By Fareed Zakaria, CNN
All the talk these days in the United States and in Europe is about deficit and debt.
In Washington, the battle over America's debt ceiling continues. But let me tell you about the real crisis we face in America (and Europe has its own version of this), a crisis that could cripple America's economy and its society and would make the debt problem much, much worse.
It is America's jobs crisis.
The number of Americans who are unemployed has roughly doubled since the financial crisis and recession hit. And though that number is declining, it is doing so very slowly. Most new jobs are for part-time work, at wages that average $19,000. That is half the median income.
The official unemployment number does not include the millions who have stopped looking for work or are working part time. So, if you add these numbers together, the actual number of Americans without a real full-time job is closer to 24 million.
Everyone is expecting that the normal pattern of growth and job creation will start up soon, except that it hasn't.
Two years into the recovery, growth is stuck at about 2% and job creation has reached 250,000 a month, which might sound high but is actually barely enough to keep pace with all the new workers entering the job market for the first time.
If unemployment doesn't drop a great deal fast - and it shows no signs of doing this –problems proliferate in all directions.
The most significant impact is on the lives of the unemployed. Studies show that after a few years of not working, people lose their talents, their skills, the work habits that make it possible for them to work productively and to be productive citizens. They risk becoming a lost generation - lost to their country, their communities, their families.
The new normal of slower growth and lower job creation also means lower tax revenues, more unemployment and health benefits to be paid out and therefore a much larger deficit.
President Obama's budget assumes that the economy will create 20 million jobs over the next 10 years. That will be a dramatic acceleration. Over the past 10 years, it has produced only 1.7 million.
Congressman Paul Ryan's plan envisions unemployment dropping to 50-year lows to make his budget numbers work. That would require magic at this point. If you assume unemployment stays high, the deficit and debt become unimaginably higher in 10 years.
So, what to do?
Well, there are several things we could do to spur job creation. I wrote about them last week in TIME Magazine. But, briefly: (a) create a regulatory and tax climate that helps small businesses since they create most of the new jobs, (b) revive manufacturing by focusing on research, technical training and apprenticeship, (c) help growth industries like entertainment and tourism to expand and, perhaps most urgently, (d) rebuild America's dilapidated infrastructure and put millions of people in the construction and housing industries back to work.
The crucial point here is that if you care about America's economy, centrally including the deficit, you need to get people back to work - being productive, spending money and paying taxes. And we need to do this fast.
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So if we have something important about innovation to pass to Fareed, how do we do it? Please supply an email address.
You have mine.
Hello!
Would it be possible to put many out of work Americans to work build sluce canals out from the Mississippi River that floods America almost every year and ruins the life for thousands of people? Send the water to places that need it. The same applies to China and the Yangze River. Flooding is a terrible problenm that in this day and age should not exist.
Just a thought. Thanks for you time.
Jerry McKay
Great Idea
I agree with what you said, however if the millions of jobs that bitg business has outsourced were brought back to the United States we could lower unemployment by that millions. But no the r epublicans won't help the dems bring about a bill that would require this, once again big business is more interested in their bottom line that in helping this countries unemployment problem. And another thing bring our manufacturing companies back home instead of ourtsourcing entire industires. These companies are bankrupting this country for their own benefit.
Innovation is a dead horse. Going on and on about innovation is just flogging a dead horse. The Chinese didn't innovate a darned thing and they are kick our behinds. It's not what you develop or invent, and the reason is because if you have no manufacturing base to utilize the inventions then all you are doing is employing 3 inventors while giving away the invention for free to other countries. If you want to save America you had better get bring back manufacturing and start actually making things. You can not invent your way out of not making things. So, here is an innovative idea; put people back to work in America making things again, so that we can actually make, build, improve and find new uses for things that will get invented. Otherwise you might as well pack up all the scientists and engineers and ship them wherever there are some labs and factories.
But stop talking about innovation when we don't even have a foundation for it; the foundation being manufacturing. You are talking about a structure without any consideration to the foundation and that makes no sense.
right on!
It is a nice thought and basically true. However, you need to dig just a bit deeper and see it is the raw materials that will prevent any manufacturing booms in this country. Manufacturing today is tech and tech requires rare earth metals that this country has basically stopped producing. Why? Because our regulations make it too costly. China is a smog pit for a reason. What is the answer? I have no idea. But if we do not start producing minerals in the US again, we are DOA.
Point well noted. makes sense.
we keep beating some dead term like research and innovation. think of the mainstream. not just engineers and PHds
basic question is – why is manufacturing – including IT jobs – going out of US? why cant the govt come up with protectionist laws for its citizens?
............Talk does NOT do it.......Don't blame Obama....Don't blame Bush..........Americans are at blame themselves for NOT buying American made products and produce..........If you and I want to bring back manufacturing jobs back to America then we MUST start buying American built products to support the American worker.........It CAN NOT work any other way...........We must buy Americana,,,,,,,,,,No excuses........
Can't agree more. We absolutely have to bring manufacturing and construction back. Without it there is nothing to talk about. We cannot be the nation of brokers, dentists, doctors and lawyers. Outsourcing should be stopped.
I second that and then some!
America is still number one in manufacturing BS artists.
What you are describing is old-school manufacturing in factories. Is that where the growth is globally? Not unless Americans want those factory jobs making a couple of dollars a day. Those jobs are gone because nobody here wants them because they would produce things at prices we don't want to pay. One possible example/exception would be iPads/iPhones/etc., but the lion's share of those profits are going to Apple and their inventors/designers, not to the factory workers.
Where is global growth? Internet/cloud companies like FaceBook, Google, Twitter, and VMware (to name a few) and they're all American companies. Those companies, and all the companies related to their phenomenal growth, are the new generation factories for ideas and intangible products, but they are still just factories.
We need to focus on people who can work in those factories. Not the old-school factories that now pay their workers $1-2 a day. Chasing a down-spiral like that is absolutely insane. Our inability to follow and capitalize on the new growth areas like the companies I mentioned above are in, combined with our chasing those old-school factory jobs, is a large part of our problem today.
Silicon Valley companies (yeah, those companies I mentioned above) keep complaining they can't find workers qualified to work in their "factories" and we need to ramp up the import of foreign workers. I can't find people qualified to work with me at my small business in SV. Meanwhile, we're trying to figure out how to drive down unemployment. Are you seeing a connection here???
100% CORRECT-WE NEED MANUFACTURING BACK IN THIS COUNTRY TO GET AMERICANS BACK TO WORK. IT IS OBSURED THAT WE IMPORT ALMOST EVERYTHING FROM OVERSEAS-THEY ARE LAUGHING AT US ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK–POLITICIANS–SMARTEN-UP AND GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER, AND BIG BUSINESS–STOP ALREADY WITH BIG PROFITS AND BONUSES-START BEING AN AMERICAN AGAIN AND START MANUFACTURING AND HIRING IN THIS COUNTRY
I have to disagree to some extent. It depends on what type of manufacturing you are talking about. If high end manufacturing, then yes, like jet engines, alternative energy products, electric cars, etc., things that require lots of education. Are we going to bring back assembly line or textile manufacturing, for example, to the USA. No. Nor should we. I also disagree about innovation. Problem is that one-half of our Congress will not establish policies that encourage innovation, like alternative energy development. Lots of innovation there. Those that want to put our eggs in the drill baby drill basket won't lead us to innovation. Government must establish policies that lead to innovation. Our government is presently in a state of total chaos and confusion about jobs. Cutting taxes, deregulation and killing unions does not lead directly to innovation.
Right on! I have said all along that without manufacturing jobs there will be no recovery. The social structure likes a pyramid, missing a big chunk of the base the pyramid will collapse!
The observation you make is sound. But what you neglect to address is the fact that most manufacturing
requires more and more technical know-how while most Americans cannot count past ten without using
their toes, too. The real problem is we have been screwing too much and have over-populated with
imbeciles.
I may be wrong here but we are the largest consuming nation in the world. We have more cars per house holds, more flat screen T.V.'s, in my house along we have 4 X-BOX 360's all hooked to flat screens with live.
So my point is the world can not allow America to fail and are goverment (if that is what we are calling the pigs in office) can not afford to let it fail. So they should stand up pass some real resolution about job creation in the U.S. and not allow these jobs to leave so the big corp. can make bigger profit and put more money in are goverments pockets.
I agree thow this will never happen and we will fail and Russia, China or some other country who has been waiting will be the big boy on the block. Then are military will not be able to protect us because it will be as broke as us. The fall of the U.S.S.R.
You are right, Mike. The world is shrinking daily and foreign investments in our economy are incalculable.
Everyone knows that if we go down, everyone goes down. And we have been taking responsibility
for the world's problems for over a century now. Let someone else do the grunt. We deserve a rest.
Of course, if we were more productive, we'd probably become more powerful. I guess it's a personal
choice ... ?
in the 1960s we engerized the entire nation with the space project and aerospace. Thousands of high quality jobs were created and employment was way down. Today, we could do something similar with an efficient high speed rail across the U.S. and to major cities around the country. It would provide jobs in all parts of the country as we worked on the project. The completed project would increase travel and tourism which benefits other businesses beyond the manufacturing areas. Each station would require workers to run the station and workers to handle everythign from customer serivice or ticketing to cleaning would be required. We have to get people working with opportunities above minimum wage jobs if we are gong to turn this country around. If we did such a project we must insist that the rail cars be American made, not imported from China or India.
It is a noble idea but studies have shown that the idea of adding high speed rails won't work because the resulting high ticket prices will cause travelers to choose driving for cost savings. This renders the new lines unable to self sustain, and millions of tax revenue would be needed to subsidize it. This was the case for the new line supposed to go from my hometown of Madison, WI to Milwaukee, WI. In our case it would have cost half as much to drive alone, even cheaper if the cost is split up amongst a car full of people.
I have a small business and just got my insurance bill. $21,430 is for liability, 90% of the total bill. That is higher than the article quoted for a new worker's salary. Until small businesses get relief from lawsuits and start sharing in the tax breaks and benefits of giant corporations, don't expect me to hire anyone soon.
Why does the republican congress pass tax credits for offshore jobs that displace workers here in the U.S.? Just so fat cat republicans can get tax credits and pay less taxes... so when you hear republicans asking for lower taxes it is not always for job creation!!!
Tax breaks are fine as far as they go, but unless people have jobs and money there will be little business impact. Until we bring jobs back from overseas, we are going to be between a rock and a hard spot. The politicians have made domestic oil their whipping boy, but we are spending 400 billion dollars a year for foreign oil, and are losing additional hundreds of billions in resource investment all of which could be providing millions of private sector jobs. This is as close to an economic miracle as we could find. We just need to de-politicize it and let the oil companies go to it.
TIME TO STOP BUYING WHAT IS MADE IN CHINA AND TIME TO START BUILDING AND MANUFACTERING OUR OWN PRODUTS....THIS IS THE RECIPE TO STOP THE ECONOMIC CRISIS AND UNPLOYMENT AS WELL.
CAN'T OUR POLITICIANS SEE THAT? ENOUGH IS ENOUGH OF SENDING JOBS OVER SEAS AND THIS STILL HAPPENS NOWADAYS WITH THE OPEN OF FACTORIES IN CHINA BY USA INVESTORS IN SOLAR ENERGY AS INOVALIGHT IN CALIFORNIA , SUNNYVALE, DID IT. SHAME ON THEM.....
I have to agree 100% about putting a stop to imported cheap goods. I recently bought a pair of military Danner boots off eBay. Guess where they were made at, CHINA. Now what does that tell you? I also corporate welfare socialism tax breaks should end, period.
Oh one other thing I should have added to my list below. Term limits for all political positions from school board members all the way up to Congress and make voting just as enforceable as being called for jury duty.
Close the mexico/usa border...the illegals are taking thousands of jobs away from citizens. That should be the first step
I say we first start by removing socialism where it needs to be removed by taking away corporate tax breaks. Some say that they will just pass it onto consumers but that can only go so far. Where else do they think they can sell their products? What they remove from the corporations some of it should be funneled back into small businesses and the rest to go to pay down the deficit. I say let these corporations throw all of the fits they want to and threatened t leave, etc. To them I say yeah right like that will happen and if it does then we'll just put a big tariff on what they have to sell.
Next I have to agree with Trump on this one. Any country wanting or needing our military we bill them for it.
The WalMart shoppers won't like this one but hey if you want jobs there has to be a price paid and that would be putting a high import tax on what flows in from offshore.
Next the Visa program should be dismantled. We have good qualified available help in the U.S.. These people just didn't poof disappear any more than they did in the 1950's, 60's, 70's and 80's.
Lastly like my wealthy former resturant owner relatives who barely paid the minimum wage when they were forced too over the years as well as offering no benefits their wealth should be taxed to redistribute what they took away from those people who deserved it. Any startup employer who wants to pay a fair wage and treat their employees right should get loans paid for people like my relatives. Yip redistribution of wealth has to happen otherwise we as a world are headed down a dangerous path nothing like history has ever seen.
