How Obama can seek higher ground on jobs
OPINION - Truth be told, there's very little the White House can do to reduce the unemployment rate in a short period of time...
President Obama is scheduled to discuss his recuperated plan to create jobs this week as the unemployment dilemma continues to plague economic progress.
It’s important to note that personal income and Social Security taxes account for 82 percent of government revenue, which goes a long way in explaining budget deficits and catastrophic debt projections.
Truth be told, there’s very little the White House can do to reduce the unemployment rate in a short period of time. The government may have created the predecessor to the Internet in the 1960s through DARPA, but it took several decades before the private sector capitalized on this new technology. The stimulus package prevented layoffs at the state and local level, although it only delayed the inevitable.
WATCH ANDREA MITCHELL REPORTS COVERAGE OF OBAMA’S UPCOMING SPEECH
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When the president speaks to the American public, he should bear in mind that consumer spending represents 70 percent of GDP and only a thriving middle class has the ability to immediately pollinate the economy. He must also acknowledge that whatever plan he advocates will be dismissed by a Congress that gets bought and sold like stock. To expect reasonable discourse on this matter would be an exercise in futility.
The solution lies in the local implementation of new ideas that voters can understand. According to the Small Business Administration, 64 percent of all new jobs created over the last 15 years were generated by small businesses.
Furthermore, wealth in America has become increasingly concentrated, as corporate earnings have surged by 200 percent since 1990, while wages have risen by just two percent during the same time frame. Only a level economic playing field founded on the principles of a free market can provide a long-term solution with short-term results.
Some blame big business for outsourcing jobs, but corporations took the same course of action as American consumers who purchased goods and services from overseas manufacturers to increase their household’s bottom line. Just as the employees bought Sony televisions to save money, their employers hired Asian laborers to book a profit.
Imagine, however, if consumers in good financial standing voluntarily agreed to pay higher prices for clothing, electronics and other items made in the United States, mitigating the incentive for corporations to hire cheap workers overseas. The census bureau has the unique ability (and infrastructure) to hire people and gather data about what consumers are willing to pay, which small businesses could sell to corporations accustomed to marketing the American flag.Reconstituted employees would not only generate social security and ordinary income taxes to close budget gaps, but their footprint on state support systems would shrink, reducing the need to increase taxes on those of us fortunate enough to be gainfully employed. Moreover, recent retirees might re-enter the workforce and delay the receipt of entitlement benefits. In the process, an entire new industry could flourish, absorbing outsourced white-collar workers to audit the production process and guarantee that domestic tradesmen manufactured the product.
The president should also help municipalities monetize data they’re required to collect by converting information into a format that local civic-minded developers can manipulate. The next thing you know, consumers might download an app that tells them when and where fresh fruit is being delivered to a local merchant. Automatic text messages can be sent to alert transit riders of delays, creating new mediums to advertise.
Just as government carves out contracted business opportunities for minority and female owned firms, regulations can demand that small businesses play an increasing role in this new industry in an effort to develop synthetic enterprise zones. We used to buy sneakers from local stores in our neighborhood because the owners lived amongst us – now everyone heads to Footlocker where the profits are not widely distributed. Lucky for us there’s an app for that too.
The public doesn’t understand how light rail technology might imitate Eisenhower’s interstate highway initiative that created commerce through the low cost movement of products to previously inaccessible markets. Smart utility grids that allow homeowners to plug their electric vehicles in at night during off-peak hours and pay less per kilowatt, only to sell some of the energy back to the grid at higher prices during the day might create jobs for electricians and autoworkers, but it doesn’t quite fit on a bumper sticker.
Stale messages are not in great demand. Extending the social security tax holiday and the idea of rebuilding schools deserve careful consideration, it just won’t get anyone excited enough to actually implement a complicated plan. The president needs to call Congress’s bluff and challenge the American public to become vested in his or her own economic future.
Voters can identify with American made products, we’re familiar with the census bureau and smart phones seem to be everywhere. Most importantly, these ideas are easily implemented and could show quick results with lasting implications. The federal government can no longer reduce unemployment numbers through policy alone; this time it needs our full participation.
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