The worst recession in three-quarters of a century ended in the second half of 2010, thanks in part to the proactive policies of the Obama Administration and the Federal Reserve. However, with millions of Americans still out of work, government at all levels can and should do much more to help the private sector create jobs and accelerate the country's economic recovery. Simply lowering taxes and easing the regulatory burden is not enough, as our economic history has demonstrated repeatedly.
As we've seen here in Los Angeles, only governments (at every level) can really do certain things that are needed to be done to optimize the growth of our economy and they can often be done in conjunction with the private sector.
Here are six important approaches government should take:
- Optimize what government already owns: Governments actually own important economic assets that can do much more to foster economic growth without raising taxes. Sometimes, it just means facilitating investments and/or management by private companies that are willing, even eager, to invest. In Los Angeles, for example, our LA Coalition has urged local officials to stimulate trade and tourism with private investments that will expand and modernize our harbor, our airport and our Convention Center (all are owned by the City). For example, two major railroads want to invest $1 billion to build two new rail lines that would speed the shipment of cargo, ease traffic on local freeways and create an estimated 8,000 jobs. Their proposals require government approvals but in spite of being analyzed repeatedly for over seven years, there's still no decision, no construction and no jobs.
- Streamline the environmental review process: Strong environmental safeguards are vital. Our nation must protect its air and water and fight climate change. But we need to expedite the review process and reach good decisions sooner -- not in seven years or more. The E.I.R. review process should be limited to 12 months and a final impartial decision. This is the concept for new state laws in California that limit to six months the environmental review for the construction of a proposed football stadium and convention center project. This law should be expanded to expedite many other good construction projects that are ready to go -- with thousands of jobs -- but are waiting indefinitely for government clearance (like those two rail lines).
- Improve the nation's infrastructure: The federal transportation bill just signed into law by President Obama is a good example of much-needed and appropriate government action. The measure will fund billions of dollars in highway and transit improvements and make America's economy more productive by speeding the flow of people and products. Yet the American Society of Engineers estimates the total cost of America's unmet infrastructure needs is vastly greater:2.2 trillion.
Roads, mass transit, water projects, and the electrical grid are the types of projects and investments that government at every level is uniquely suited to make. They should borrow more money now, while interest rates are at all-time lows (especially with federal bonding support) and couple some of these costs with specific revenue -- be it taxes, tolls and/or fees, as well as private sector investments. Here in Los Angeles we have a good example with a voter-approved 30-year additional 1/2-cent sales tax to fund the building of 12 transportation systems. A complex funding structure with some federal support will now accelerate building this 30-year public transit improvement program into approximately 10 years.
- Educate our kids: In the 21st century to get a good job, you need a good education. For college graduates today, the unemployment rate is less than 4.5 percent. But among those who drop out of high school, it is over 12 percent. We need to produce more workers who have the skills needed in engineering, technology, health care and other growth sectors that are creating jobs that can't be filled by today's unemployed. And we need to re-train thousands of blue-collar workers whose jobs are never coming back. Education is an appropriate investment that only government -- at every level -- has the resources to do for everyone in America.
- Reform immigration: America's visa system needs to be reformed in order to retain foreign students who earn their degrees here. Tens of thousands of needed jobs in America are vacant because of a lack of skilled engineers, doctors, nurses, scientists and more. We want to encourage these graduates to build the next Google right here in America (or at least work here) and not send them abroad. But to keep them here, the federal government must change its visa rules. As Michael Bloomberg has said, sending them elsewhere is "national suicide."
- Federal fiscal and tax policy: Resolve the fiscal cliff. The enormous uncertainty over the tax and fiscal policy of the federal government in 2013 has caused many in the private sector to delay investments and hiring until they know what their tax rates and the economic outlook will be. President Obama's "grand bargain" proposal last summer would have provided just what the economy needs now: short term stimulus and a clear and stable path of higher tax revenues and lower federal spending for the medium and long term. The President's Jobs Act also needs to be passed by Congress. It would create one million new jobs, including funding the hiring of more teachers and police. This is exactly what government is supposed to do.
To create millions of jobs and generate stronger economic growth, government must play its critical role. It's time for the elected leaders of governments at every level and in both parties to take more steps like these six and to work constructively, quickly and cost-effectively with the private sector to truly accelerate the growth of our economy and its quality jobs.
Each civilization has always strived and desired to create sufficient government financial resources to perform the following services for the general public, to relieve the general public from being individually responsible for providing these services:
1. Provide for the common military defense.
2. Pay for the construction of the common infrastructure elements that we all enjoy.
3. Pay for police, fire fighters, educators, and a judicial system.
4. Take care of those citizens that cannot take care of themselves.
5. Provide various other non-essential government expenses such as libraries, museums, zoos, parks, hospitals, NASA and other nice but unnecessary feel good services that serve the total population.