So easy. Cut all CEO salary + bonuses + stock option and we will have more jobs. If not enough, then all the politicians. PERIOD
So easy. Cut all CEO salary + bonuses + stock option and we will have more jobs. If not enough, then all the politicians. PERIOD
The reason why Mr. Obama may lose the upcoming election is because he didn't allocate enough money for infrastructure. If he did, there would be a lot more people working right now.
Perhaps we can start to bring back one of the old tried and tested types of employment. Start to encourage employers to utilize aprencticeship schemes not only for skilled trades, but also for college students. A huge problem for the USA in it's effort to create maintain superior skills for both crafts and for engineers etc. is the fact that young people emerge from college full of bright ideas and little or no application skills. Apprenticeship schemes help to develop the necessary job skills needed to back up the knowledge gained in college.
The solutions offered are not inspiring. There are three main drains on our country. One, an insane military budget of $800 billion, two, a massive shift of wealth into the pockets of the legal profession through the costs of civil litigation and ridiculous insurance premiums, and three, free trade which I like to call "slavery, out of sight out of mind".
Everyone is worried about housing. The truth is housing broke itself, with help of course. Talk about greed. They've been building stupid houses as if people needed 4 or 5 thousand square feet just because with 0% mortgages people could, if you believe in the tooth fairy, afford them. Even I saw that was unsustainable. Now we're stuck with a pile of McMansions nobody can afford to buy or afford to keep up. You want to put some builders back to work???? Fine, start a CCC type government program to turn those monsters into small houses, 1000-2200 sq. ft., or multi units. That'll solve two problems.
The reason we don't manufacture here is not only because of labor costs but also the regulatory climate, that is true. The problem is that most of the regulations are GOOD for us all. Especially in the long term, if anyone out there can think past the next week end. Imports that skirt our environmental laws should be banned or fined out of competition, I believe that's called a tariff. If we truly believe in environmental protections and worker safety it should apply to ALL our consumed goods, domestic and imported.
I wonder if anyone reads these, or are we just pissing into the wind?
I read it and liked it.
No, the big drains are:
1. Perpetual welfare clients
2. Their adult children who refuse to work
3. All the "disabled" who are walking around and smiling cause they don't have to work for the rest of their lives.
Put them all to work to earn their welfare payments.
@Pierce – Piercing submittal to the post. Well said.
Also, please add all those lazy seniors (and soon-to-be-seniors) who decided to let the govt pay for their healthcare rather than plan ahead while they worked for 40+ years and spent all their money.
As long a the housing market is in shambles, you can forget the employment picture being normal. A lot of our economy is construction of houses and all those blue collar jobs are not coming back for at least 5-10 years.
Thanks for the brainless reply.
Actually, corporate welfare costs the coutnry around three times what all other anti-poverty initiatives put together. Including welfare.
Also, I don't suppose it's occurred to you in this time of high unemployment that most of those recipients actually NEED help?
Hell, if you offered to put them to work, most of them would say "when do I start?". I take it you're offering to hire them?
Wecome to the new third world country. America as we knew it is gone.
Agreed, I have worked all my life and I still will for a long time. If we are giving well fare or help of that nature, there should be a better screening process which should point the obvious exceptions.
For instance, most of this people should be able to do something to earn government help. And, if they refuse just out of choice they should lose the help. If we get at least 60 percent of financial assistance recipients to do something for the help they need, they might even get the skills and experience to move out of the system, and if they not, at least they would provide something.
This, since it’s been my experience that most people that survive or heavily depend on government assistance tend to stay that way and produce a new generation to be raised that way, all on fairness there are a few exceptions to the trend, but it is a strong trend that negatively impact our nation's economy. On the same, token, which elected or appointed official would have the testicular strength to even bring something like this up.... a solution.
Wecome to the new third world country. America as we knew is gone.
I couldnt agree more! Chicago just restructured their senior ridership program for the mass transit system.
No more youre a senior earning a 7,000 a month pensio and you ride the CTA for free. Its based on an income cap. The amount for free reidership cards went from 250,000 to 20,000 over night! saving millions in the process!
At what jobs?
Edward, where do you plan to find all those jobs for all those welfare receipients?
As I told the other dimwit, the problem in America right now has NOTHING to do with welfare. It's just that some far-right wingers seem fixated on it for some reason. No problems bailing out seven-figure CEOs or huge giveaways to profitable corporations though.
>>>crickets.wav<<<<
Me too.
Yes I read your post and I agree. Out trade policies are killing American jobs, but are great for the corporations
Unfortunately corporations are considered an entity, therefore can contribute any amount they want to someones re-election campaign. In other words, all these greedy corporations own all the politicians.
Just look at the CEO of the company I work for. This person sits on Obama's "Increase export" committee yet they are one of the biggest outsourcers to India in the country...
Totalitarian thinking likes yours doesn't help. It is good to know that there are people like you out there who know what is best for all of us and feel obligated to comment.
I read it too. Thank you for posting.
I read it. Makes sense which is why it'll never be adopted in the U.S.!
I agree with many of your points and here is few things to consider. Red Communist China became the country of choice to export our jobs. Why? Truly we had the phillippines and other low cost area for labor, but Communist China was the choice... whY? becuase our industry could get a gov controlled source of labor that if they had any problem the gov would just KILL the trouble makers. In short slave labor. Wall Street cheers it on as corporate profits are up as bringing in goods from Communist China means better value for stocks and options for CEO who willing sell out their country. Why would a gov set up a trade alliance that is so unfair? Simple... campaign donations. not that corporations are equal and can hide behind shields why not... It is no news to anybody that congress is now on the take... cut corporate donations and reduce individual contributions to a few hunderd dollars and you will have a better congress that fights for what is good for the American people. Today congress sells us out daily along with corporate CEOs and of course the friendly folks at banks and wall street in NYC. How can a small business complete with big box stores and services?? Expecially when the big box and force communities in giving up tax breaks and take losses to drive out business in certain areas. Can't.
One great solution would be to increase Social Security taxes and in return allow people to retire earlier such as at 58, which would reduce the workforce availability and that would then increase wages.
The military is out of controll... I'm sick to death of fear mongering by the corporate people within the Military Industrial complex. Shoot we have enough nukes to level any country that attacks us... Why must the mmilitary budget tripple in 15 years expecailly after the cold war is over???? Crazy just crazy.. Cut it in 1/2 starting tomorrow and divert those funds to something that will bring home real jobs ...
But when the smoke clear... we will still have the problem of bought and paid for politicians and until that is cleared away nothing will really change.....
i couldnt agree with anyone moreso , guy. the big houses are and have always been obscene.. i too have seen this mess coming for 25 yrs.. dont worry theyll scale the houses down when energy hits 8 bucks a gallon. i hate to see people suffer but americans need to get new priorities..
let's get to work!
Now for what I have been reading is damm if you do and damm if you don't, some want to have the government get their noses into all our business and some want to take out government from our lives, we can't have it all. is an either or situation.
We need your voice of rational thought. pissing in the wind aside... I happen to agree with what you said.. I have a bumper sticker on my car that reads " if you are not outraged you are not paying attention" We also need to put those banking regulations back so Wall street doesn't pay out billions in bonuses while the diminishing middle class attempt to hold on to the jobs that continue to go off shore, and pay for 3 wars that seem never ending. what did we think would happen??10 million jobs have gone away in past 15 years..N America is no longer immune to the malaise of the world. Globalisation is not really working..What were we doing while China was rising, watching, Dancing with the Stars and eating fries(,Making diabetes over run the health care system) in our home theatres in that 4000 sq. ft. house we really can"t afford or need. Paying basketball players 12 million, when child health and welfare in the USof A dropped to 30th in the world..so many real problems .You know what it costs millions to run for President ..well the people in that club are a whole other problem.. Ah politicians ,those dudes are on the boards of university s and corporations... that group of the 5 percent that really run everything.. so get involved ..become a cynic like me or bury your head in the sand like most...I read last night some Wall street investment banket bought a 20 thousand something square foot house in the Hamptons and had it torn down to build something bigger...shame.and lets cut the food stamps to some poor families to make sure he gets his bonus this year..anyway ...
Your solution to the US job drout is flaued. Innovation takes decades and does not guarantee that jobs created will stay in this country when the product transitions from R&D to hing rate production. Helping small businesses grow and thrive will help but small businesses pay low wages with few benefits. Rebuilding the US crumbeling roads and bridges requires vast amounts of government money. In a time of deficit spending this is not likely to happen.
I recommend that you read an article that appeared in the LA Times on June 6 titled "Recovery Leaves Lost Jobs Behind" by Don Lee. Washington reporter. It is the best explanation I have come across abour why we have a long term problen creating enough jobs for the ever expanding US work force.
Yes the R&D should be taken care of by the private sector.
(b) revive manufacturing by focusing on research, technical training and apprenticeship,
Why can't the administration presuade those American multi-national companies to repatriate their profits back to the U.S. Lower corporate taxes should motivate these companies to contribute their share of patriotism. Besides they can benefit if their employees improve themselves all the time.
Ain't gonna happen. Any extra tax breaks will go into the CEO's and other upper management's pockets as bonuses...
Because if Obama did what you say, the Republicans would have heart failure and accuse him of all kinds of things.
Companies will only invest in capital expenditures when they are certain there is stability in the financial markets, that credit is available and that they will not be taxed to death. Make those happen and things take care of themselves.
dear Fareed, America started going downhill the moment it started shifting all their blue-collar jobs to china. You know what kind of trade surplus china has with america. China has over a trillion dollars reserves in america, solely based on its exports earnings to america. You have lost millions of jobs as a result of this migration of jobs to china. Then you started out-sourcing to india. That made things worse for america. But india has virtually no trade surplus or reserves in america. So the indian element is not so serious for america. It is america which caused china to rise. Now america has to accept this sad situation. Soon china will become the world"s no. one power , all due to america"s laziness to do blue-collar work. China will support pakistan"s terrorist nuke threats to world peace . And america, europe, india will suffer for no reason. Unless america wakes up and does what is right to re-establish its work-ethic and start going back to the factories, and sweat it out once more. Otherwise, china will just steam-roll over you, and pakistan will be celebrating with their nuke weapons. Sorry these are the harsh truths. And truth hurts.
Joe,
the jobs did not go to China because the US worker is lazy, they went because the CEO can get people to do the work for pennies on the dollar. they increases their profits. that puts big bucks in the CEO's pockets.
Americans can and will do the work. It's just so much cheaper on the spreadsheet to send it over seas...
It is a CEOs job to make products/services for the lowest cost possible and sell them for the highest profit possible. That is capitalism. That is the American way.
Fred is correct but there is a qualifier. CEOs today look at profits for this quarter, not long term profiability. If they did their job, the jobs would still be here. Didn't we learn from Japan that if we send our manufactruring and technology overseas as we did with mag tape technology, they would soon take it over? The same happened with PCs with only one exception. Network technology is next. India will surpass us and Europe.
Until CEOs and the market begin to evaluate future busness, not just today's, we are doomed to decline.
I agree. At one point in time (many years ago) the US had the trade surplus with other countries. We built everything and exported everything. Once the other countries figured out how to build the same things, they did it, cheaper, sometimes better and exported their cheap sh&t to the USA. Now the shoe is on th other foot as the 3rd world has the manufacturing advantage and probably always will from now on. Oh, and don't forget to blame the left-wing labor unions for all this. It never could have happened without them.
Fred – change "left-wing" to greedy. It's not about politics, just business & greed and both sides, plus the middle are responsible.
I think Fareed is right on target and I'm thankful he is throwing his weight behind unemployment as our #1 issue. We have to put people back to work. I don't care if it's raking leaves. (It beats sitting at home on unemployment.) Fortunately, there are hundreds of infrastructure projects that need to be done. Repair highways, bridges and water systems. Think about the CCC. We're still using the park buildings and trails they built in the last Depression. We don't think America will need any new parks in the coming decades? Money is cheap to borrow right now. Unemployment is expensive. Cure the unemployment problem. *Then* pay down the debt.
Don Brown
I totally agree. We need to build our infrastructure. The debt is terrible, but having unemployment like we are seeing is worse. When a society becomes hopeless, corruption and violence follows.
@Joe
You are correct in your analysis of outsourcing being he MAJOR issue with our economy. It is also why we are slowly creating a two tiered economy – one of highly skilled "upper level" workers i.e. engineers, ceos, etc. and another of low skilled, low hourly wage employees mostly in service sector jobs (you want fries with that).
However, your comment about American work ethic is extremely off the mark. American work ethic has ZERO to do with why our jobs have disappeared overseas. Our workers are both highly motivated and extremely productive. What we are not, however, are slave laborers.
