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Job Summit Tomorrow: What Do We Need to Create Jobs?
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Tomorrow, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and other national leaders will meet with President Barack Obama at the White House jobs summit, where they’ll start a much-needed conversation about what to do for the 26 million workers who are unemployed or underemployed.
Across the country, union members and Working America members are joining the conversation by holding roundtable discussions in Ohio, New Mexico and Minnesota on the jobs crisis and the need for quick action.
Trumka will be joined by union leaders, academics, corporate heads and elected officials from across the country. They’ll work to identify what we can do to create jobs and start turning our economy around. The summit will run from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. EST.
At the summit, Trumka will present the AFL-CIO’s five-point plan to create jobs:
- Extending unemployment insurance, health assistance and food aid to struggling workers, to inject cash into the economy and help struggling families maintain their homes and communities.
- Investing in jobs in transportation, school construction, energy efficiency and green technology, to put people to work and build our country for the long term.
- Aid to state and local governments, to protect vital services like schools and public safety and prevent layoffs that can undermine recovery.
- Directly funding public-sector jobs, targeted at meeting the needs of struggling communities. These must be full-time, good jobs that add to, not replace, existing public jobs.
- Re-directing funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) away from big banks and toward direct loans from community banks to small and medium-sized businesses in need of credit.
The failure to address this enormous problem won’t just mean continued unacceptable levels of unemployment. Long-term unemployment can damage the long-term prospects not just for workers without jobs, but for their children, as well. We cannot wait and assume an eventual recovery is inevitable—our families and communities need jobs now to get our country back on track.
A new report by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) indicates that at least 600,000 jobs—and possibly as many as 1.6 million jobs—exist today that wouldn’t have existed without the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, but, with the economy still weak and a big gap between available jobs and the millions who need them, we need more investment in direct job creation.
John Nichols, writing at The Nation, notes that jobs are the top issue for millions and millions, and that the summit is the biggest news of the week. The jobs crisis needs a strong, decisive response.
Stay tuned here at the blog and on Twitter for updates on the summit, the worker roundtables and the AFL-CIO’s plan for job creation.
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9 Comments
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Mike Morin
512 W.10th Avenue, #2
Eugene, OR 97401
December 2, 2009
Mr. Kenneth Lewis
President
Bank of America
Corporate Center
100 North Tryon Street
Charlotte, NC 28255
Mr. Lewis and/or whoever (else) reads this letter:
It is my sincerest Cynical hope that you all will read this letter, take it seriously, and strongly consider cooperating with the plans that I have laid out and will try now to succinctly summarize.
I am asking thee to take a leadership role in the Banking “Industry” and consider the education, communications, and actions that you can take with respect to a peaceful transition regarding the evolution to a cooperative communitarian economy that is fundamentally dedicated to meeting peoples needs and wellness in an inclusive, humane, equitable, clean, and sustainably principled manner and modus operandi.
The basic call is to convert the “private sector” to a quasi-public one, working in unity and cooperation and helping to relieve the burdens and fiscally strapped potential inadequacies of the various Public Institutions and Programs.
We need to reorganize, reallocate to and within communities and among and within economic sectors, rebuild our communities in recognition of the post-peak fossil fuel reality and the century of sprawl with a paradigm of ecological economic redevelopment.
It is my firmly held assertion that the business community with its assumptions of discount rates with the concept of the time value of money is a self-fulfilling inflationary perspective and practice where money becomes worth less, eventually worthless. Also on a finite planet, we cannot entertain the fantasy of infinite growth.
We need to move on to a new era in human evolution, that of Homa Cooperativo, where equity sharing replaces equity trading and lending.
I hope you will understand the wisdom and intelligence incorporated into this communication, share it with your compatriots, and seek further communications, elaboration, discussion, and work with me and the interests of the greater world that I represent.
Time is of the essence.
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,
Mike Morin
peoplesequityunion@earthlink.net
In the computer field the most important issue is absent from the list described in this article. The H1-B program needs to be severely curtailed. The population of India is more than 1.1 billion. Half of this population is under 25. There is a virtually limitless steady stream of young workers from India available to take away American jobs under the current open door policy. Currently, anyone who arrives in the US and obtains any Master’s degree can automatically get a visa. This is not about hatred of immigration or immigrants. This is about having an immigration policy that operates in financial reality. Our society does not have the resources to employ the entire growing young population of India and our own workers. The idea that Americans are not available to do these jobs – software development, engineering, testing, even secretarial – is ridiculous. Any job creation is going to be a sham unless we insure that the jobs actually go to workers already present in this country. A related issue is how employers are filling jobs via contract agencies in India. They take 50% as overhead so the money for jobs does not even go to the workers. The money goes right out of the US. I am worried that the stimulus money for electronic medical records IT will end up with private companies hiring contract labor from India, and the American workers will never see any of this money. Another point – journalism students at American University found that 84% of the clean energy stimulus money went to foreign companies. There is no oversight to make sure that the stimulus money actually goes to American workers and American companies, even though the money comes from American taxpayers.
