It's still all about JOBS

[MadHound]

Another month, another dismal jobs report. The economy lost 95,000 jobs last month, granted, that is better than under Bush, but the fact of the matter is that we need a major jobs creation bill NOW if we're going to get this economy going again.

Yet this is exactly what Obama and Dems refuse to do. Instead they piddle around with tax cuts and tax credits, which are the least effective form of economic stimulus going, bar none.

Meanwhile, the true unemployment/underemployment number, the U6, jumped up to 17.1%.
<http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm>

This has got to be the number one priority of this administration and of Congress, at least until these numbers start coming down.

95,000 plus now fresh out of work. How can you run an economy well when you are hemorrhaging jobs?

[Subdivisions]

1. Makes me wonder why there isn't already a jobs bill/program. When we were

attacked on 9/11, the Patriot Act was on the floor almost immediately.

So, where is the jobs/economic equivalent of the Patriot Act?

[MadHound]

3. The Patriot Act allowed for the expansion of the police state,

That is advantageous to the power that be in this country.

A jobs bill, a low unemployment rate isn't advantageous for TPTB in this country. It drives up wages and makes for a less compliant/scared workforce.

[kenny blankenship]

4. So hire 5 million more 'police' - have them guard trash dumps & flea markets against terror attacks

[Tiras De Carne Seca]

2. Well said.

[the redcoat]

5. Tax outsourcers

Corporations will never pull out of foreign countries without an incentive, even if the US was a week away from completely collapsing and splitting up into factions.

Tax the assholes that dominate an industry until their competition has to close down, then move all jobs overseas. Union labor still makes reasonable priced clothing (I've bought plain union made t-shirts for only $8), don't be fooled by companies like Nike who say they need to produce overseas or they won't turn a profit, then spend tens of millions per year to sponsor individual athletes.

[MadHound]

6. And have politicians risk their precious campaign donations, future jobs as lobbyists

And all the other perks of a politician engaging in a sycophantic relationship with our corporate masters.

I agree, that would be a lovely solution, but it isn't going to happen until we enact fully funded public elections.

Until we take corporate money out of our governing process, what is good for corporations will always come first, and what is good for the people will never be nothing more than an afterthought.

[the redcoat]

9. Well then you are going to be pissed when

you read this:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/01/21/campaign.finance.ruling/index.html?hpt=T1

A 5-4 conservative majority crafted a narrow overhaul of federal campaign spending Thursday that could have an immediate effect on this year's congressional midterm elections. The justices eased long-standing restrictions on "independent spending" by corporations and unions in political campaigns.

[MadHound]

10. And other than bluster, what have this administration and Dems done about this?

Nothing.

Politicians talk a good game about CFR, but when the rubber meets the road, they are all out there with their hands out.

Again, this is why we need publicly funded elections.

[txaslftist]

8. Better just to tax the imports...

Put in a protective tariff, and include anything made in a foreign country, even if it's ostensibly an "American" company.

This would, of course, be in violation of the WTO.

[plcdude]

7. an interesting graph

Check out St. Ronnie's numbers from June 1982 to June 1983. Actually toward the end of the Carter term unemployment figures were going down and then came the Reagan years. In May 2008 the unemployment rise began in ernest under the Bush watch. http://www.miseryindex.us/urbymonth.asp

[The Uncola]

11. Spot on.

There is no other issue that I will truly care about until I am once again gainfully employed at a livable wage and treated like a valuable asset by my employer. EVERYTHING else is secondary to that and no amount of browbeating will change that simple truth.