The migration of jobs out of this country is due to one thing and one thing only – companies can reduce payroll and regulation by building/manufacturing elsewhere. No matter how motivated/hard working an American is, we simply can not compete with people making 3 dollars a day. Until our government addresses this issue of companies able to produce cheaply overseas, with no regulation, and then import into this country with almost no tax burden (look up how few of the top companies pay any taxes in this country).
What we have in America is a Plutocracy. The top businesses dictate through their wallets who gets elected. And these politicians in turn are beholding to them to stay in power.
I wish I could say that something can be done, but really, even a campaign to "only by American" is doomed since nothing is even made here anymore.
Sad days ahead.
The part of the equation that you are missing is WHY companies go overseas. It's not always to fill their coffers. Truth is, if another company from another country is manufacturing in China, then THEY have lower costs. Try to make electronics or LEDs or anything in the US. If Company A is making something in the US and can sell it for $0.75 each and make a profit, and Company B is making something in China and can sell it for $0.25, which company will succeed? We're talking companies that sell things GLOBALLY, not just in the US. The LED market is astonishing! But try making all your LEDs in the US. The Taiwanese and Chinese will put you out of business. Because we're not just trying to sell US LEDs to the US. We are trying to sell them to China, India, Europe...
Agreed! J.C. the thing that kills me is that I have been saying this was the case for at least 3 years now and main stream media still avoids it. I wonder why? Do the American people understand that what we are seeing in the economy right now is systemic? In other words do they know that this is NOT part of the regular business cycle that we have always relied on? Do they even understand the issues and nomenclature to make an argument? I think the answer is NO. I think people are too caught up with what the greedy powers that be want us to be all caught up with and that is issues like birth certificates, exploiting racism and religion. Don't even get me started on the biggest diversion of them all: TERRORISM. If we don't come together as Americans for America then we might as well get used to what things will be like which is super huge mansions with gates and security that shelter the elite while we kill each other for scraps. Hey just like Mexico and very similar to what China looked like 20 years ago before we gave them all our jobs. Viva la revolution !
J.C. – You are dead on.
Fareed isn't thinking straight on this one. No matter how much we do, or how quickly we act, to create an innovation-friendly economy, those efforts will not yield 20 million new jobs - or even 25% of that - anytime soon. At best, we are talking a decade, maybe two.
Fareed is intellectually commited to free trade and the unconstrained movement of capital across the globe in search of a better return. That prescription spells doom for many of America's blue- and white-collar workers and their families. The trend is toward a two class society: a small segment of the population who are economically secure and a very large, very vulnerable underclass.
In view of the larger forces at play, it's just cruel to invoke "work ethic" as an explanation.
Just finished 4th reading of Heilbroner's Worldly Philosophers. The next innovation needs to be a social innovation. Capitalism has brought us a long way. Now it's time to mature into another perhaps hybrid economic system . We have enough food for everyone just can't get it to everyone for politcal barriers that impede. The silos are full, bring johnny in from behind the plow.
Spoken like a true socialist
And when the silos are empty?
We cannot keep giving into businesses and selling out America. No company out there would give someone free rent, or free reign. Be fair, but levy tariffs.We could bring in a lot of revenue. These tariffs mite even convince companies to manufacture in America. Take back what has been lost and put us back on top. What would China do anyway? Tell the WTO that we are not playing fair.
Most of the decent paying manufacturing jobs, for example, in the automotive industry no longer exist because of robotic automation, simple put a machine is doing the job a human once did. Fewer workers are needed to produce multiples more of a product.
Do not forget it was just 150 years ago that all products produced were produce one at a time by a worker. The same economic system is place today. We are actually in a time of abundance but many can not even access any of this abundance because current realities and economics have not reconciled.
Is unemployment unavoidable. Does simple, traditional Capitalism still work?
Most Detroit jobs were lost because people from our best schools set them on the road to ruin thru stupid policies which made their products unreliable and lacking modern capabilities. As one GM exec said "There are no bad cars just bad salesmen" Radial ply tires, front wheel drive, disk brakes, rust resistance, precise steering, and most of all great reliability were (in general) features of imported cars.
My first sentence would be better if it had said "graduates of our best business schools who took over the auto industry".
To the list of imported auto innovations, please add the very important one of fuel injection and better fuel economy.
Here is the deal Americans. The Chinese worker is prepared to do your work for you at a fraction of the price you can or will do the work yourself. You let this happen because for a decade your banking system gave most households a false set of financial security. They gave you money that actually wasn't there. It was never your money or the banks money either. When the collapse came in 08 your goverment made the fatal mistake of borrowing & printing money to bail out your banks. Every one of your citizens are now going to be held accountable to pay back that money that your goverment owes the world. And to do that you are going to have to accept austerity measures in every sphere of your lives. And I'm afraid that the only way that your goverment is going to get you to accept austerity mearsures is to take you to war because in war times your goverment can get you to do things for nothing. Well thats what happenned in the 2nd world war.
Most of the decent paying manufacturing jobs, for example, in the automotive industry no longer exist because of robotic automation, simple put a machine is doing the job a human once did. Fewer workers are needed to produce multiples more of a product.
Do not forget it was just 150 years ago that all products produced were produced one at a time by a worker. The same economic system is in place today. We are actually in a time of abundance but many can not access any this abundance because current realities and economics have not reconciled.
Is unemployment unavoidable. Does simple, traditional Capitalism still work?
gram mar
Most of the decent paying manufacturing jobs, for example, in the automotive industry no longer exist because of robotic automation, simply put a machine is doing the job a human once did. Fewer workers are needed to produce multiples more of a product.
Do not forget it was just 150 years ago that all products produced were produced one at a time by a worker. The same economic system is in place today. We are actually in a time of abundance but many can not access any this abundance because current realities and economics have not reconciled.
Is unemployment unavoidable. Does simple, traditional Capitalism still work?
gram mar Y
Robots don't take a break, take a vacation, go home, go to sleep, ask for a raise, go on strike, need health benefits,e tc. If you want the good-paying job, become a robotics scientist.
Not to be too facetious, but if you really think it was good that "products ... were produced one at a time by a worker" then go ahead a build a car yourself. Actually I know one man, a senior mechanic, who is doing just that – a replica Ford Model A. But then ask him to quote a price to build a car for you one at a time. Instead of a factory $25K it would cost you more like $125K.
There are plenty of educated people in America but corporations are sending their jobs overseas too. All of those Asians that are seen lined up in rows assembling things are probably less educated educated than many Americans. The reason they have our jobs is that they work for less money. Clamoring for better American education will not solve the problem of sending our jobs overseas. It will simply increase the education level of our unemployed. The real problem is securing higher corporate profits at the expense of our national economic health. National economic health is not a corporate priority. When (not if) America fails they will simply continue to operate internationally. By attempting to secure national economic health through higher corporate profit is a fools game. Our government needs to take control of national economic health and not hope or assume that continuing to legislate control into corporate hands will fix the problem that that philosophy has caused. Some people will call this socialism when it is really the smart path that other nations are using to take our traditional share of the worlds economic pie. A national vision and plan will not come from corporate competition because that is simply not their goal. It must come from the support of political statesmen that have the wisdom and courage to grab the control of our national future from the hands of greedy capitalists that have little allegiance to our nation and great allegiance to their bottom line profits at any cost to the American people..
Excellent insights! Also note that US spends most for schools. I challenge anyone to try and find out the total education cost for the USA. Add up all the local school budgets, state expeditures, county, Federal, army scholarships included in the DOD budget, private school and colleges expenditures, etc. Where is this revealed? I would wager large sums it exceeds the auto industry, or the military industrial complex (which also needs a trim), etc. And at these levels it does not and will not benefit us in a tangible economc way.
GOP solution = Turn the Old, Sick, Homeless, and Poor into slaves. Whip them until they are Young, Healthy, Sheltered, and Rich. Or until they are dead. Then turn them into Soylent Green to feed the military.
I wish you could speak at schools, as an example of knowing nothing.
What we need is a Quantum Leap! Our future can no longer BE from our past. "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them" ~Albert Einstein
We must reconsider our money system, work, health, educational, political, and other institutions' ultimate purpose pertaining to us today. The SYSTEM is broken! We have been held hostage and treated as children long enough due to misinformation, indoctrination, lies and other deceitful agendas for the sole purpose of controlling the masses for as long as possible. Well, "the chickens have come to home to roost"
It is up to the American people to Wake UP and say NO MAS . We want to build a nation that can be a symbol of Authentic solutions not 'band aids.' Yes, we can start with new infrastructure. Also, the overhaul of the not so legal IRS (do your research) and Federal Reserve. Re-evaluate the current currency system and see what's missing ( I am not the expert here). The wealth of this world is controlled by a few (do your homework), and it is time to change the game on them.
I could go on and on, but there are many solutions (being dyslexic allows me to see things differently). I am not speaking of a Utopia. I do not belong to any political party. My only party is The Freedom Agenda. I am someone who believes that every human being on this Planet deserves (birthright) to live with dignity, and the most basic essentials: food, water, shelter and the freedom to create. We should not have to go to bed stressed and wake up as the enslaved 'worker bees' for the IRS, banks-high interest rates, education-fake loans, etc... until we are too tired & old to live.
In America, we saw the banks, mortgage, oil bubble and next the Student loans. We have the POWER to reinvent ourselves. Just get out of our way (you know who you are)! We are adults and willing to take responsibility for our future just get rid of the red-tape, the miles of paper (forms & applications) and make it simple for us to WANT to RUN a business in America.
Just my opinion, and I respect all of you,
Leslie
Leslie, I noted that you started your first comment with a quote from Einstein. I just reread an essay, "Why socialism" , that he wrote in 1949. It made me think (a dangerous thing for most Americans, because the rich has so thoroughly brainwashed us since infancy. Here is a link: .http://monthlyreview.org/2009/05/01/why-socialism
Einstein believed that, to be truly happy, we must work together to solve social problems, because we cannot be truly satisfied with our world when we see suffering around us.. He explained the limitations of a capitalist society and predicted the very thing that is happening to us right now. Einstein said that to be a true capitalist, each person would hope to derive happiness by going home alone at night to count money that was kept out of the hands of others and added to our own pockets.Einstein believed that to achieve true happiness, we needed to create a society that allowed us to feel useful to others. He was advocating socialism, not as the enemy of capitalism, but as the logical extension of it. That's scary to a lot of Americans, because we have all been brainwashed from infancy that "capitalism is good and socialism is bad." Throughout our educational system we were steered that way. I am beginning to realize that we have been brainwashed so thoroughly that we feel guilty even thinking about alternatives. We have been systematically "guided" toward a set of beliefs that makes the rich richer and leaves the rest of us paying the bills and struggling to survive. I agree with you. We should listen to Einstein.
@Howard Herdman, Thanks for recommending Don Lee's article.
What I cannot understand is why employers have ramped up qualifications (MBA,CPA etc;) for jobs that are now paying $40K/year. How do we repay loans for the degrees earned? According to a recruiter for a major company, these employers have become extremely job specific, ruling out qualified employees prior to the downturn. The claim is that WE HAVE NO SKILLS, which is a bunch of balony.
Here is the sad truth. Sorry to have to say this....You (or your parents) should have planned better for college. Most colleges offer the same level of education but at vastly different prices. You should have worked and SAVED before college, worked during college, lived at home, stopped the partying at clubs all through college, drove a cheap old used car, stopped the Starbucks addiction at $8 a pop, cigarettes (?) and pot(?), etc. Scholarships abound and many go unused each year. Financial Aid is often misused or not used to its fullest. When you do get out of college, you need to find a full time job (hopefully one that uses you major) and ALWAYS a parttime job. That's what nights and weekends are for until you get financially secure. Sure it sucks for a while, but after a year or two you won't be complaining about making $40,000 at 23 years of age. In another couple of years of reloevant work on your resume you'll get the bigger salary you want. From the beginning, SAVE, SAVE, SAVE. Then you retire. The end.
You taking interesting point:
I'm in IT (for last 12 years) and, about a year ago, I have been looking into a position in my preferred specialization. A corporate recruiter ruled me out without even technical screening as I can't demonstrate experience in one very narrow specific business aria (not skill or familiarity, but proof that I "did it" on my previous position within last 5 years) out of required list of other 10+ technical and businnes skills (I have "yes" on all other points and on this one I had close but not exact). Even recruiting company agent was surprised that I wasn’t granted interview. Yes, with this approach you’ll never get qualified candidate unless it made by “special order” from you which can be only one of two: or re-hire from direct competitor or falsified resume. This kind of recruiting is more and more common in large corporations (based on my limited observations for sure) and used as justification for H1 and outsourcing (“we don’t have qualified candidates”)
Well, on my personal level it probably was for good: I let it go and started with a small local company that hired me based on my general non business specific skills.
HR departments have gotten way out of control as concerns white collar jobs. Actual working managers are looking for a "kind of" person with some typical experience. HRs cant deal with this because they really have no clue about the jobs to be filled so they demand a large number of ticket items to be punched.
uh oh! the liberals here on CNN dont like helping out corporations though! you can't help small business, because that would involve giving them tax breaks which result in more jobs. Liberals don't like that! they don't support more jobs.