“Olderworker”, I’m 57, am I an Older older worker or a younger/older worker (i.e. than thee)?
Yes, you raise very legitimate and problematic concerns. Fundamental to such is the rampant inflation that has been going on in the USA which puts North American Workers at a terrible disadvantage in the competitive job market.
Corollary to such is the prohibitive effect that the ridiculously inflated real “economic rents” and costs of capital assets have had on any entrepreneurial opportunities, already at great disadvantage to corporate diversification strategies and (now failing) economies of scale.
Concerning “stimulus” money such is a fundamentally destructive concept anyway in that it appears to assume the addiction to what I previously described as the specious fantasy of infinite economic growth within a finite earth in the solar system.
Secondly, this concept of “clean energy” is unfortuantely an irreality.
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,
Mike Morin
Eugene, OR
I would like to make a second comment. Unless much stronger action is taken to stop age discrimination, any jobs creation program will mean nothing. Employers are asking illegal age-related questions in telephone interviews because they know the enforcement of the discrimination laws is a joke. The burden of proof is on the job candidate, who can’t prove such a case. Employers can always find some “reason” why they hired the younger worker. There is a need for justice department sting operations in which agents pose as older workes and younger workers and find organizations that are discriminating. I am also in favor of quotas and affirmative action. Otherwise, people over 50 will never find a permanent job. There is also a great deal of professional attacking of older workers on the job.
Statement on President Obama’s Job Summit
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/press-releases/press-releases/job-summit/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cepr+(CEPR)
For Immediate Release: December 2, 2009
Contact: Alan Barber, (202) 293-5380 x 115
Washington, D.C.- Center for Economic and Policy Research Co-Director Dean Baker issued the following statement on President Obama’s upcoming jobs summit:
It is encouraging to see the Obama administration return its focus to job creation. The stimulus bill passed last February was an important factor in stopping the steepest economic downturn since the Great Depression. The latest report from the Congressional Budget Office indicates that the ARRA of 2009 may have been responsible for creating as many as 1.6 million jobs, lowering the unemployment rate by as much as a full percentage point.
Nonetheless, the downturn has been markedly worse than was predicted last winter. The unemployment rate is at an unacceptably high level and is now projected to remain high long into the future, remaining in double digits for most of 2010, and not falling below 7.0 percent until late 2012. President Obama has rightly decided that this baseline is unacceptable.
There are four steps that can be taken to reduce the unemployment rate quickly:
1. Flexible employment credits to allow employers to shorten work hours instead of laying off workers: Each month, employers are laying off close to 2 million workers. If the government gave employers tax credits to shorten work time while leaving pay unchanged, it could reduce these layoffs. If the number of layoffs fell by just 10 percent, this would have the same effect on employment as adding 200,000 jobs a month or 2.5 million a year. Germany has used this mechanism to keep its unemployment rate from rising, even though it has experienced a steeper recession than the United States.
2. Support for education, health care and other vital state and local government services: Under budget pressure, state and local governments across the country are cutting these services and laying off workers. Aid from the federal government can allow these workers to keep their jobs and services to continue to be provided.
3. Direct job creation: There are parts of the country where the unemployment rate now exceeds 25 percent, with youth unemployment well above 40 percent. To prevent a generation of young people from being locked out of the job market, it is important to have public service jobs that can employ people immediately.
4. Right to rent for homeowners facing foreclosure: If homeowners facing foreclosure had the right to remain in their homes as tenants paying the market rent for a substantial period (5-10 years), it would provide substantial housing security to millions of families while stemming the nation’s rising number of foreclosures. This policy could also provide an economic boost since it would free up money for millions of homeowners who are now struggling with mortgage debts that they cannot pay. This would in turn lead to a boost in consumption that would increase demand in the economy.
These steps would go far in reducing layoffs, fostering job growth and giving relief to the millions of Americans suffering as a result of the economic crisis.
