Make no mistake about it, our economic meltdown was no accident: it was arson. Over the past decade, we saw productivity rise, but workers' wages stayed flat. We watched the housing bubble burst, and hardworking families lost their homes. We bailed out the banks, but men and women who get up each day thinking about how they are going to make a better life for their families are still losing their jobs and their belief in the American Dream. Our country lost its way.
Today, our President outlined a clear path forward.
The President's Jobs Summit signaled help is on the way for women and men all around this country worried about their jobs, their families and their future. Leaders from government, business, labor and civil society met to weigh ideas old and new in spirited breakout sessions that tackled some of the most complicated challenges before our nation.
But what was most striking about about the Jobs Summit was our President's remarkable and reassuring command of the issues facing this nation.
President Obama's awareness of the breadth, depth and complexity of the choices facing this country can be described as nothing short of impressive. From weighing the options of long term investment versus short term stimulus to assessing the merits of structural deficits compared to short term job creation, his thoughtful analysis made one thing abundently clear: President Obama is the right leader for this moment of unprecedented challenges.
We have a chance now to build a 21st century economy that rewards work and makes sure that our kids will do as well as their parents did. The President's leadership on job creation is critical, and we will now see whether our Congress and the President's economic team can translate his wisdom into a real American economic plan.
We all have much work ahead to get America back on track, but today was a reminder that leadership matters.
Follow Andy Stern on Twitter: www.twitter.com/seiu_andystern
About the SEIU, most their income comes by taking it from others, either in the form of higher taxes, more debt, or in higher healthcare costs. The SEIU requires taking money from the wealth-creating sector to fund their employees. So creating more employment for the SEIU would actually be detrimental to the real economy. Currently it would be better for the long term fiscal health of the country to cut large numbers of those jobs; otherwise, they will bankrupt states and localities over the next one to twenty years. California and New York are examples of states that may go bankrupt because of entities like the SEIU.
And about unions" "Like all industries, jobs go where the unions aren't. Simple as that. Want to drive the local economy into the ground? Vote pro-union. Just ask Michigan."
and who did Obama appoint as Treasury secretary?
Geithner, from the Fed Reserve, who promptly shoveled as much cash into the international banks from day one
1. Threaten banks with massive regulation if they don't start investing in US companies. Thanks to TARP and FED policy, they have the money.
2. Investing in regular maintenance projects like roads and bridges creates only temporary jobs. Please spend the money on new factories, new plants, new ... and not pot holes.
3. Small businesses can only create good jobs if they can sell their services to the big companies. The problem is that the big companies are too weak. Focus your efforts on the big picture first. The small businesses will follow.
SInce 1992, the Democrats to totally abondoned the role of defending the working US citizen, and joined the republicans in taking a wrecking ball the the middle and working classes
Democrats told us we have to pass WTO/NAFTA/MFN-China/H-1b visas/tollerate massive illegal immigration, "becasue of globalism"
it's a complete lie - globalism is the RESULT of these policies, not the CAUSE if it! It's completly backward and they knew it all along.
I think think the majority of American already know that everything I wrote is true
This 'Jobs Summit' should be a watershed event for the citizen with regard to the Obama administration
If the output of this summit is a bunch of mumbo jumbo that ignores the above, then his 'Change' is just 'More of the Same', and your 'Hope' will live only in 'The Dreams of your Father', and not in your or your children's future
Tina
First, you should be organizing every employee of every company who is not subject to an executive employment agreement. I think you'll find them surprisingly receptive if you do it right.
Second, what if the USA invested in itself?
What if we funded specific programs with stated goals?
I think w should move to dominate (defined later) the following areas:
1. Nanotech R&D and manufacturing
2. Bio-engineering and manufacturing
3. Solar tech and manufacturing
4. Clean coal
Pursue these with the same fervor we displayed to get to the moon.
Now, when I say dominate, I mean:
1. Patents obtained are not licensed outside the US; patent renewal is possible, too
2. Manufacturing and components are US-source only
3. No licenses to manufacture outside the US - We export only
4. Only US firms can benefit from the engineering funding
This is not so different from the policies of other countries in many ways.
The difference is that we could actually do this.
And these efforts would build a 21st century basis for our future as America -- We're strong innovators with a great work ethic. All we need is a push in the right direction.
We have a surplus of goods and services because of slack demand.
If we put money into the hands of consumers demand will increase and so will jobs.
Maybe it's time for a negative income tax to make sure every family has at least $50,000 per year.
Time to take money from the top 1% and give it to the bottom. Yes, I said give.
Our bloated and corrupt healthcare system that serves the select few......
When a hospital refuses to unionize the nurses and turns around and bills it's customer $103,000 for 72 hours (or 1,333 per hour), that is a crime against the nurse who are getting paid $20 to $40 per hour....Where is the money going...
Obama should be hiring a team of auditors to see where all the money is going and then give scholarships to the nurses and the doctors...... and expand the Medical Schools, they can always set up 5 new military service medical schools instead of bringing in all these foreign medical school doctors... We need a healthcare REVOLUTION!!!
Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Fanny and Freddy?
How about we hire a team of auditors that looks into the goings on of the aforementioned groups...yea and how about auditing the books of both the SEIU and ACORN (or am I being redundant).
I was there, too.
Companies didn't want to train their employees.
Companies didn't care about quality so much as cost. (GE lead that charge)
In short, we were lazy, and we did this to ourselves, in business.
Any other story about it is, in my experience, a cop-out.
When Bill Gates gets up and says he can't find enough programmers, ask him about all the people Microsoft has let go.
When we allow H1-B programs to exist, we import unemployment.
I think we should tax payments for offshore services.
We don't, because our leaders are coin-operated.
As an entrepreneur who has founded a number of companies, I used to think that was my role, but I must have been mistaken. This is clearly the role of the gov't now.
My new role, coming in the next couple of months, will be to explain to employees of the small business that I own (four people), why they no longer have jobs. But I'm sure that Obama will take care of them, so I'm not worried in the least for their well being.
You, or people like you, aren't hiring unemployed workers. Somebody has to do that, or we're heading for a smoking ruin of an economy, one that really will force you to lay off your present employees, instead of just pretending in public.
Every so often you've got to check your ideology to see if it still seems to line up with experience.
We voted for change and we ended up with a change for the worse! What a major disappointment!
Awareness? That's impressive??? Awareness does not generate jobs and it does not put food on the table. I would certainly hope he is AWARE. But what is he DOING (other than being aware)? (And please do not say "job summit.")
The greed of a few has been the downfall of us all
Okay, where do you suppose the tax dollars needed for change is going to come from? Unemployment beneficiaries? Puleeze. No wonder the middle class is getting choked off.
The Chamber my friend represents 3 million small to medium businesses with 100 or more employees. 96 percent of the Chambers members are small business that provides this Nation 80 percent of its employment. Yeah, throw Ma and Pa business under the bus and keep giving the banks our money. This whole Chamber thing is so damaging because business owners hence employees understand how invaluable the Chamber is in generating new ways to compete and keep folks employed. Do you think the Chamber is a cheerleader for offshore contracting? Absolutely not and if you have any evidence that the Chamber does not provide these positive services for its members, source it and post it.
Tina