OOooohhh. Why don't you just cut out the middleman (corporations and small businesses) and give the money directly to the poor and uneducated to do as they see fit. I think they are caled "block grants".. OOoooohhhhh.
This is the problem with America, too many Ivy League graduates making decisions and giving their half-a-cent worth of advice. Here this loud and clear!!! Blessed is the man/ woman who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly nor sits in the seats of the scornful and mockers, but he delites in the law of the Lord and in it he meditates day and night!!! America needs the God of Heaven and Earth!!! Mankinds stupid thinking is why things are so messed up!!!
To translate for Carlton: The whiny liberals have created and entire generation of "super" kids who are "entitled" to be the best and have the best whether they deserve anything or not. They are told they can be the boss/head-honcho/leader, etc. even though they are not in the least bit qualified. Like Obama. What we ended up with is all "chiefs" and no "indians" to do real hard work where you might get your fingernails dirty. Who will do the real work?? Chinese, Brazilians, and Indians (from India). Oooh boo hoo.
The infrastructure trope is as old as the day is long. That's what his holiness sold us on with the Stimulus Package only to recant and say "there are no shovel-ready projects." Oops! Sagging infrastructure isn't the problem, the explosive growth in the size of government and it's ever increasing penetration into the economy and private lives of the citizenry is a problem.
If the government wants to revitalize the economy the best thing they could do is get out of the damn way and let the people do it because we do it better better than any political hack ever could. I wouldn't expect someone who has never produced anything or held a non-government related job, such as his holiness, to understand that however. So expect more of the same economically for at least another year.
a recent report on the rise of the Chinese economy pointed out that businesses like to invest in areas in which the infrastructure is the best. If an international business is looking at China or the US, would they run the risk of a D- infrastructure like we have in the US (because much of it is from the Depreesion) or look at the shiny new, ready to be used Chinese infrastructure? Stop blaming, start calling your Congress man or woman.
Since the 1980s American jobs have been shipped offshore & daily we vote with our pocket books to make China the richest nation on earth. The financial services industry was supposed to replace manufacturing but we all have witnessed that whiz,,,,bang,,,,,bust. There are no ready answers and it seems that the entire North American continent will have to come to terms with a lower standard of living, I hope I am wrong as that is where I live
There is no such thing as a service economy. Unless you do not buy anything made outside of it. Impossible; another myth.
Liberals must think jobs grow on trees. You see, we have the idea that if you tax corporations higher and higher, it will inspire then to create jobs and have so much more excess cash that they will hire more and more. -Liberal Basic Philosphy (p32, section 2)
tax corporations higher and higher? WHo cares if the tax rate is 100% if it's got more holes in it then a black guy picking up a prostitute in beverly hills. The whole tax incentive for the wealthy is a farce. Giving Mcdonald's more tax breaks will not get them to hire more people unless the demand is there. Giving money to consumers will create that demand.
Stop with the supply side economics. It's nothing more than wealth distribution to the rich. It shouldn't be an argument anymore. It's been a proven failure. Time to move on.
sure sure. your philosophy basically says, tax the corporations so they wont hire. then for some fairy fantasy land reason, having higher unemployment will somehow increase demand on corporate products? because you know...unemployed people have plenty of money to waste on products right?
bottom line: people need JOBS to earn money and to spend money. that is what drives sales.
And poor banking methods caused this recession, NOT the lack of taxing corporations. geez, some people are just so clueless.
people don't just need jobs. THey need jobs that can pay them enough for basic healthcare, a roof over their head, and food in their belly. Government handouts as you put it will always exist until those things are met. And if the company can't handle the tax burden because of the "greedy investor psychopathic class" taking in dividends, then the company shouldn't be operating in the USA to begin with. Someone else will step up and do the job. Would the USA really be a worse off place if mcdonald's and wal mart went out of business tomorrow? Nope, other people would easily step up.
@OP and taxing corporations more and more will solve all the problems you listed? taxing them more will inspire them to add health care packages? taxing them more will increase their salary? just think about it.
How about having the top 2%, Big Oil and corporations pay some more taxes for crying out loud! Too late. We're doomed.
How about the lower 50% of the citizens pay their share of taxes? oh that's right, the majority of the welfare families are democrats and we wouldn't want that now would we?
The lower 50% pay taxes, just not income taxes because they are well.... poor?
Property taxes (yes renters pay it indirectly), gas taxes, toll booth taxes, sales taxes, phone taxes, medicare and social security taxes, drivers license taxes, and tons more. The list of taxes poor people pay is endless. And it's not just the number of taxes, it's the amount in proportion to their paychecks.
And the greatest tax is from the big companies not paying people a living wage. They are underpaying us.
Stop sticking up for the status quo. Things are gonna change. Things are changing. To bad the news doesn't want to report things happening at the local levels. It's more important to talk about movie stars having babies or getting fat.
Here are 7 basic ideas:
1. Bring back jobs from overseas by increasing tariffs on countries with slave labor wages. This way more people are working here and more taxes are collected to cover necessary programs
2. Bring back higher taxes on stock and commodity trading. The financial elite will kick and scream that you are deterring investment. The only thing you are deterring is speculation and paper trading back and forth. The funds can be used to cover future financial meltdowns.
3. Reduce the number of tax loopholes.
4. Start labeling the investor class as destructive psychopathic elites. These people have enough wealth and political influence to wreck economies. They can literally starve people with their oil and food commodity abuses. We need to reward hard work, not people who fix the rules to benefit themselves at the expense of everything else.
5. Reduce the number of private jails in the USA. Most people in prison are there for relatively trivial offenses: drugs, petty theft, driver license issues, etc.... It's nothing more than a scheme for “private contractor cronies” to make a buck at our expense.
6. Truly regulate corporate monopolies for better competition. I keep hearing about this free market. The only thing true free markets do is lead to oligarchic, monopolistic bigger companies buying up smaller ones. But politicians love these big companies because they offer bigger “contributions” if you know what I mean.
7. Reduce the military budget. Just like the private jails, it all comes down to “contractors” making a buck at our expense. Everytime you hear the word private contractor, you better CRINGE in fear. It's another word for crony capitalism. Take our tax dollars and feed them to friends of the politicians to do specific jobs at a higher price.
riiight because increasing the taxes on corporations will inspire them to create jobs right? your philosophy is flawed. Also, these tax loopholes, can you explain in detail what they are? the only tax loopholes i see are "no taxes on union dues" and "child tax credits"
The offshore tax breaks most people refer to are there to prevent corporations from paying double taxes for international exchanges. The other is an offshore company bank account that is not taxed by the US because instead the government that the bank is contained within taxes the account. So the solution really is to lower the US taxes on these corporations so that they will bring the money back into our nation. but nooooooooo, liberals feel that taxing corporations are the key.
Unions don't need taxes because the people who support them with cash are already taxed. And the fact you are inferring to unions as the problem just shows how pathetic you are. I'm not saying unions are uncorruptable. But they level the playing field against corporations. It's no coincidence that as unions started to falter the last few decades, american salaries and working conditions have deteriorated.
It's time to label the real criminals... the destructive psychopathic elite investor class. The ones who create almost nothing but transfer wealth from one group of people to another.
Corporations only create jobs when they are forced to. Tax the shit out of them unless they create jobs
One thing that could help tremendously is change the entire approach to corporate /personal taxation. Eliminate the IRS code and administrative structure entirely and put in its' place a Vat tax/Flat tax system that not only simplifies greatly the administrative effectiveness of our tax structure but raise gross tax revenues as well. I say this as a practicing CPA for 35 years with 13 years Fortune 200 experience. If we could address this one very big and archaic issue we could truly advance as a 21st century economy. Until then, well it's the same old BS out of Congress.
I hate to say it but this is just not an important issue to the Obama Administration. This should be the ONLY thing he cares about, not fighting wars, not foreign policy, not wishing for Israeli peace or anything else. This is the only issue. Get people to work Mr Obama.
The problem is America is accustomed to a higher standard of living than we can afford. We want low skilled , high paying jobs, and cheap stuff. We can't have it all. The rest of the world is catching up and is hungry for our kind of life. We need to get leaner and tougher and work harder or our way of life is history.
If we get tougher on foreign countries that use under paid labor, lax environmental laws and bring American manufacturing back, we would have more relatively higher wage jobs, but stuff we make here would cost more also.
We need to stop educating foreigners that go home and use their educations against America.Our universities are our best competitive advantage . They are used by most every country on the planet. We teach then and then they go home and work for less money in their home countries for less than Americans. They also are now using their educations to out innovate america. This is just dumb. Countries that allow substandard wages, and no environmental regulations should not be allowed to send students here, period.
Americans need to get more relevant education in business, healthcare, engineering, and computer sciences. We need to lift these discplines up and it needs to be "cool" for kids to be in these fields. Now , american youth are more interested in video games, and cool basketball shoes. Parents need to make education important.
Let's reviataize the Space program. Let's build some really cool bridges, and environmentally sound buildings, let's fix our roads, update dated electric grid, and water systems. These kind of projects need lots of skilled labor at home. They also get young people fired up to get educated and they spinoff new technologies to private industry. These kind of programs are far better than subsidies to old inducries that simply line the pockets of a few people.
allot of our unversities are now in those countries and they no longer have to travel to the us or a. Texas A&M is in qatar!! bush made sure his oil buddies did not have to travel too far.
Everyone wants the infrastructure fixed and somehow expect the government to pay for it. Let me let you in on a secret – the State and Federal government are already deep in debt and don't have the money. The Federal and State governments have been handing out tax dollars for every entitlement program they can think of. The result has been money to deadbeats and losers – with no money left to do anything else. Until this consept that everyone is entitled to everything just by being born is abandoned – this economy will never get fixed and this nation won't last.
What are these entitlements everyone supposedly demands? Please go into detail.
Is healthcare an entitlement?
What about food?
The only thing I feel entitled to is healthcare, and if it was done as a single payer system with no bankster crook middlemen stealing off the top, we'd have the best system in the world.
I might eventually add food to my list of entitlements because the psychopathic destructive investor class is manipulating oil and food commodities, creating a phony higher price I have no control over. Not to mention the FED printing money like a hooker spreads diseases.
I don't demand a house or roof over my head. I don't demand flat screen TVs. I don't demand internet acces. Please tell me what these entitlements are?
Yup, the government is handing out money to deadbeats and losers... $5B a year to deadbeat oil companies... another $5B a year in farm subsidies... what was that tax deal in December where we handed out another $30B a year to those deadbeats that make over $1M a year... another $35B for more deadbeats to build a second engine for the F35 that even the petagon doesn't want... i understand that that is only a drop in the bucket compated to the $14T deficit we have right now, but it's more money than the GOP went after when it took the $300M (yes, million) in government spending from the deadbeats at planned parenthood and the other roughly $300M (again million) from the deadbeats at NPR. rethink your phrasing of "deadbeats" and you can expand where money can be saved.
>>crickets<<
over time all becomes equal...the third world slowly gets better while the first world suffers some. economics.
encouraging self employment would solve unemployment problem. govt(s) need to offer small interest loans and private companies need to offer loans contractors/subcontractors/sub-sub contractors and encourage small consulting firms to offer bids at lower price.
We need to stop paying Lockheed and Northorp all that money to make guns, and instead pay them to manufacture computer chips and get those graphene semiconductors and ultracapacitors working, maybe those 90% efficient solar panels. Come up with a list of 100 products that will lead to a revilitilzation in US manufacturing and use defense dollars to subsidize those industries for the next 20 years. Turn our country from a war machine into a high tech manufacturing machine!
Fareed is mesmerized by the myth that the private sector can always provide full employment, all it needs is a little tinkering. In a complex and enormous economy like our own it sometimes needs far more. Job programs which assure useful employment accomplishing numerous underfunded social tasks are what is needed today. Assistant teachers, health assistants, public works are a few of the many areas where an enlightened public sector can put people to work.
I think one way to solve the unemployment problem as well as the deficit is simple. Since everything hinges on money and taxes the answer lies in the balances. Every company that has taken any money from the Stimulus package should have to hire people from the unemployment list, if they do not find a match then they have to train the people on unemployment and still hire them. If any company wants to win a government contract the same still applies. If any company chooses to send any business overseas should be hit with a 300% tax for every Dollar of business sent over. Stop all H1 visas for 1-2 years until the FOUNDATION is strong enough to sustain itself. All companies are going through a reorganization that applies to the government as well. Shut down all non essential spending and government offices ( many government arms do the same jobs different names) Clean up . No more foreign aid to anyone that does not support us. With all the tornadoes, hurricanes, the Mississippi river situation not 1 MFN country has reached out to help us. We must shut the borders and take care of ourselves before we look to help others
Simple solution. Deport all illegals back to mexico. Pull troops out of Iraq since it's not our problem, it is theirs! Stop the profiteering! Stop raising prices on homes! Eradicate all banks who are controlling the market! Fire all the corrupted government!