Statement on President Obama’s Job Summit
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/press-releases/press-releases/job-summit/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+cepr+(CEPR)
For Immediate Release: December 2, 2009
Contact: Alan Barber, (202) 293-5380 x 115
Washington, D.C.- Center for Economic and Policy Research Co-Director Dean Baker issued the following statement on President Obama’s upcoming jobs summit:
It is encouraging to see the Obama administration return its focus to job creation. The stimulus bill passed last February was an important factor in stopping the steepest economic downturn since the Great Depression. The latest report from the Congressional Budget Office indicates that the ARRA of 2009 may have been responsible for creating as many as 1.6 million jobs, lowering the unemployment rate by as much as a full percentage point.
Nonetheless, the downturn has been markedly worse than was predicted last winter. The unemployment rate is at an unacceptably high level and is now projected to remain high long into the future, remaining in double digits for most of 2010, and not falling below 7.0 percent until late 2012. President Obama has rightly decided that this baseline is unacceptable.
There are four steps that can be taken to reduce the unemployment rate quickly:
1. Flexible employment credits to allow employers to shorten work hours instead of laying off workers: Each month, employers are laying off close to 2 million workers. If the government gave employers tax credits to shorten work time while leaving pay unchanged, it could reduce these layoffs. If the number of layoffs fell by just 10 percent, this would have the same effect on employment as adding 200,000 jobs a month or 2.5 million a year. Germany has used this mechanism to keep its unemployment rate from rising, even though it has experienced a steeper recession than the United States.
2. Support for education, health care and other vital state and local government services: Under budget pressure, state and local governments across the country are cutting these services and laying off workers. Aid from the federal government can allow these workers to keep their jobs and services to continue to be provided.
3. Direct job creation: There are parts of the country where the unemployment rate now exceeds 25 percent, with youth unemployment well above 40 percent. To prevent a generation of young people from being locked out of the job market, it is important to have public service jobs that can employ people immediately.
4. Right to rent for homeowners facing foreclosure: If homeowners facing foreclosure had the right to remain in their homes as tenants paying the market rent for a substantial period (5-10 years), it would provide substantial housing security to millions of families while stemming the nation’s rising number of foreclosures. This policy could also provide an economic boost since it would free up money for millions of homeowners who are now struggling with mortgage debts that they cannot pay. This would in turn lead to a boost in consumption that would increase demand in the economy.
These steps would go far in reducing layoffs, fostering job growth and giving relief to the millions of Americans suffering as a result of the economic crisis.
The following article, from a socialist perspective regarding the “jobs summit” provides additional insights to the question “What Do We Need to Create Jobs?”
Link to World Socialist Web Site for the posted article:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/dec2009/jobs-d03.shtml
White House holds photo-op “jobs summit”
By Jerry White
3 December 2009
The Obama administration is holding a summit on jobs and economic growth today, bringing together 130 corporate executives, economists, academics and union officials.
The event, along with a planned “Main Street Tour” by the president, is aimed at deflecting growing criticism that he has done nothing to address the jobs crisis, which has consigned 26 million workers to joblessness or reduced hours of work.
The summit is being held on the eve of the Labor Department’s report on November unemployment, which is expected to show another jump in the official jobless rate. Earlier this week, the business consulting firm ADP released a survey of employers showing that another 169,000 jobs were lost in November, making it the 23rd consecutive month in which payrolls declined, the longest stretch since the Great Depression.
Economists predict double-digit unemployment will last throughout 2010 and possibly for years thereafter. In the face of this disaster, Obama has repeated his mantra that employment is a “lagging indicator” of an otherwise “recovering” economy. He has made it clear that he will take no measures, such as a government public works program, which would increase the federal deficit. Instead, job creation must be entirely subordinated to the capitalist market and the profitability US corporations and investors.
White House officials, the New York Times noted this week, have “signaled that Mr. Obama’s willingness to back any expensive new government programs is limited.” The newspaper continued: “One official said Mr. Obama’s announcement of the jobs forum was ‘carefully crafted’ to emphasize that generally the ‘government has done what it can. It’s time to hear from the private sector about what it’s going to do.’”
In fact, the government has done next to nothing. The stimulus package passed last February produced a derisory number of jobs. Even if the White House’s exaggerated figures are taken at face value, the 600,000 to 1.6 million jobs “created or saved” by the stimulus bill are a drop in the bucket compared to the more than 7 million jobs lost since the recession began.
