"Overwhelming Force"

So, we learned today that our economy lost 35,000 in February and the Unemployment Rate was 9.7%. Markets loved it and so did the Obama Administration - what the heck things are getting worse much less slowly - hurray.

Quite frankly this unacceptable. And what kind of response do we get from Washington: a token response of $18 billion "Jobs Bill". This "Jobs Bill" is a joke. We need "overwhelming force" to address this Jobs Crisis.

This is war, this is a major Jobs Crisis. Here are a few more numbers to chew on (ht Calculated Risk):

The economy has lost almost 3.3 million jobs over the last year, and 8.43 million jobs since the beginning of the current employment recession.

But the long-term job prospects are not any better. This from the President's own Office of Management and Budget projects the following Unemployment Rate:

2010 9.8%
2011 8.6%
2012 7.7%
2013 6.8%
2014 5.9%
2015 5.6%

First, President Obama can kiss his re-election hopes good-bye if unemployment is that high in 2011-2012. Second, it is absolutely pathetic that this Administration would accept such horrible unemployment rate projections without offering much much stronger solutions. They could do something about it but unfortunately won't because this President lacks the courage and leadership to do it.

A Jobs Crisis like this one requires "overwhelming force" to be used. We are in the hole - 8.43 million jobs. The effectiveness of the weak and poorly designed American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 is wearing off and the $15 billion Jobs Bill currently in Congress is too weak as well. We need something much stronger.

The deficit be damned. We are facing significant long term consequences and social costs with high long term unemployment. Now is not the time to be worried about the deficit. With the private sector not producing jobs that leaves one sector left to fill the huge void - government sector. Think about this: private sector is pulling back - cutting costs & jobs then have the government sector do the same (it already is happening at state and municipal level). What do you think will happen? This is NOT rocket science.

We need the following:

1) Full payroll tax holiday - both employer and employee (new and existing);

2) A cash infusion to state's - $200 billion - to be distributed on a per capita basis; and

3) A direct jobs program, followed by a Job Guarantee.

Note: I can't take credit for these proposals but I do strongly support them. These proposals are from Warren Mosler and others.

Meta: 

Comments

Now is not the time for moderation

or even moderation of neoliberal/conservative economic policies. That's exactly what the Obama Administration is doing with economic policy (including financial regulatory reform).

RebelCapitalist.com - Financial Information for the Rest of Us.

I am against this "Jobs Guarantee"

It's not going to work and it's loaded with "globalization" agenda which actually has an opposite effect.

Also, there is no way that's going to happen. What you need is the AAM infrastructure, direct jobs program. They have as a requirement, Buy American, Hire America and it's well thought out, they have all of their GDP multipliers, per project, long term economic growth projections...

and these would be jobs which people would obtain skills on the job, they would be higher paying jobs....they would be "build America jobs"...

way more bang for the buck.

But there are some trying to claim we should "guarantee a job" for the entire friggin' globe with U.S. taxpayer dollars and come on, unless you cannot do second grade math, you know that guaranteeing a job for 1.5 billion people with a tax base of ~180 million, does not add up.

Not when you cannot provide jobs for a workforce of about 154 million does that add up.

Sorry but this just drives me nuts and defies any real labor economics (that hasn't been manipulated by those with "philosophies"!)

AAM is good

and if I remember correctly you dismissed that at first too (just saying). Job Guarantee or Employer Last Resort has been around for many years. A Job Guarantee is employing Americans who are unemployed.

RebelCapitalist.com - Financial Information for the Rest of Us.

Read more, type less! ;)

Gee wiz, I am really wondering who is reading my stuff. I see the statistics, somebody is, yet in spite of pounding for a direct jobs program....seems to not be aware of my pounding activities. Makes me feel I am typing to the plan 9 of outer space!

Uh, here, here, here.

Honestly

No way any of this is going to happen with Obama Administration - AAM, basic direct jobs program or direct jobs program + Job Guarantee.