Easy:
1. Get RID of illegals, by hopefully legally targeting employers.
2. Move on next to ending tax breaks and subsidies to companies that export jobs.
Both of these factors cost jobs in numbers that equal the "unemployed". It's NOT "Business" it's FRAUD and TREASON. Why obey labor laws when you can hire illegals and send jobs overseas? And then when doing that bleeds the economy so much people can't afford your shoddy services and cruddy poison paint products, scream for more "Tax breaks and subsidies".
Really, imagine some ultra rich elite lying on the floor plastered from countless $1000 wine bottles. "Hey, baby, ah walks to the video conference thingy to talk to mah accountants an law-yers and make sure ah get my bailout. And if that ain't wohk, ah don' know what is!"
I am a small business owner and I would like to hire more people, but it is just too risky at the moment since our revenue depends on our clients (all large companies).
One constant observation which I can make regarding the larger firms prompts me, once again (as I have written letters to editors and posted online, etc...), to comment that I repeatedly observe the big companies desperately "off shoring" as many jobs as possible; with breathless excitement and glee at cost savings and with absolutely no barriers to doing so.
If one wishes to have a serious discussion concerning jobs in this country, then that discussion should also include the fact that the job markets in India, China, and many other "off shoring" locations are Booming.
No, wait, instead let's continue to ignore that and never speak of it.
I applaud you for being a business owner and saying that. You realize it's the demand that keeps your business growing, not an extra 5% tax break. I also wish people woudl separate small business owners from the destructive pschopathic investor elite bankster class. It's the latter we need to stop. ANd right now our politicians are doing nothing because our politicians are part of this class.
Just like the average 40 to 60 hour poor 9$ an hour worker shouldn't be confused with the welfare lazy person.
The message board trolls like to blend these types of people together for simplistic arguments. It's not always that simple.
Mr. Mike Devon
I have a solution that is not popular with the liberals. How would you like to have enough tax breaks in order to lower your service prices so that these larger corporations will instead save money by contracting with you instead of offshore markets?
Mr OP
It's funny how you mentioned these 40-60hr joe schmoes. I happen to be a former auditor and you want to know what i found in most companies? within hours 1-40, productivity was extremely slow and below standard. however, hours 41+ has shown increased productivity. after hundreds of interviews and data gathering, the conclusion was:
Employees were purposefully failing to meet quotas in order to create mandatory overtime hours in which they are paid for time and a half according to [State] Occupational Law.
Now, it's not every Joe Schmoe out there. But I was the majority. You see, working more hours does not mean they are working harder.
However, i found the reverse with upper management. Officers averaged 70hrs per week, with near consistent high productive work hours with a slight drop off of productivity during overtime hours. Most considered holidays as "catch up" days and weekends to be a normal work day. Their hours and consistency matched with their company's production and financial records. By this i mean to say that their work hours and productivity directly affected company revenue.
I don't have my records anymore, but i would dare say that 99% of the Joe Schmoes are lazy people hiding behind their work hours and managing to maintain a persona of "hard working."
These are FACTS from experience and from several other research studies.
I know a small business owner who had to layoff a few of his employees because taxes were too high and the healthcare reform increased costs. Small business of 10 employees. He is the "CEO and CFO" in the company. Tax increase and healthcare reform totally created jobs (sarcasm). Their sales total are about $40,000-$50,000 a month, however, after costs, he personally earns about $4,000 a month...then he's taxed again. not exactly inspiring to create new small business and jobs is it?
thank you liberals for supporting increased corporate taxes and the healthcare reform. you are really punishing theose corporate "elites"
I agree the healthcare reform was a waste of time. Obama should have forced the single payer issue. Instead he tried the bipartisan thing and nobody is happy. ANother half assed bill with the middle men banksters till ruling the roost. It's an utter failure. Obama should have stepped up and took charge. Instead he walked the tight rope in the middle and now that rope is being used to hang him. We don't need more obama speeches. We need someone with a strong forceful emotional tone to change things. Obama is to cerebral for that.
Single payer would be even worse as it would all come out of taxes with a significant percentage suppporting the bureaucracy built to run it. I guess if you're not paying taxes, that's a good thing. And Obama is not "too cerebral", he's just too much of a Chicago Democrat politician.
OK, Fareed, here's my take:
Why did we get here?
- Poor education (by design, math and science were abandoned)
- Outsourcing the production
- Outsourcing the R&D
- Globalization (no taxes or tariffs for imports)
- Loss of tax revenue through all of the above
Solution:
Unfortunately, there is only one solution: inflation. This will happen soon, when the world will not want the US debt anymore. Steep inflation will reduce the standard of living for the Americans to 20% of what it is now. They will become again competitive. They will understand again that only education and hard work will bring a loaf of bread on their table.
Globalization means leveling of the standard of living around the globe. Unfortunately for the US, this means that it needs to go _much_ lower.
We already went through a form of globalization in the USA during the 1800's when the robber barons played one state against the other. They went from state to state going for the lowest taxes and lowest regulations which created mass poverty. It was a race to the bottom.
The same thing is happening now across the world.
Eventually things will work out. But there will be a bunch more world wars and depressions before people wisen up.
I think you are all missing the mark. Businesses are not going to be hiring because people are not spending. Wages have been kept flat for years, while the cost of living continued to rise. With the salaries of the middle class today, after paying normal everyday household bills (if you can do that), there is very little left to spend.
The article misses the point.
Facts:
1. The US unemployment numbers ARE staggeringly high.
2. The world (and the US) is starting what appears to be the largest labor shortage in history.
I know this seems crazy- but it is true. Here is where the story runs off track...
1. There is a macro shortage in the high-tech, engineering, etc. world globally. The top firms are literally scouring the globe for talent at the moment and having difficulties finding the quantity they are looking for.
2. Companies have attempted (and continue to try) to work with the US governments, State governments, etc. to create their needed labor force but have failed to get public sector entities to take this serious. They simply do not know how to do this.
3. The US and most of Europe have failed to produce the type of resources businesses are looking for. This is not a government problem per se- but a society problem. We, as a collective society, are not stepping up to the plate. We do not produce enough scientists, engineers, etc. to meet the global demand.
4. We, as a collective society, are still stuck in this concept of the Ward Clever career... in that you get in the front door and continue to rise through the ranks without major need of retooling our skills, etc. This was dead in the '80s... and the most recent recession furthered this issue. We, as a collective society, need to get it through our own heads that it we need to constantly retool ourselves and retrain constantly to continue to be both current and an asset to major companies. Other cultures understand this- we in the US simply do not.
5. No matter how many public sector infrastructure programs, etc. are launched, they will not stem the loss of high end jobs in the US until we produce the density of quality resources necessary and provide the value that companies need in order to be competitive.
6. Legislation to prevent the flow of jobs overseas will not work. It has NEVER worked. Going back to the time of the East India Trading Company, public legislation to prevent the loss of jobs has failed across the board. The only effective means for keeping jobs domestic has been a shift in delivery paradigm to increase the value of onshore talent and the push by local talent to ensure they are both current and competitive. Until we accept the fact we are NOT competitive at the moment- accept the fact we do not have the density of resources we need and we are losing our thought leadership in many areas- and then take steps to fix this, we will continue to see a flat employment numbers.
2.
If education is the answer, please someone explain why my cousin, who graduated with an ee degree (top of his class) had to search for nearly 6 months to find a job, and had to move 1/2 way across the country to get it.
The answer: because US companies are lazy.
They not only expect your cousin to be a qualified engineer, they want him to be qualified in the particular area THEY are in. Never mind that 90% of the requirements are identical of those of other fields. They expect him to hit the ground running rather than wait six months to a year to get up to speed.
It's so much easier to hire some guy from India willing to accept wages similar to what you'd make at McDonalds.
Vote Ron Paul 2012!
All the posts said the same thing. Different issues but the problem seems to come from the same source. The US GOV! We want to fix it we need different thinking and action.
Vote Ron Paul 2012!
No, it's not the government. It's the American society as a whole. It has lost its ways and expects somebody else (the government) to solve its problems, but w/o changing the way of life and the way of thinking.
Being two out of four on "solutions" is not bad, I guess. I can agree with the first two, creating a climate that helps small businesses create jobs and reviving manufacturing by focusing on research and training, provided they can actually be accomplished without adding some new government bureaucracy or throwing more money at the education cabal in this country. The second two, helping entertainment and tourism to expand and rebuilding America's dilapidated infrastructure, seem to be more of the same bad policies of the government trying to pick winners and losers in the economy. They also would probably turn out to be more rewards to Obama's union supporters at the taxpayer's expense rather than economic fixes.
Right now, there are over 2 million high-skill, high-pay jobs that are sitting vacant in the US today. They are vacant because we don't have enough educated people to fill them. Education has been an issue that sat on the back burner for too long, and now we're paying the price for it.
So don't tell me that there aren't enough jobs. That is incorrect.
lol show me the source of your 2 million high tech jobs.
If that was the case, most of those employers would be rushing to high tech students still in college to offer them training programs. Giving them a good headstart before they graduate.
But that's not the case. YOu know it and I know it. The 2 million jobs are probably in india or soon to be middle east once the "arab springs" form real democracies for our coporations to corrupt as another source of cheap labor.
potface makes the most valid point in this entire comments section. Those that don't attain higher education (or at least become highly skilled) will soon be left by the side of the road as the economy recovers. We could take many lessons from almost any other 1st tier country's educational system.
Higher education is a good idea, but colleges are becoming just as corrupt as everyone else. Instead of streamlining courses and getting people educated a decent rate, they prolong the education process.... milking every dollar possible from the student by creating useless classes that make you "more well rounded."
Sorry, I don't want to pay thousands of bucks to become more well rounded. I'm there for an education. Four year educations can be streamlined into 2.5 year degrees. And 2 year degrees can be streamlined into 1.5 year degrees.
News Flash: Manufacturing jobs are not coming back and additional erosion in that sector will only continue to gain momentum. What a significant portion of Americans continuously fail to grasp is that we are in/have been in a global economy for quite some time. Only when we embrace the new structure and rules of the global economy will we again begin to dominate it. Will we lose a generation or two while we reskill for the global economy? YES, deal with it. If you're sitting on the edge of your bed crying 'woe is me when is my job coming back?' you are part of the problem. If you are at ITT getting your welders degree, be prepared to accept minimum wage for the rest of your life. Time to face facts.
A couple of suggestions to 'fix' the economy: (1) repeal legislation allowing inter-state banking. A return to state-based financial institutions vs. national/international banks will create local jobs, improve local lending, keep the communities capital in the community; (2) remove restrictive zoning laws that favor large shopping centers and businesses forcing most people to drive miles to shop, buy groceries. Being able to walk a couple of blocks to a mom/pop grocery store, restaurant or bar, will create jobs.
And bring back the horse and buggy while you're at it and cut the use of oil.
Fareed, the "socialist" telling us what to do?
LOL
LOL
Stop it, you're killing me.
Hmmm... in all honesty I think capitalist has a more negative connotation nowadays, especially free market capitalism with few regulations like we are seeing now.
Karl Marx was proven right when he said capitalism would lead to a few elites ruling over the masses. To bad his solutions were nonsense.
People in power, the "elites", want to stay in power and retain the benefits is money and lifestyle. It doesn't matter if they're capitalists, socilaists, union leaders, bankers, etc., it's the same story.
ASK JOHN BOEHNER AND THE GOP. AFTER ALL THEY CREATED THE WORST ECONOMIC CRISIS IN AMERICA SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION. AND BY THE WAY, THE GOP CONTROLLED HOUSE IS YET TO TELL THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WHERE THE JOBS ARE. HOW PATHETIC.
The caps lock key is on the left of your keyboard; learn how to disengage it.
The recession was caused by the DEMOCRAT controlled house. So tell me, how did these corrupting policies pass without first the votes of the majority of the democrats?
Freed fancies himself as America's Gunga Din. He is in this country but not of this country. He believes he lives in an America that is GM circa 1975. Obama's and personal buddy and boy servant, Fareed, in an interview posted on Youtube, bemoans parochial American and its love of the Founders & the Constitution as the reason we can’t learn to be better like other countries. Since it is apparent that Fareed does not have even the most rudimentary understanding of what it is to be American, he might want to return to his roots in India. That would be a good first step in returning this country to the people that make it prosperous and great again.
I do not understand why CNN and folks hereon believe this naturalized citizen Zakaria deserves so much credibility. He does not have the credentials to indicate he is the smartest person in the USA on this topic. He's an editor. Never built a buisness – - not rich – - test do not indicate he has the highest IQ in thew USA .. He's NOT the source of our solution to a very complex set of challenges .. Some of his ideas are worth chatting about .. Others not so. Lastly, he's not old enough to lived enough of Life to know much of anything about the USA economy - past, present and possibly the future. Good luck to us all .. We need it !