Bureaucratic government employees at every level of government and other government activities (contracts, grants, loans) are therefore NET CONSUMERS of the nation’s public financial resources, and these activities DO NOT CONTRIBUTE to the creating any new financial resources, or any new NATIONAL WEALTH that might otherwise be available to be taxed to collect money to spend on government activities.
The citizenry needs to want these reforms: drop the two party system, end campaign spending (say 100,000 limit), cut congressional pay in half, and create term limits for congressmen and senators.
Without our leaders and the system being reformed, gov't will continue to be corrupt and impotent.
Grandiose ideas are nice, but without a realistic game plan that is all they will end up being.
Like your education concept - love the optimism - but take a look at what G.W. and Obama have done to our educational system with no child left behind - None of it has been positive. Almost all of our stats in education have gone down.
In order to make changes, you need to enact real reforms. Real reform does not come from gov't, it comes from the people.
I believe that the various government taxing authorities at all levels must reduce their economic big government spending ways in order to leave something for our children besides being obligated to pay off our debts and other financial obligations that we created to pay for our US citizen's de-industrialized, non-productive and high consuming lifestyles.
The government is already spending all of the taxes that they can collect, plus borrowing and then spending 40% more than they collect!
Maybe they could prosecute some of those GSA employees that partied in Las Vegas on the taxpayer’s money ($1M) and sentence them to prison.
Maybe they could prosecute 4 star US Army general that spent almost $1M of the taxpayers money on his family and friends and then sentence him to prison, instead of demotion of one rank.
If we want government employees to continue to pilfer and embezzle US taxpayer’s money, then we should continue the minimum penalties that are imposed onto these people that perform these crimes.
the USA should return to basic economic principles and realize that PRIVATELY HELD NATIONAL WEALTH and NON-GOVERNMENT JOBS are only made, created, and/or acquired when the members of a family or the businessmen of a nation, city-state, island, tribe, family, etc., performs one or more of the following tasks:
1. plant, grow and/or harvest something of commercial value from the earth;
2. extract something of commercial value from the earth;
3. manufacture something of commercial value that is consumable
4. construct a building that is permanently useful for rental income;
5. provide professional services (medical, legal, dental, engineering, architecture, land surveying, technology, accounting, etc.);
6. collect payment for patent and copyright uses;
and if they then trade, sell, lease or rent these items and/or services to parties outside of their family, in return for a net transfer of gold, currency or commodities from other parties outside of their family into their own family, then that family is enriched.
The members of that family (tribe, city, state, nation) can then reflect the amount of their real NATIONAL WEALTH and financial security with their net positive accumulation of privately owned grain, gold, cattle, jewels, land, buildings, hotels, casinos, factories, commodities and/or other marketable products that are then available to be used for economic security, to construct infrastructure, for reserve use in times of emergency, and/or as value to redeem any printed paper bonds or currency that they might care to issue.
The USA and most of the European PIIGS nations are living by spending money borrowed back from individuals in the industrialized nations in order to have sufficient government funds to pay their government employees, government contracts, and pensions for their retirees, instead of re-industrializing to create new national wealth through manufacturing and exporting products to foreign nations in return or exchange for foreign gold, or the equivalent in currencies that still have value.
Only the NATIONAL DEBT for future generations to pay off will be increased.
Is not this the GREEK financial plan that failed???
And, by all means, let's cut taxes for rich and for corporations, most of whom already pay almost nothing (2), but our coffers are overflowing. We can be generous, in fact, we should pay them a stipend for doing such a good job.
A magician works by distraction. So let's be distracted. Let's talk and talk about issues that matter little, so that we don't address the real issues (3). And when we do talk, let's be extremely vague. Precision in debate could only keep us confused.
References:
1. http://seekingalpha.com/article/153168-eye-on-unemployment-should-the-u-s-stop-immigration
2. http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/02/27/432749/buffett-corporate-tax-myth/
3. http://truth-out.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2984:three-charts-to-email-to-your-rightwing-brotherinlaw
Over the past two or three decades, both major political parties of the US congress destroyed our creative STEM human database with their intently focused critical thinking technically oriented skills and knowledge along with their WEALTH CREATING manufacturing capability that was required for inventing and manufacturing new products when the US Congress created the US “FREE TRADE AGREEMENT” treaties and MFN trade status with foreign nations.
The US congress also destroyed the existing US creative R&D capabilities and the US database of STEM oriented people that won WWII and then created the economic power that the USA enjoyed for a few decades after WWII, because the technical innovation, product development and design capabilities and the associated jobs went overseas with the manufacturing capability as economically required by FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS.
USA is no longer the World Technology leader that the USA was until maybe the early 1970's. Asian countries are now are the technology leaders. The best and brightest students in the USA have pursued the more financially rewarding non-scientific careers, instead of educations that might have created technically innovative products that people in foreign countries might purchase.