But here is more information on Job Guarantee:

Centre of Full Employment - The Job Guarantee

Its a guarantee to anyone LEGALLY entitled to work and its far more Keynesian than any of the bullshit coming out of Washington right now.

RebelCapitalist.com - Financial Information for the Rest of Us.

not it's not, it's welfare

I'm sorry but much of those plans have no requirement on performance, skills, it's really just a waste.

Now even the CCC, they were run like the military, if you didn't shape up, you were "shipped out". That's one of the reasons it was so successful, hell the military itself is one huge jobs program. (Why do I have to repeat this over and over?)

Even the WPA, which was almost impossible to be fired from, had loads of work performance requirements, management...
it wasn't just some "guarantee", each person had to perform...
and that's why it too, was so successful.

Even Voc Rehab, you have to perform, you just are not guaranteed free money with no metrics.

Even worse, the people promoting this are really promoting what I said, they want every single person on this planet to be able to walk into the U.S. and obtain....a guaranteed "job".

That would sink the U.S. worker in one shot.

it's a very BAD idea of all of the ideas to get people back to work....I don't know why you keep pushing it when there are so many well thought out, will work, will add to the economy, will increase demand.

Welfare is not true Keynesian, why you are saying that, I Just don't know.

There is no way in hell, considering what can get passed, Congress is going to authorize a glorified state welfare program! None, it's bad enough we cannot get the well thought out AAM infrastructure, direct jobs policy passed intact.

You cannot say anyone can "have a job" with out performance metrics for that job...else, everyone would of course want the job where one is guaranteed to have it, even if you only show up, refuse to do anything and go to sleep.

Busy work is just a waste of funds too....pay $20 billion to have people just pick up trash or say clean some building with a toothbrush?

Can you see the bureaucracy, fraud that will happen? It would be massive!

What kind of long term skills does that give? What kind of value added is that?

I don't mean to poo poo your spirit of the thing

The right to work and have a stable financial life should be a moral value in my view....

just I guess this drives me nuts because so often (and i would claim this policy is liberal, not even Progressive), we get these sort of "social engineering" agendas where in reality they have already been proved to not work, even as intended.

Whereas, we all have all sorts of policies to look at which have worked and even tweak those to a better platform, not only from the U.S., but other countries too.

But ya get some ivy league group who thinks they know "better" than regular folk how to "engineer the world as it should be" in their view and no statistics, facts, evidence shall get in the way of whatever that belief is....

but I think the deal here is I looked into these things in detail earlier and found out some intel, which I mentioned earlier, which makes my reaction so negative..

but considering what's coming down the pike, I agree with your overall theme, we really do need overwhelming force against this financial Armageddon against the U.S. workforce, U.S. middle class...

I mean from the beyond belief debt coming down the pike to the unbelievable MBS tally, plus Fannie/Freddie on the gov. books....

BTW all, Roubini is warning on a double dip since 2010 GDP projections are now dipping below 1.5% (it takes over 2.5% to maintain the status quo).

Government jobs?

I continue to be puzzled by the tendency to brand anything that is paid for directly in government payrolls (as opposed to "by contract") as "welfare," "make work," or "anti-free market." Back in the days of the Works Progress Administration, some sneered at the image of people leaning on shovels as opposed to building great hydroelectric power plants (Hoover Dam) or other response to demand. But if it is done through a contract with KBR, it becomes initiative and valued. Any contract has layers of overhead, general and administrative cost, and profit on top of direct cost. And, of course, the rax code shelters a good chunk of the profit. Whenever I hear of those who consider the WPA a boondoggle, I consider our still unfinished private sector reconstruction projects in Iraq, and the vanished billions.
Frank T.

Frank T.

Let's address the real issues

America is spending 53% of its budget on the illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and to build and maintain a global presence. Why?
End the Wars, bring our troops home, close the damned global imperialism and focus on restoration of the United States to a democracy.