I want to shoulder the burden of massive tax breaks to help business people. Its my right as an American to pay for business tax breaks that further undermine our fiscal solvency. So what we can't pay the budget right now? Lets take $1 billion dollars right out of the tax system for business people. I will then pay extra taxes to make up for the lost tax revenue because if we learned anything from the Bush years its that tax breaks will set the ship a-right. Sure, it didn't work in the past and there's no proof that tax breaks actually pay for themselves but lets help business people live a little. I like fairy tales too.
Who cares ? Nope.. No one care about America..It's an American dream. Anyone reading... hmm.. well.. better to read RUSSIA TODAY !! If the Congress cares about America, why do they bother about Libya and Afghanistan.. WAR WAR WARS is the AMERICAN way !! No way !!
Fareeds suggestions will only band aid a bleeding wound, it will not provide the antidote to help the system regenerate new growth tissue. Innovations is not repeating with a new look, but of a new way in how to look.
Part-time work $19 per hour? LOL! The state law here is $8.50 minimum wage and this is what they pay you! Dream on America
Hi Fareed,
The logical solution to job creation when it is cyclical (when it is not frictional or structural unemployment) is to increase Government spending. A trillion dollars in this respect did little as it was expected to bring us on the track of nearby natural unemployment rate. Businesses would not hire unless the demand for goods and services is increased AND the banks lend. Banks are highly risk adverse inspire of having resource of cheap money. Then we go back to Government programs but certainly not ONLY in the construction and housing industry. People would take up jobs only if the wages would cover high cost of leaving especially the insurance costs. So Unemployment could be tackled not only by providing jobs but it HAS to be incorporated with reduction in the costs like healthcare, insurance, food and GAS. Also if we ignore education, in long run we may not be considered as a developed country! One whole generation has to sacrifice for the nation the question is which one?
MY APARTMENTS IS OLD ONE I PAY $1200 UTILITY EXCLUDED FOR WHAT? STANDARD OF LIVING IS VERY HIGH FOR NOTHING?MINIMUM WAGE IS $ 10 HRS FOR WHAT?BECAUSE OF RENT,EVERY WE PAY MILLIONS OF $$ FOR IMPORTING FROM CHINESE AND WE GO BACK AND OWE THEN HOW STUPID IS THIS? FIRST I BLAME POLITICIANS THEY CAUSE ALL THIS! SOME MANUFACTURING IS STILL DONE HERE IN USA BUT THEY FACE THESE FAKE PRODUCTS FROM CHINA
Let me break your leg and then i'll fix it and get praise for fixing it.
This is what Fareed is doing. For the last few years our economy was going down. NOW he talking about this issue. Knowing Fareed also advices Obama this is something I don't believe he means, when Obama is getting ready for reelection.
They think we are bunch of idiots!!!!!!!
WE MAKE CHINA THE LICHEST NATION UNDER THE SUN FOR OUR LAZZYNESS IT IS VERY SAD
Dear. Fareed Zakaria; first of all thank you for writing on this important issue. Last year I lost my job because, after working for big name computer company, as my job was shipped to India. I heave heard lots of 'vodoo' economic theories as why outsourcing is beneficial but in my opinion, from 'macro' economics point of view, accumulative effect is negative.
How a nation can prosper and even survive, where more and more people don't work. Less people working means less productivity, which means less GDP. GDP is what defines how economically prosperous (wealth) of nation. We will buying more and more from China and India and selling less and less, resulting in giving away more of our wealth. We can temperorily finance our purchases via debt but it has it's own limitations. Again, I am talking from macro economic point of view.Shipping jobs overseas will result in polarized society, where rich industrialists and businesses will become rich, but an average person will becore poor and poorer. More poor people means more burden on welfare and less in tax collection.
Worse is loss of technical skills (technology) as we ship more and more science, engineering and research jobs overseas. Innovation comes from places where trade craft is practiced. Forget innovation without practicing trade craft. Students will go to science and engineering universities, only if they can get jobs. If most jobs are offshored, only few students will like to go university as science and engineering major. Government can try to create as many jobs as they think they can, but if they slip away to other countries, unemployment will remain.
Hope that we, the Americans, look at this issue seriously and address it quickly.
Agree.. I'm a recruiter in New York and every day, hear, "my job was moved abroad". We are giving away our future – why should I speak to a customer service rep in Mexico, India the Philippines? Cant we move these jobs to States with high unemployment. I wish there was a list of companies who had outsourced jobs abroad and which we could boycott. Some that come to mind – United Airlines, Wells Fargo,
Very well said.
I AM AN IMMIGRANT FROM AFRICA LET ME TELL YOU WHAT CHINESE DO SOMETHING YOU DONT KNOW? THEY MANUFACTURE MILIONS OF MOTOROLA CELL PHONES AND OTHER AMERICAN BRAND UNDER THE TABLE AND SELL IT TO AFRICAN MARKET AND MAKE HUGE PROFIT?
1. Huge and perverse govt spending at every level not subject to profit and loss signals. Loss to govt signals tax or borrow more, never end the product.
2. Monopoly control of education by the govt creating a class of drones. Ie Americans know nothing of this Republic, world history, or economics.
3. Morons like Fareed who think we can take money from Paul, borrow from Pauls children, and grandchildren to pay Peter to do something people are unwilling to pay for freely.
Free Market Capitalism is the answer we should try it. The Govt is like the mob, only less honest, imposing themselves everywhere for our "protection".
Free market capitalism is nothing more than a game with no rules. IT DOES NOT WORK. If everything were left up to private individuals society woudl become darwinistitc and couldn't exist. Stop with the nonesense. Government is no angel, but nowhere in your post do you blame the real crooks. You know, the psychopathic destructive investor elite. The ones who have all the money in the world to buy off politicians. Heck, many politicians become part of this leet class once they get out of office.
THE LAST MY COMRADES IS USA DONT HAVE BALANCE TRADE WE IMPORT PRODUCTS OF 245 BILIONS FROM CHINE AND EXPORT 25 BILION EACH MONTH ,WHAT IS THAT?
It's time to get our missile shield sorted out and then level China – before they occupy us.
Where do I donate at?
Let's not kid ourselves the small bussiness's that will get the help will be Wal-Mart, Home Depot, the insurance companies and the oil companies.
T.I.F.s and goverment welfare for the rich
It won't change untill we take away all their ill gotten gains and make the rich do real work
Like Mike Royko used to say take all their stolen money give them a 72 Dodge Dart, a cheap suit, a $20 bill and tell them to learn how to work the honest way
Corporate greed – CEO's moving jobs overseas paying themselves ridiculous salaries and hiding in their Ivory Towers. They have no shame.. we are witnessing the fall of the American Empire
IF CNN has so many experts who know what they are talking about – why do they become more and more irrelevant. just another liberal talking head who thinks he knows whats best for this country.
ALL IN ALL I BLAME POLITICIANS REPLICANS AND DEMOCRATICS EVERY DAY I WATCH THEM ON TV SPOKE ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENTS BUT THEY DONT ACCEPT THE REALITY ?GOD BLESS USA,I AM CRYING FOR EROSION OF PEACE AND FREE COUNTRY I HAVE EVER SEEN UNDER THE SUN
Why are busnesses not hiring.? What is the cost of the employee going to be? How much will benefits cost. What new regulations will we have to deal with. Is our business improving? Do customers have money to spend. If the employee doesn't work out will he sue me. Why do we have to pay a youngster with no experience and few skills $13 a hour,(cost not wages) minimum wage, social security match, medicaid, unemployment insurance, workmens comp costs to do a job. We have legislated millions of jobs out of our economy. Young people have few places to get a job. Disability for everyone. The Dodd-Frank and Obamacare bills are 4000 pages and hundreds of new regulations. Employers minimum health care costs under Obamacare are $6000.00 per employee on top of wages and taxes. Do you think that might have slowed down a few job offers? Are you willing to hire someone with your own money? Those who do are villanized as the greedy rich!
obamacare is also republicancare and democraticare. It's a crappy bipartisan effort that didn't address the real issue.... having bankster psychopathic investors calling themselves insurance companies acting as the middle man.
This aint' gonna happened. Every day, America is closer to the revolutionary stage. That's was a goal of Mr. Obama. Enlarge number of beggers and poor, which should convert society to the Great American Socialist Revolution.
And, then most of the previous examples shows that during the revolution, many people will be killed, which automatically solves the Unemployement issue at the end. And warlords will prosper again.
Stop screaming makoye. I think it is still better here as in Afirca, no?
Man why this clueless,ignorant,blind,deaf,and dumber Zakaria' keeps talking about economic,Jobs,and financial issues etc...
How about focusing on issues that one understands...Stop being a puppet of the lying,swindling,thugs of AssAmerica.
Mr Ron Paul is the best person to be heard on economic,Jobs,and financial issues...
Abolishing the Federal Reserve is one single and most important thing one can do to improve the thuggery and the Job situation in America...All these Jobs were lost in 2008 financial crisis,which was deliberately orchestrated by the corrupt Federal Reserve by the blessings of the corrupt congress and Senate....Way to go Satanic America you make yourself so proud by being in the abyss of ignorance of the true nature of things...
You forgot to blame the Jews this time. Getting senile?
I feel that all those receiving "unemployment" benefits should be working at least 1/2 time on public projects. This would keep them in the work-mind set rather than riding along and being choosy about what they are willing to do to bring a paycheck home. While work is tough to get, there is plenty to be done. If we are paying taxes to support those without work, those without work could be contributing their time and hopefully learning new skills in the meantime. Some of us aren't so lucky to have unemployment benefits if we've done project or contract work and have to find ways to make enough to pay the bills no matter what. It makes you be more creative and harbor an attitude that solicits survival and not righteousness.
You make it sound like people on unemployment benefits are living the good life and have no worries. Making them work some public job just for busy work is pointless. If it's a retraining effort of some sorts, fine. But adding a layer of poorly paid unemployment people to the working environment with lower than minimum wage salaries will create major abuses.
How about eliminate or significantly reduce the 15.3% self-employment tax – as a sole proprietor small business who is considering closing up shop I can tell you that this tax is a burden for similar businesses of my size and it's elimination would probably allow me to stay in business...
honestly, if you can't afford a 15% tax, then you shouldn't be in business.
Truth.
Only the first one would actually help; improve the tax and regulatory climate on small businesses. Better yet, do it for ALL businesses. Hiring people to rebuild infrastructure sounds nice but it involves the government spending money it doesn't have; money that ultimately will have to come from taxpayers. The bills are paid by us, not "government." As history has shown, government doesn't "stimulate" the economy. It can't. Every dollar given to the government is a dollar taken from the private sector–the sector that actually constitutes the "economy." The best way to stimulate the economy is to let the private sector keep more of its dollars to use how it sees fit, including creating jobs. That means the best thing the government can do to "stimulate" the economy is to CUT SPENDING drastically and reduce taxes across the board, especially for the group that creates the most jobs and is taxed the most: the wealthiest Americans. Sorry, those of you with wealth and class envy, but if you want jobs, you'd better let the job creators keep more of their money.
Reducing taxes across the board is a success? Since when? Look at what happened since the 80's. The businesses take that extra money and reinvest it in fictitious financial investments in the hopes of earning more money.
Giving a company raking in billions of dollars more of a tax break will not get them to hire more freaking people. Get it through your skulls. DEMAND from consumers gets companies to hire. Giving Wal-Mart an extra 10% tax break will not get them to hire more people who will end up standing around picking their nasal hairs because the demand isn't there.
It shouldn't even be an argument anymore. Tax breaks for big business is a failure. They already have the biggest tax breaks of all by offshoring their companies in little tax shelters where they pay nothing. Why would they suddenly come back if taxes were droped 10 or 20 more percent when they are paying nothing now?
Fareed–there is NO saving the planetary economy.
It doesn't work anymore.
It doesn't serve the planet.
NO ONE can save it; no idea will work.
Only will the upcoming collapse of the stock market will force us to come up with a simpler system that takes care of everyone's basic needs.
Every human has the right to basic survival as they have the right to breathe.
Zakaria comes across like a junior high student the way he belabors the obvious. Maybe he should get a job.
Why you Americans are dumb as the dirt...
Quit smoking the dung of your ancestors.
If we just cared about each other the same as we did ourselves we would not be in the current state of crisis that we are in now. A lot of people consider such a statement naive, but no one really has to listen to them. There's no need to be afraid of them. No matter whats on your mind speak it and the world will run smoother regardless of what people say. I'm just offering my two cents. No one has to listen to me. The choice to respect this post is your own.
One of the best solutions is one of the most obvious. America lags far behind the rest of the developed world when it comes to paid holidays, workday length, and vacation time. When industrious people like Japan and Germany can boast of more vacation time and lower unemployment, something's wrong.