According to reports, the administration is considering further corporate tax cuts and pro-business incentives, including tax credits for hiring new employees and a tax holiday. In addition, the summit participants will reportedly discuss “green” jobs, boosting small business employment, government infrastructure spending, fostering the growth of US exports, business competitiveness and workforce development and training.
None of this will have any significant impact on the worst jobs crisis since the 1930s. One summit participant, economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, acknowledged, “Most of the people that I talk to are cynical about the event, and expect the administration to offer no more than symbolic gestures.”
The make-up of the summit underscores the class and social interests which the Obama administration serves. Attendees include some of the wealthiest corporate executives in America, whose fortunes have grown as the living standards of the working class have plummeted.
A list of some of the corporate CEOs attending the summit and their total compensation packages for 2008 is illuminating. They include:
• Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T—$15,784,831
• Bob Iger, CEO of Walt Disney—$51,229,341 (up 78 percent from 2007)
• Surya Mahapatra, CEO of Quest Diagnostics—$11,322,335
• Frederick Smith, CEO of FedEx—$10,434,589
• Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast—$26,240,363
• Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google—$508,764
• W. James McNerney, CEO of Boeing—$16,626,254
• Andrew Liveris, CEO of Dow Chemical—$15,704,585
None of these gentlemen has the slightest interest in guaranteeing good-paying jobs for workers. On the contrary, with the full backing of the Obama administration, they are basing their companies’ profits on cutting jobs and using mass unemployment to force workers to accept lower wages and benefits as well as speedup.
In an effort to “balance” the corporate character of the jobs summit, the White House also invited leaders of several unions, including AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka, Steelworkers President Leo Gerard, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, and Anne Burger, chair of the Change to Win union federation.
These officials do not represent the working class. On the contrary, they have long collaborated with the employers and the government to suppress rank-and-file opposition and impose the dictates of big business. In the name of boosting the competitiveness of US corporations against their international rivals, the AFL-CIO and Change to Win functionaries have all embraced Obama’s health care plan, which will slash benefits for union members and cut funding for Medicare.
In announcing the summit before leaving on his Asian trip last month, Obama said, “It’s important that we don’t make any ill-considered decisions—even with the best intentions—particularly at a time when our resources are so limited.”
Jennifer Psaki, a White House spokeswoman, said of today’s event: “There are limits to what government can and should do, even during such difficult times.”
This is from an administration that has emptied the public treasury to pay off the bad gambling debts of the financial elite. The Wall Street bailout is largely responsible for the increase in the budget deficit from $455 billion to $1.4 trillion over the last two years. As a result, the big banks and international investors are expected by 2019 to reap $700 billion a year in annual interest and fees to service the national debt, up from $202 billion this year.
Drawing its top economic advisors from Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup, the White House has pursued a single-minded policy of augmenting the wealth and power of the financial elite and making the working class pay for it. The administration has already made it clear that the theme of Obama’s State of the Union address in January and the next budget will be fiscal austerity.
Concerns over “limited resources” have not stopped the Obama administration from setting aside another $30 billion—or $1 million per year per soldier—to send an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan, bringing the total cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan past the $1 trillion mark. This latter sum is enough to hire 10 million workers at an annual salary of $100,000 each.
The decision on how society’s resources are to be allocated is a question of which class holds political power. If workers are to prevent their descent into destitution, they must organize themselves as a political force, independently of and against the Obama administration and the two parties of big business, and fight to take political power into their own hands.
Unemployment is the result of a failed economic system—capitalism—that will put people to work only if the corporate and financial elite can extract a sufficiently high profit from their labor.
If employment is to be guaranteed to all, a new principle must guide economic life. The satisfaction of human needs must take precedence over the private accumulation of wealth by the super-rich.
There is no lack of tasks that must be carried out to improve society—or the workers willing and able to carry them out. According to a recent report, 1.7 million construction workers have lost their jobs since January 2007, and there are presently 25 unemployed construction workers for every job opening in the field.
The first step to guaranteeing a good-paying job and economic security is the launching of a multi-trillion-dollar public works program to hire unemployed workers to rebuild the country’s crumbling infrastructure, cities and industrial base. This must be part of a socialist program to reorganize economic life based on meeting human needs, not corporate profit.
I posted a comment yesterday and if you won’t post my opinion I’m not participating. Kind of like “why bother to vote if they’re all owned by the corporations and the banksters”
Dear Jerry White,
Your expose is exceptionally excellent but your recommended solution is ridiculous.
In Peace, Friendship, Community, Cooperation, and Solidarity,
Mike Morin