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The Gazette Opinion StaffOpinion Page Editor, The Gazette |
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Jobs take center stage
By The Gazette Editorial Board
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On the eve of Labor Day 2011, jobs for Americans has become an issue equal to or greater than the national debt debate. The national unemployment rate is stuck at 9.1 percent and when you add the number of people who have stopped looking or taken part-time or lesser jobs (underemployment), the number affected doubles.
Putting more people to work, primarily in the private sector, is critical to pulling ourselves out of the stalled U.S. economic recovery and generating the resulting tax revenue growth that, along with wise spending reductions, can help reduce our humongous national debt. But policymakers must get their act together. President Obama will try to jump-start some action on Thursday when he presents his administration’s proposal on national television.
Iowa, in general, is better off than most states. The unemployment rate is at 6 percent. Our economy has shown some modest growth through much of the past year. Nonetheless, there is pain if you look deeper.
The latest quarterly survey of Iowa’s largest employers revealed declining optimism and a cautious mood compared to a year ago. They see the economy as fragile and unpredictable. That reflects a national concern, where giants of industry and other business sectors are pooling their cash, holding back on investments, expansion — and hiring more people.
The Iowa Policy Project’s annual State of Working Iowa offers more sobering analysis. Underemployment is about double the unemployment rate. The number of people without a job for six months or longer has nearly tripled. Iowa is still 72,600 jobs behind the early 2008 levels. And, when adjusted for inflation, wage rates at the end of 2010 were lower than a decade ago at virtually all levels.
More government spending is not the best way to add more jobs. When the private sector is operating smoothly and consumer demand is high, jobs are added without piling up more government debt.
But slashing too many public jobs to reduce public debt is a risky move in the short term, until the private sector is humming again.
Instead, we need clear, long-term direction and decisions from Congress about government spending, debt reduction, health care and regulation. Neither small or large businesses can plan as well or are prone to major commitments without knowing what the rules and playing field will be beyond the next month or year. And without more confidence about the future, there will be fewer opportunities for Americans who want to work.
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There are a lot of jobs out there….but….until we get minimum wage and welfare balanced out there will not be a lot of interest in those low paying jobs….a young couple with a couple kids that pay for daycare and gas to get to work and possibly another car are in the hole at the end of the week…..plus you can’t buy the kind of health ins. You get on welfare….
The next best thing we can do as consumers is not buy things made in CHINA…..we have to curtail demand for products made out side this country….so what if it cost 1dollar more…..call it the war effort …I’m not old enough to remember how the American people sacrificed during WW2 but have heard how Americans sacrificed to help the war effort…..that time has come again……buy only american made products….and we will prosper as a great country again…..if those corps start losing money because the demand is not there….they will come back to America…..each and everyone of us has to do their part…..that’s our only say in this….
Jeff, I pretty much agree with your assessment. Especially when you say we need to get minimum wage and welfare balanced out so people will be inclined to want to work instead of living off govt welfare. Do you propose to raise minimum wage, or cut welfare benefits? Keep in mind that many folks who make minimum wage ARE on welfare.
I propose that employees need to be demanding higher wages from their employers, not the govt mandating a higher minimum wage.
For example Wal-Mart, the most profitable company in the world, could afford to pay their workers more if their workers demanded higher wages so their employees don’t have to be on welfare. If Wal-Mart paid them more it would not necessarily lead to high prices for Wal-Mart shoppers, but it would mean lower profit margin for Wal-Mart’s corporate CEO’s and shareholders.
Basically, the way it has been trending over the past 30 years is that many companies/corporations who pay lower and lower lining wages/benefits are maximizing profits by getting away with paying ‘less then a living wage’ to their employees and able to put off these costs onto the rest of society by paying the employee so little that he/she makes so little he/she still needs to be on govt funded welfare to make ends meet. This is a term called “externalities.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Externality
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCGTD5Bn1m0
A lot of products you can’t buy “made in the USA” any more — they’re all made off-shore. For example, there are no television sets made the the USA. Foreign producers have built modern highly efficient plants with skilled workers (at lower labor rates) that produce excellent products.
Jobs has always been the focus of the Obama administration. Why the GOP insisted on moving the focus to the debt ceiling and other paling priorities defies logic.