Reference: http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/244167-ryans-china-syndrome-what-did-sheldon-adelson-tell-him
This part is flat out wrong. I am a RN in Georgia and participate in message boards that have nurses from all over the country. There is a GLUT of nurses virtually EVERYWHERE.
STOP listening to the industry mouthpieces saying that there are jobs that cannot be filled: IT IS A FLAT OUT LIE 99% of the time. The real truth is they want to produce a huge surplus of workers as a hedge against pay increases in virtually every industry you name.
The Free Market solution is not importing foreigners; it is RAISING wages until supply equals demand. Are you trying to tell me that with MILLIONS of unemployed Americans, that if all in-demand occupations that supposedly "Cannot be filled" would remain unfilled for long at $150,000 a year out of college?
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? THE JOBS WOULD BE FILLED OVERNIGHT WITH COLLEGES STUDENTS SWITCHING MAJORS
STEM educated US citizens must compete for STEM jobs at those wages.
1. There is no shortage (nursing), propaganda is driven, in many cases, by the COLLEGES trying to increase enrollment, or by the industry.
2. The pay is simply too low. They are asking for a laundry list of skills, refusing to train for ANY of them, or they cannot import ENOUGH visa workers and complain that the Americans actually want to be paid a wage commensurate with the skills involved.
My personal dentist is an ex NASA electrical engineer.
barriers would be helpful..........................and some reliable electricity ?
Can't say much until we know who wins in November.
However, we do know about the recent past !
You do offer, however, a classic case of suggestions that 75% of people could agree with, but the 40% that tow the Party line each way will bash depending on who they think wrote them. So we have two parties, both of which espouse "solutions" a majority can't agree on. And no one to offer "common sense" an overwhelming majority can agree on. I believe we need to send every citizen to negotiation training, where they would learn that giving the other guy some things he wants is good as long as you get most of what you want. Actually,either side could move towards "middle" solutions--but it would hurt the special interest donations coming in from those seeking power and political advantages.
You could get 75% of what you ask from either party, but not the other 25%. And you might have to give up something else you like but did not list When it gets bad enough we will compromise. Or take to the streets to kill each other.
Both of these major political parties are in favor of creating more and more free trade legislation, which destroyed US industries and the industrial employment opportunities for the average US working person.
I am looking for another political party that will work for the re-industrialization of the USA.
I believe that it might be easier to take over another party compared to creating a new party as Ross Perot did in 1992.
I just “googled” up the Prohibition Party's website http://www.prohibitionparty.org/platform.html and they are trying to sell their website address for $949.00.
They apparently do not have a party platform adopted since 2008 which was about the last time that they up-dated their website.
That platform stood for balanced budgets, and other generally conservative fiscal spending restraints. Their website said that a new party platform will be available soon last summer.
Maybe myself and the unemployed should contact them and suggest that they adopt a position favoring the re-industrialization to create US jobs as an issue for the next US presidential election.
You need a new movement to run mid stream policies and views and park it right between the dems and reps to force them to negotiate reform and change to save voter base, because it's not going to happen otherwise.
Peggy Fikac, in the Houston Chronicle of Sunday August 14, 2011 quotes Texas Governor Rick Perry with saying,
“As Americans, we realize that there is no taxpayer money that wasn’t first earned by the sweat and toil of one of its citizens. That’s why we reject this president’s unbridled fixation on taking more money out of the wallets and pocketbooks of American families and employers and giving it to a central government.”
Only the private sector businesses and corporations generate taxable wealth and create non-taxpayer supported JOBS for US citizens to create new NATIONAL WEALTH for those same US businesses, and that new NATIONAL WEALTH is then available as business profits, private personal income, property taxes and personal inheritance to be CONFISCATED through taxation TO PAY FOR GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRATIC EMPLOYEE PAYROLLS, GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS, OTHER GOVERNMENT EXPENSES, at every federal, state, county, and local level.
Paying for Government contracts and grants consume the US economic capability, resources and strength the same as GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRATIC EMPLOYEE PAYROLLS and other government expenses consume and/or DESTROY the economic capability and strength of the USA.
The government can take some wealth from those that created the food, shelter and clothing through taxes and then distribute that money to those without food, shelter and clothing to buy the food, shelter and clothing.
The night he was inaugurated they met and decided they would oppose EVERYTHING he proposed.
In my mind this was treasonous, but since no one holds them accountable formtheir behavior it has continued.
I never thought I would see the day when 1 of the 2 Parties would be more loyal to Party than Country. Frankly, the GOP represents the 5 big industries that seems to own/control them even at the expense of their constituents. On every single issue they protect
1.Oil/coal
Pharma/Health insurers
3.Wall St
4.War profiteers (not the troops)
5.Agribusiness
They have made the Government the enemy and successfully obstructed desperately needed public spending and job creation.This behavior will not change until the Amercan public recognizes this and demands change. Unfortunately, the corporate owned media, especially talk radio and Fox, do a good job propogating misinformation, propaganda and divisive rhetoril