bailout grossly mismanaged companies and to pay for one of the biggest jobs programs in the world, U.S. military spending. For 10% of the $183 billion it gave AIG, it could fund the entrepreneurial capital pool. Instead, this week the Fed committed to spend untold billions of dollars to keep buying more Treasury Bills which will accomplish what?

Call this proposal Project Rebuild America or Project Hope or whatever, but it's long overdue! Real leadership is taking bold action when America most needs it, as President Roosevelt did during the Great Depression and as he did in converting our nation to fight World War ll. Today, if President Obama and Congress can find the will to act, soon millions of unemployed Americans will have jobs, a paycheck and their pride back and our nation will be a far better place because of it.

[HillbillyBob]

1. never happen

We are going to go down in a spiral of never ending misery. Well until we crash, break up as a country or drown every repuke, neokon and kkkonservative dem.. It has been misery for those of us who were stuck in shit jobs that got shittier every year for less pay.

[librechik]

2. seems obvious, doesn't it? We know those programs worked. Adopt them again!

Of course, since we found out they worked, the Republicans demonized those programs quite successfully with the Red Scare, calling them socialist. And everyone is terrified of that Stalin Socialism (that doesn't exist)

So we foolishly will let ourselves go down as a country rather than be called a name that Bush Jr doesn't like. A name that has saved lives and economies all over the world with great success and no damage to their democracies.

The US is stupid indeed.

[liberal N proud]

3. The GOP says no way

They can't let that happen.

There are wars to start!

[LatteLibertine]

4. Yes

stop throwing money at Wall Street and tax breaks to the most wealthy. In addition, reduce spending on war profiteering and the military industrial complex.

Our government and our corporations have plenty of money to do what is right and best for the overwhelming majority of United States citizens. They often choose not to.

[FreakinDJ]

5. If you have "Free Trade" & Out-Sourcing, there are no jobs for Americans

While I agree with the basic premise of your OP - Until our government gets off the "Trickle Down Economics / Free Trade Kool Aid" all we will do is progress into a 3rd World country

[jtuck004]

6. This is the only way things are going to get better, and it is imperative

that we do it now, because there is _nothing_ on the horizon that is going to boost employment for at least the next 5-10 years. Nothing. 3 million more homes will be foreclosed on by December of 2011, and unemployment is quite likely to be nearing or over 12% within the next year.

The chorus of voices calling for reductions in spending need to be overwhelmed with voices of people who will create jobs, and increase the income in this country. Unless we want to throw away 15 million of our neighbors lives, increasing income is far preferable to decreasing spending.

That said, how do we keep the money from simply going to China and whoever is sending us our oil at the moment? Because people will spend this on things that are largely made outside of the country.

It will have to include a recapture of manufacturing of basic goods, with an eye toward what will be needed in the 21st century, and our education needs to change to reflect that as well. While the money will still flow out in exports for a while, at least it will eventually begin to staunch the outflow. It will have to come with changes to tax codes and laws which are friendly to businesses that are undermining our economy as we speak - regardless of their support by Democrats or Republicans.

It's just silly to say we don't have the money - China doesn't either and they are dumping billions into building polysilicone plants, higher education, and alternative energy. Our manufacturing output in 2008 was $1.7 trillion - the culmination of 200 years of American history. China hit $1.6 trillion, and that was in only 30 years of modernization (relying on our companies who off shored a tremendous amount, but that is irrelevant now). They will surpass us, and they will dominate energy sources in the future. If we don't act now, we may well pass into history like Great Britain did when we surpassed them.

You are absolutely correct. We have to make our elected officials, regardless of party, act now. Or this is going to be largely irrelevant in another 10 years.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

7. I'd like to recommend all the comments in this thread.

Thank you all for commenting in such a thoughtful way!

[raouldukelives]

8. I think it'll be solved in a few years

Once the GOP can get minimum wage lowered to what they consider a sensible amount and repel the child labor laws they can start bringing many manufacturing jobs back from China. It'll be a new golden age in America!