Like 5.7 Percent GDP Growth? Pass a Real Jobs Bill

In this cross-post from the Campaign for America’s Future, Bill Scher explains the need for a real jobs bill to keep the economy growing.

Today’s estimate of 5.7 percent annual rate of growth in the Gross Domestic Product for the last quarter of 2009 sure beats a kick in the teeth. And if we sustain this rate of growth, we will have a robust recovery and come near full employment.

But we won’t sustain this growth unless Congress acts and passes a real jobs bill.

As economist Paul Krugman notes in the New York Times, today’s number may end up being just a “blip.” The economic consensus is that much of today’s growth number is an “inventory bounce” in which “businesses that were emptying their warehouses a year ago are now buying enough goods to keep stockpiles steady.”

Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research concludes:

There is no reason to believe that this will presage a burst of hiring.

The stimulus continues to mitigate the effects of the recession and unquestionably helped avert a Great Depression. But it’s not large enough or comprehensive enough in scope to fully solve the jobs crisis.

The White House acknowledges this, in a blog post from economic adviser Christina Romer:

There will surely be bumps in the road ahead, and we will need to continue to take responsible actions to ensure that the recovery is as smooth and robust as possible.

And the president himself emphasized that the $154 billion that passed the House last month, which he urged the Senate to pass, still will not be enough:

But what has been the Senate response? To prepare a jobs bill that is smaller than the House bill. That’s inane.

We at Campaign for America’s Future have launched a grassroots effort to press the Senate to both pass the House jobs bill and embark on a comprehensive long-term jobs strategy, including these key goals:

• Rebuild America’s schools, roads and energy systems.
• Close state budget gaps to prevent mass layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters. And direct public sector hiring to expand services that strengthen our communities.
• Use our taxpayer dollars to “Buy American” and revitalize our manufacturing industry.

The solution is big because the problem is big. The stimulus wasn’t big enough to stop all job losses from the recession, but it was big enough to lead us to this point where we can be thankful for a strong GDP growth number.

Senators: if you like looking at GDP numbers as big as this, I suggest you get to work on a bigger jobs bill.

You can help by clicking here and telling your senators: “We need action on jobs NOW!”

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