On Monday the president will offer ways to pay for his $467 billion American Jobs Act mostly by increasing taxes on the wealthy.
I'm all in favor, but it's an odd strategy. If any Republican was prepared to vote for the jobs bill, this will send him or her scurrying.
So if the president was never really serious about getting Republican votes in the first place -- if his jobs bill and the tax increase on the wealthy were always going to be part of his 2012 election year pitch -- why didn't he make his jobs bill big enough to do the job?
Here's another odd thing.
The deficit-reduction plan the president will present Monday to Congress's special Super Committee on the debt (now struggling to come up with $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction) will also propose some $2 to $3 trillion in additional deficit reduction over the next ten years -- including changes in Medicare.
According to the president's plan, those tax increases and spending cuts would go into effect in 2013.
But there's a strong likelihood the American economy will still be anemic in 2013, if not on life support. Even if we avoid a double dip the jobs picture we'll almost certainly be terrible. Even if by some miracle job growth soared to the average monthly growth over the past decade, the unemployment rate wouldn't get back down to 6 percent until 2024.
When unemployment is still in the stratosphere, it would be insane to start cutting the deficit by $3 trillion to $4 trillion. That would push unemployment into outer space.
And in proposing such a huge deficit reduction package, the president continues to reinforce the Republican lie that the budget deficit is our biggest challenge -- indeed, that we're in the fix we're in because government has become too big.
If the president wants to show his creds on deficit reduction, at least put in a trigger that begins to lower the deficit only when unemployment falls to 6 percent.
Our national crisis is joblessness and low wages, not the deficit.
Robert Reich is the author of Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future, now in bookstores. This post originally appeared at RobertReich.org.
Follow Robert Reich on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RBReich
David Theo Goldberg: On Social Sacrifice
Chris Weigant: Obama Redefines Populism
Joseph A. Palermo: A President Standing in Quicksand
Rev. Chuck Currie: Pass The American Jobs Acts For A Stronger, More Moral America
What is missing from all economic plans for the future is the engine with the oomph to pull the train that oil created. Oil is going away. Fission is being priced out of the market. Renewables are a shell game. Government found it impossible to craft an actual energy policy, so it has taken to calling its posturing about the climate an energy policy. It is human nature to ignore the elephant in the living room, but if you ignore it long enough, your living room becomes the elephant's bathroom. Energy is referred to as the lifeblood of the economy. Whether you look at it from the point of view of how many jobs affordable energy creates or how many are lost without it, there is no bigger jobs issue. I think you would accomplish more good if you would write more about this existential issue (which subsumes the environment) than about how our financial Angels can shuffle the beans around on the tilting deck of the ship of state.
A true jobs plan must focus first on repairing the employment legal infrastructure. Our entire employment system is based on outdated legislation that is inappropriate for accommodating the needs of a 21st century labor force. The laws so narrowly define who can work legally and for whom that the majority or workers are forced to function outside the system. Approximately 55 to 60% of the available U.S. labor force function outside the employment system due either to freelance or unemployment. Billions of dollars are being lost in tax revenues.
It is also very odd that Prof. Reich, former Secy of Labor and former President Clinton don’t remind Congress and President Obama of the recommendations made by the Dunlop Commission in 1994 urging Congress to overhaul employment and labor laws to better accommodate a 21st century labor force.
But if you're tired of voting for evil you might want to find and support a third party.
What happens when the producers in the economy go on strike?
I've seen this claim too many times, and it flies in the face of Reason. I mean, we farmed out production of motor parts and other supplies to Japanese companies during the Korean War, so it's not a new thing.
The Japanese built cheap transistor radios and electronics for us all along as well. It just happens that Korea is also making these things.
And there are still well over 100M people working at jobs here, maybe as many as 120M.
In fact, it says a LOT about our country that of 310M population, only 120M have to work. 2/3 of us don't have to.
If you mean the major corporations and the wealthy - they "went on strike" long ago. They're sitting on trillions - not investing (at least not here), not hiring (at least not here) - you know - the infamous "jobs creators" who've not created any jobs.
In other words, the biggest waste of resources, the "unaffordable and not sustainable" health care is the U.S.' heavily privatized system. Talk about lacking common sense!
Follow the money.
Who profits from this meme?
Follow the money.
Who benefits from these right wing policies?
Follow the money.
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/02/27/opinion/27krugman.html?_r=1
A relevant excerpt: "Between 1972 and 2001.... income at the 99th percentile rose 87 percent; income at the 99.9th percentile rose 181 percent; and income at the 99.99th percentile rose 497 percent. No, that's not a misprint."
It's apparent from the outline, the plan was designed to appease Republicans. That's why it's very heavy on tax credits for businesses, but doesn't mention anything about a public works program or green jobs. Just like TARP, the money is heading to the wrong places, and not getting down to the real engines of the economy, to the people who are unemployed.
Also, Obama's advisors took the "Georgia Work$" job program as the model to adopt. But it's apparent they did no research on how effective it was. Of the thousands who are in the program, Georgia only manages to place 700 into jobs a year. How could anyone in their right mind expect it to be successful on the national level in getting 22 million Americans back to work with that sort of batting average?
The president missed some big opportunities here, and even if he's able to win support of the Republicans, it's too little, too late, and not structured to have the most effect of gettting the unemployed back to work immediately. Of course, Republicans will ultimately hail Obama's job plan as a big failure for justification towards securing their own jobs in 2012. In the meanwhile, welcome, Americans, to the second Great Depression era.
Massive unemployment and lost manufacturing and commerce result from our failed economic system of concentrated ownership and unwonted power.
Our politicians are going to have to realize that the only lifeline for several million of their neighbors and friends, is via governmental distribution of wealth in one form or another. Like free health care. Or food assistance. Or work programs, etc. And someone has to pay for this, and the only ones with any money are the wealthy. So they must pay or face the consequences. And those consequences are visible throughout Europe and the Middle East. The people will rise up, rather than languish and die. This is the choice that faces the United States. Face it and fix it.
Monaco anyone?