Legislating 3-4 weeks paid vacation, reducing the workweek to 35 hours, and rolling back the Bush "reforms" to overtime legislation would not only make America a nicer place to work, but would require businesses to hire new workers to make up for the lost time. The resultant employment boost might just haul America out of the recession.
Another idea might be to sic the tax man on profitable corporations which don't hire.
I think in the end, they need to do three things to bring American manufacturing back:
1. Government MUST be streamlined to free up resources for the private sector. For example, all social services should be handled by ONE agency, not multiple agencies. This would tremendously cut the bureaucratic overhead and would have savings measured in the HUNDREDS of billions per year off the Federal budget.
2. The income tax system needs to be MASSIVELY overhauled to reduce compliance costs and make it more business-friendly. I'd go with the simple flat income tax proposed by Steve Forbes in a book he wrote in 2005 as a starting point for such an unprecedented overhaul.
3. Wall Street needs to have its excesses reigned in. This means requiring real liquidity backing for those "new" style investments, increasing the minimum margin requirements for futures trading to 20% (and require the buyer take delivery of 40% of the item purchased), and possibly re-imposing the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act to "firewall" bank assets from the effects of the stock market.
Both sides of the political aisle must admit these defects in our economy and by fixing them, businesses will get the confidence to expand all operations in the USA, including manufacturing.
Sending all our jobs to China is the issue. The thing that kills me is that I have been saying this was the case for at least 3 years now and main stream media still avoids it. I wonder why? Do the American people understand that what we are seeing in the economy right now is systemic? In other words do they know that this is NOT part of the regular business cycle that we have always relied on? Do they even understand the issues and nomenclature to make an argument? I think the answer is NO. I think people are too caught up with what the greedy powers that be want us to be all caught up with and that is issues like birth certificates, exploiting racism and religion. Don't even get me started on the biggest diversion of them all: TERRORISM. If we don't come together as Americans for America then we might as well get used to what things will be like which is super huge mansions with gates and security that shelter the elite while we kill each other for scraps. Hey just like Mexico and very similar to what China looked like 20 years ago before we gave them all our jobs. Viva la revolution !
In the 1960s we got the entire nation energized with the space project and aerospace jobs. They were high quality, and high paying jobs. We could do something similar with an efficient high speed rail system across the U.S. and to the major cities around the country. It would create jobs in all parts of the country and we built the rails and train stations. Some jobs would be more technical engineering type jobs, but others would be ones that almost anyone willing to work could handle. The added benefit would be to promote travel within the country and this too will add jobs across the nation in the service industries. If we did such a project it would be necessary that the actual rail cars be American made not imported from China or India. Until we have a way for people to work and get off welfare the nation will never turn around.
Hola Amigos:
I like Fareed but he failed to mention that the world has changed while the USA was frittering away. China, India, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile are HOT! People will move their investments where they can make to most (wouldn't you?) and right now, the USA is not a relatively "business friendly" place. Make the USA the best place in the world to do business and JOBS will explode! Things like Union power, lawyers, minimum wage, EPA, EEOC, IRS, NLRB all contribute to the mess that has been developing for 50 years or more. Imagine the recent legislation for Obamacare at 2000 pages and the fact that more than 200 lawyers have been hired to "interpret" the new legislation – ridiculous!
Ok seriously man, unions are the only thing protecting the average joe from big companies. Notice how our country started falling apart as union membership decreased over the last 35+ years? It's no coincidence. Take away worker power and all you have are big companies abusing their labor force. You are just a replaceable cog in the hamster wheel.
As for the obamacare thing, yes it's a failure, but not for the reasons you list. He tried to create a bipartisan bill instead of passing the single payer plan. Stop calling it obamacare. It's republincare and democraticare. Both parties are responsible for the half assed bill instead of what we truly want, a single payer system.
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Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs Plant TREEs if you don't need them you can always dig them out. or plant in containers.
It's time to think outside the box for a change. The United States is mired in the status quo. We need to bring manufacturing back to America. The first step is to give corporations tax incentives to bring back manufacturing. The second is to stop rewarding bad behavior on Wall Street and finally stop the tax based bailouts and subsidies for banks and investment firms. We need to create jobs here that pay living wages and improve the standard of living. It is time to put aside our political differences and realize that we can't compete with low wage paying countries. We were once the greatest nation on earth because we were competitive, driven and the best at what ever we put our collective minds to. At the moment, our infrastructure is falling apart, from roads, bridges to public transit. Let's do what the rest of the industrialized world has done. have a long term solution and vision. Create a 20 year job project nation-wide aimed at reinvesting in America's future. China built an eight thousand mile high speed rail system/network in lest than 10 years because they had the capital. We squandered our resources through smoke and mirrors on Wall Street , bailouts and corruption. It's time to change our priorities. The world is laughing behind our backs as we spend ourselves into further debt supporting two endless and pointless wars – to the tune of $12 billion a month. Think about what that money could do back home.
William, you just parroted my three-point plan for economic recovery.
Implement this plan and our economy will come roaring back in less than a year, in my humble opinion.
For about 15 years, I have been writing my congressman and senators and DNC and RNC about our country's need for rebuilding the infrastructure. That it was created in the 1950's with a target population capacity of 225-million to 250-million. Our population today is 311-million. We need to begin with shutting down immigration and begin sending workers with soon to expire and expired VISAs back to their native countries. That over a 1-year period will reduce our population to about 305-million and 300-million in 2-years time.
Regarding infrastructure... my list includes all surface roads repaved every 3-years in industrial and commercial areas and every 5-years in residential areas... US Interstate highways widened to 16 lanes in rual areas and 12 lanes in all other areas... US highways widened to 8-to-10 lanes in all areas... bridges, tunnels, and overpasses made mother-nature-proof... railways modernized to bullet trains and faster freight trains with guaranteed on-time passenger train service... airport radar systems modernized and airlines required to be on-time or provide 50% cash refunds... waterways and levees made more secure... ports of entry made stronger ... our power grid upgraded to 21st century standards... and dome cities created in colder climate areas.
The cost... estimated at $15-trillion. If begun today. Every year postponed, the cost will likely increase $1.5-trillion. And businesses must bear 85% of this cost.
Thank you.
Here's a practical solution: Lower the cost of doing business in America by removing the policies the government designed to help out the big boys at the expense of main street. Stop trying to buoy the housing market and let it come down to affordable levels on today's dismal salaries (and even if you don't want to do this, anything you do to keep housing prices high will fail and will only slow the fall – at a cost of billions to trillions of dollars). Start prosecuting the criminals on Wall Street who caused the crisis and give them decades in prison (after a fair trial of course).
Its time to put Ben Bernanke on a leash. Its time to remove the cost incentive of moving our jobs overseas by letting prices come down so we can afford a good standard of living on a lower salary. Otherwise we can sit around talking recovery for decades and it will never come.
I keep hearing this infrastructure argument by people advocating Big Government action. Where is any data data that details the infrastructure problem? Is it high-speed internet to Kansas or the inner city or more money for infrastructure and support at dysfunctional schools? Do we need better roads and more public buildings. I live in upstate NY and these small, empty and dying towns have the nicest schools, municipal buildings and parks. But no businesses. Big Spending liberals bled the economy dry. Let's talk about research. Big Research is a massive government spending boondoggle with very poor results. Big-G did not create Microsoft, Apple, Cisco, Disney, Walmart or Boeing. Almost all the Big Government-Rea search projects are low or negative economic productivity. Examples include solar, wind, fuel cells, ethanol and high speed rails. They are all part of a big con by the research-government complex that is the result of excessive governement research funding and a higher eduction system that produces far too many PhDs. NONE of that research activity will ever be economically productive. In fact they are ANTI-productive because they will exist while sapping our tax dollars to justify their existence. I visit central China and the infrastructure is miserable and highly polluted. Yet they are expanding rapidly.
SO foget that crazy infrastructure statement, unless you can show us some data.
StanRoc!
Want to help small business? Just get rid of the minimum wage. That will increase employment. Also get rid of overtime requirements – this will have a deep effect on profitability and flex – let the worker and company contract freely.
well, if you can't afford the minimum wage then you should not be in business.
Gotta love how you put the word "free" in there to make it sound great. Sometimes having to much freedom can be a bad thing, especially when you don't know what's happening around you. It leads to poor decision making. Which basically means you are only as free as the knowledge you have. And it's simply impossible to know everything so you can make wise contract deicsions.
Stop with the lame bumper sticker slogans.
Actually, SmallB is on the right track. It doesn't matter what you make if you can get "hired". I've always been willing to work for free for a short time to show what I bring to the party. Then, if their opinion of my worth is too far from mine, I go somewhere else and do it again. But in every case, the OPPORTUNITY is the key to success.
Now that I'm retired, I'm not going to pay $8+/hr. to an unqualified, ignorant person to do the things I don't want to do half as well and half as fast, particularly when they may or may not show up on time, or even show up, or listen to the instructions, or follow the instructions. Been there, done that.
I don't think allowing overtime is a good idea other than in occasional emergency. Better to employ another person part time that might prove worthy of full time employment if and when that is deemed PROFITABLE. (It's not a dirty word).
Mr. Fareed's suggestions treat the symptoms but not the illness. The deficit, debt ceiling, unemployment, loss of manufacturing, impolosion of the housing market, etc. are symptoms of a sick and failing democracy. America is defined by two ideals: democracy and captialism. Unfortunately, these two ideals do not harmoniously co-exist nor are they in equal balance. Democracy has been sacraficed on the alter of "global" capitalism and the results are the problems that define us today. A perfect example is the republican proposal to eliminate taxes on foreign income for corporations. Does this make sense for Americans? It seems counterintuitive and designed to stimuate growth OUTSIDE of America. The only way to solve the economic problems–for Americans–is to restore America to its democractic principles. A strong democracy will create checks and balances in a captialist system that protect the interest and well being of our citizens. How do we do this? We need to take back our house...the House of Representatives by changing how representatives are selected for office. We do this by randomly drawing a ballet of local citenzry and outlawing party politics and corporate lobbying to influence outcomes. And, of course, allowing representatives to serve only a single term before they must return to their previous lives as fireman, salesman, police officers, teachers, tradespeople, homemakers, small business owenrs, and the occassional attorney.
Your would think that all of these intelligent economists would actually see something like that. But no, according to them, China produces basic products, we as a more advanced country need to produce higher class products. LOL. in the meanwhile, people will starve.
Capital reinvestment is the key. Consumers only buy what's on the shelves. When companies build factories, jobs are created. When companies improve existing products, prices fall. When companies invent new products, both events happen. But capital investment slows down or stops when companies are highly taxed, and our cultural bias is that taxes must be increased at every level.
biased how? IF anything, we've been biased to not raise taxes when it's seriously needed right now. I think you got your logic all twisted there.
If anything, we need to close loopholes and collect the taxes we are supposed to get.
The whole argument that businesses need more money is ludicrous. Profits are at all time highs for these big companies (especially investment firms). How much more freaking money they need?
Oh, just steal from everyone and get it it over with. Just stop boring us that you have an ideology.
I think a great problem that we are having is that CEO's are still getting pay raises while workers are losing wages and losing jobs. The middle class is slowly declining and jobs that were decent paying jobs 10 years ago are still being paid the same. Meanwhile the minimum wage continues to increase and the jobs that paid decent 10 years ago are not much more than minimum wage jobs. For example security jobs have paid $7-$13 an hour for the past 10 years. The minimum wage has gone over $7 and yet security jobs still max out at $13 an hour. The CEO's however are receiving increased salaries every year. If they were to take small pay cuts they could afford to increase wages for employees or even hire more employees. This method would work in the government and private sector.
It would also help if people would stop buying imports and purchase domestic products. Companies such as General Mills which buys wheat from Russia could help American Farmers greatly by purchasing locally.
Mr. Zajaria. No offense intended but since the comfort of your job, and a very much highly paid, is easy to produce your kind of advise which is that we must come a nation of entertainers, plasterers, painters, and road and bridge repairers. I assure that 100% of the materials will be produced in China or somewhere.
I challenge you to run your eyes in and out of your fancy mansion a pick one single item that is made in the USA. All the industrial base was moved to China with the complicity of assorted Presidents and left us a nation of consumers.
Why don't we start taxing anything that is imported from China in a way that OUR industries have a chance to compete with their labor costs?
No industries-No jobs-No salary-No buying.
Taxing corporations higher is not the answer, but, perhaps you could provide a reasonable answer as to why Big corporations such as the Oil industry has to have subsidies.
"Unemployment's most significant impact is on the lives of the unemployed" DUH... But seriously there is no point harping on about helping small businesses etc etc. when there is no political will to do this. Small businesses have no lobby group and in a political system totally run on money, its only big business that any party cares about. Our politicians work for them. Like" manufacturing", "innovation" blah blah blah. Our government just DOESNT CARE about that stuff and they never will unless we totally reform this stinking system that has hijacked our democracy.
