On October 27th, 2009, Howie Hawkins, a co-founder of the Green Party and former candidate in the 2009 election for the 4th District Councilor in Syracuse New York, spoke at a debate at the Yale Political Union in favor of the resolution "Resolved: Governments Should Employ the Unemployed." Full minutes of debate can be found at here. Below is a student speech on the topic:
Bradley Pough, a sophomore in the Party of the left, gave a speech in the affirmative.
My sister recently told me a story about a class she had a few years back, where, for whatever reason, the teacher was going around the room asking each student what their parent did. At the time, my mom had been unemployed for a few months, and her prospects of getting a job any time soon looked bleak. I honestly don't know what I would have said had the question been asked to me, but apparently my sister didn't have trouble with it. When the teacher turned to her and asked, "so Leah, what does your mom do?" she replied, without skipping a beat or batting an eye, "my moms a goddess."
As my sister recounted this story I could see the tears welling up in my moms eyes. Those tears were equal parts pride in my sister's ability to answer that question confidently, and regret that she had to give that answer at all. But as I look at this resolution today I can't help but ask myself why? What was there for them to be ashamed of? Sure times were a little tough, but we had enough money to put food on the table, clothes on our back, and a roof over our heads. In the end we were doing alright, and we were going to be alright. So why the embarrassment?
I guess it's that a job means a little more than the paycheck you get each week. A good job gives you purpose, it gives you identity; it gives you a stake not only in your family and their well-being, but in your community and the well-being of the nation as a whole. Your job is your contribution to society, your small mark on a world where purpose can often be hard to find. Whether it be through the products you make with your hands or the ideas your mind generates your job is your toil, its the cross you carry atop your back that shows the world the kind of person you are, what you value, where you come from. That's why its always the first question anyone asks when they meet someone new. In America, what you do is in a lot of ways a reflection of who you are. Only when we recognize that can we appreciate the difference between a government hand out and a government job. There is nothing more debilitating than the loss of your identity.
Today we stare down the barrel of an almost 10% unemployment rate that shows no signs of dropping. And everyone's pointing their fingers at one man - Barack Obama. Despite the bailouts, despite finance reform, despite the health care legislation the people are still angry, because he hasn't given them their purpose back. He hasn't given them back their place in society, their reason to wake up in the morning, and their contribution to their community. By providing Americans with the jobs he promised he would be giving each of them a tangible stake in the recovery. He'd be telling them you are some body, you do have worth, help me, with your hands, your mind, and with your talents make this country a little better. That's all they want. They want to be needed. That's all they ever wanted. And that I think is more important than any paycheck.
More information on the Yale Political Union and its debates can be found at www.yale.edu/ypu.