Fareed, I do not think you do not know what you are talking about.
Jobs are going to India and China, Indians are moving like cows and producing babies, I have been without job for one year, can you help me job for food and apartment , i hope to hear from you – you in media and Washington do not know what you talking about, I speak 5 languages been to 148 countries
U.S. Run, owned and operated oil drilling and refining company would create a bunch of jobs, infrastrucure and lower the cost at the pumps allowing a tax increase to pay the debt, and stimulate the economy. Screw the foreign oil companies. Drill in the gulf. Keep the profits at home and create american jobs that produce revenue, stops making roads to no where
1. we need to work less than 40hrs/week – in US we have a lot of houses, free-ways, a lot of goods. We don't need to produce so much. If we reduce 5% to 38hrs/week (and enforced) the unemployment will decrease with 3% (if not 5%). It's good for our society to work at least 2 hour less per week. More time to spend with kids(educate them), more time to go gym, better health.
2. we could try import less and build more quality goods here – so there will be more jobs.
3. there is shortage of nurse (as many other qualified employee) so more school for specific need it worker.
does anybody know if fareed is going to bilderberg this year?
Maybe we should move to a system where all the profits from companies are simply redirected to public works! Or a system where there is a max amount that you can make and after that it goes back to the government! where we can just give it to the poor and they don't have to work, they can just buy more goods and keep the cycle going.
What's that?...
Thats the definition of Socialism/Communism? (Read a book and realize that Communism comes from people working toward the "greater good")
Once people realize that by taking away the ability to be extraordinary, and the true American dream (Lets face it, you weren't a child dreaming about having 70% of your income taxed, you were dreaming of having the big house on the beach somewhere) you are going to see a mass exodus of those rich you are trying to tax. Lets face it, they can afford to move to a country that dosent mind having capital available for investment.
Your true goal should be to bring more rich people (therefore, their wealth, and taxable income) to your city and state. You don't see Beverly Hills with broken infrastructure, you see it neat and clean (this is because of those taxes collected from the rich). So before you blame someone with 6 0s in their bank account for you not having more than one in yours, realize that THEY didn't fire you.
A bad economic slump, in large part due to subsidies and encouragement from banks, to get every person to home ownership (without any consideration of downside risk... AKA possibly being fired, injured, or death) caused what we are going through now.
If you want the government to subsidize your life, move to Russia, or better yet, China, and see how the lowest 10% live. The grass is always greener on the other side. It's time for Americans to realize, however jacked up times may seem right now, our grass is about as green as it gets on this little blue spec we call earth.
~Peter R.
And before you accuse me of being a filthy rich retiree driving around in my Bentley, it should be noted that I am personally paying for my college education. The true american dream of maing it WITHOUT help from others
Excuse me, but aren't you rightwingers all saying that China is kicking our asses right now, and we should be more like China?
"The freedom to be extraordinary". Yeah, right. All our children should be above average.
Let me guess, you read a lot of Ayn Rand, don't you?
Don't delude yourself kid. Someday you're going to need help, everyone does. And when you do, you might have an easier time getting it if you stop looking down your nose at people asking for it now.
& then there is the American worker...They want to show up, get paid 20 to 30 bucks an hour minimum, They want a golden retirement package, cradle to grave top notch world class health care plan for themselves & their families, 4 weeks paid vacation, 2 weeks sick leave, 9 months paternity leave & a Christmas bonus to boot, don't even mention overtime unless your prepared to offer time & a half. After all that is said & done & they celebrate their 21st birthday you best be offering a promotion from janitor to the fancy title of Chief Custodian, they damn well earned it. At this point they are ready to spend their higher wages on responsible things instead of beer & pot, like flat panel HDTV's with surround sound complete with Lazy Boy & Temperpedic, it may even be time to think about moving out of Mom & Pops house & paying some on the child(ren) support, at the very least a Wal – Mart gift card, 100 bucks should do it this quarter.
What small business or large corporation would not want to invest in such innovative lifestyles?
Smart people recognize the right answer and yet nothing ever gets done. The smallest of small businesses are where the innovations start that lead to the growth that lead to the jobs. When we ask for cash flow assistance using protected payback methods (selling credit card receipts) to get by credit rating numbers, we get pushed away; and when we come together to challenge unfair favors to big business, we get ignored by the political leaders who are so solidly in the arms of the very systems that have failed. It's helpful when someone good says the truth but we need people to follow up with good ideas as well.
Mr. Zakaria – Forgot to mention the thousands of American jobs that have been shipped overseas. Manufacturing needs to be brought back home and provide the incentive to local companies to employ skilled workers back in the job market.
What he says is a beginning. What is needed is to stop the outsourcing of job overseas and get the public to buy American. Review all these trade agreements with China, Mexico and so on and find out what is bad and fix them. Also, find out what party authored these trade agreements and publish the signee names and lobbies that crafted them. Bottom-line, take back America.
Solution is tariff on imported goods. In the last 10 years, 42,000 factories closed up because they can easily manufacture same products overseas at low wages then import into the U.S. A custom duty will put a stop to this non-sense.
Truth be told, a large percentage of Americans are lazy and live in an instant gratification mode. As long as the government continues to pay 20% of American society some type of entitlement, it will only continue to get worse. The dems want nothing more than Americans to rely on government paid entitlement. NO INCENTIVE TO WORK!! Libs don't want people to be held accountable. There are plenty of jobs out there. Just get off your ass and contribute to society. There are exceptions, but the majority of people put themselves into their own debt problems.
Duh. You figure this out all by yourself. Fareed (aka Mr. Obvious) This is what we have needed all along. Everything up 'til now has been for Mr. Corp America. Wake up and grow a set.
Three years ago when I was looking for work as a software development project manager, I was contacted by a headhunter who was interested in offering me a position in Mumbia providing support for a US software manufacturer. So, to secure a position with this company, I would have had to move my entire family to a foreign country to work for a company right here in America. These are the types of jobs we should be fighting to keep in this country for American citizens.
You have the best person possible for creating good jobs – Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.
Interesting....no-one mentioned the word 'waste'. Jumbo this jumbo that....do Americans really need jumbo size everything?
If we made outsourcing illegal, millions of jobs for Americans would be created overnight. For some reason, no politician, right or left, ever discusses this possibility. I wonder why?
Everyone wants a short-term fix, but the solution will be long-term. A good start will be a country that is not drowning in debt and kids that are getting more than their fill of math and science.
Drastic times call for drastic measures. Force these .......corporations to make their products in this country! Take away any tax breaks for them because they are not providing any American jobs in this country! I buy toothpicks, made in China, I buy Scripto lighters, made in China, wife bought a jar of peppers, made in China! What we can't make toothpicks, light bulbs, and a million other products here in this country. It's all about corporate greed period! The cheaper they get the stuff made in China the more profit they make. Veterans coming back from these wars we keep getting into could use some of these manufacturing jobs, but many vets are unemployed!
It's not just "corporate greed", it's UNION GREED TOO! American workers are spoiled rotten. They think they are worth $40 an hour, and that "normal life" is 3 huge-screen TV's and an extra car for the kids. High wages force many manufacturers to seek elsewhere.
It seems that we should be making more 'things' that we use! I resent importing everyday items
from China. I would rather pay more for something, keeping it longer and doing my part to keep
jobs in the U.S. There is too much incentive for corporations to send work overseas....
The products don't even have to cost much more if made here if only these greedy corporations would be satisfied with 500% profit instead of a 1000%. Look at some of the ads on TV, buy one suit or whatever and get two absolutely free. You know they are getting these products for practically nothing made overseas when they can afford to give away two suits free.
In the context of bringing manufacturing back to America, why not look again at import/export trade certificates. It was first proposed, I believe, by Warren Buffet in November 2003. Then Senators Byron Dorgan and Russ Feingold introduced legislation toward this aim but it apparently never went to a vote. I would like to hear the idea debated.
With gridlock, our government is stuck with no ability to enact more fiscal and no more monetary stimulus. But, our corporate sector is sitting on mounds of profits, variously reported to be $1.7 to $2 trillion. Trade certificates could be the incentive to free this money up and stimulate our own economy. Sadly, I see our corporations extracting "welfare" out of desperate state and local governments to keep or build anything and at the same trying to leverage their clout into legislation deregulating more financial, environmental and many other public safeguards. Enough.
We can fix the jobs problem with one simple move that won't cost taxpayers a cent. BAN CHINESE IMPORTS! Look in just about any store...everything is Made in China. Well, to heck with THEIR economy...our FIRST responsibility is our OWN economy. To carry it one step further, stop ANY tax breaks for companies that either outsource manufacturing, or services (like call centers in India),... period. No more Free Trade Agreements with countries whose labor costs are lower than our own.
Well, I wonder if anyone is alarmed as I am, reading the woefully inadequate grammar in these posts indicating our nation has a basic communication problem. When we type "are" instead of "our", that can't possibly be attributed to a cell phone keypad mistake. A problem with our educational system? We spend too much time with useless standardized testing rather than teaching. Our banks were more concerned about greedily pushing those outrageous mortgages people couldn't possibly afford, then ask to be "bailed out" like Oliver asking for "more". We should be quickly re-tooling our auto facilities to make those parts that can only come from Japan while they are rebuilding; then offer our assistance in engineering, materials and labor to rebuild. Come on!! It isn't rocket science!
The grammar of those posts to which you refer, I believe were not penned by native English speakers. They were not written by Americans, as their authors distance themselves from their own criticisms. They were – call it paranoia, skepticism, or racism – written by anti-Americans wishing to "troll" on a board such as this to antagonize people whom they believed could not tell the difference.
This guy's facile, shallow commentaries are sooooo boring. Fareed, I've been living on social security for
years now .. and, guess what? I'm comfortable. I'm supposed to feel sorry for someone who only makes
$19,000 a year? The real reason why we are suffering is because people don't want to work any more.
Bet you get more than $19k for penning this crap, huh Fareed? Why don't you find a job at MacDonald's
and start contributing yourself, monkey?
I feel it it is very difficult to keep service jobs in North America, The arithmatic is so simple. Rs. 50,000/month in India is very good money buy its only $1000/month in USA/Canada. So companies outsourcing their customer service jobs which can be done over the phone to India/Phillipines/Guetamala etc. can save a lot of money. How on earth can Obama tell them to keep jobs here. I think, we the customers, are responsible for this. We will seek out the cheapest product/service & at the same time will tell the company to keep the job here; isn't that sound contradictory ?
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I found an interesting chart on Face Book that seems to show the cause and the cure for the problem. In 1968 the poorest 50% of the population brought home 27% of all income. The budget was in balance, 29.5% of the people were in labor unions.The richest 20% brought home 40% of all income. We spent 13% of our income on infrastructure. Compare the school lunches of then and now. Then, we all received three course meals for lunch. Now, it is junk food.
Now the richest 20% of the population control well over 80% of all wealth. They bring home half of all income, while the poorest 50% bring home 20% of all income. The richest 5% of the population bring home more than the bottom 50%. Only 12% of the population are in labor unions.
Here is another interesting thought. Most states still rely on sales taxes. Most rich people purchase their goods on the internet and would not know how to begin reporting their purchases, assuming they were honest enough to try. The sales tax is now antiquated. There is a need to move to income taxes, or some tax where the tax payer is more accountable.
Rich people and poor people buy different things. Poor people buy tangible items, food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, transportation. Rich people buy non-tangible, and therefore, not taxed items. Purchasing tangible items creates jobs. Somebody has to produce those tangible items. Purchasing non-tangible items does not create jobs. There is nothing real to produce.
Some argue that the problem is more competition caused by Japan, China, Europe and other countries rebuilding after WWII. That building was largely completed by the end of the '60s. Further, and more importantly, the competitors in those countries are also customers. They are revenue neutral. Our competition comes from countries that were not part of WWII. They are third world countries that are competitors, but not consumers. The solution is to make them consumers.
We need to implement trade laws that require corporations building products over there, where ever over there is, to make their employees customers. That means creating safe working conditions with real wages over there. That is not listed in this article. The solutions are therefore to raise taxes on the wealthy, do something about the bloated salaries of the wealthy, in this country and over seas, and get the money into the hands of the people who will spend it on tangible items.
Needless to say, this is 180 degrees off the republican solution. That is why every time the republican solution has been tried, unemployment skyrocketed, as did the debt, while the wages of the poor floundered. This has been going on long enough, that they must know this is the truth, but they simply do not care.
The US now spends 3% of its income on infrastructure. That is why we had the devastation of Katrina, the bridge in St. Paul, and the list goes on. Again, the only solution is more taxes on those most able to pay, dramatically increasing spending on education and infrastructure, increasing the minimum wage, and doing something about the bloated salaries of the rich.
What is all this whining about "competitiveness"?
America acts like it's some victim with no power in the global marketplace. The fact is that you're a huge market of 300 million consumers – the biggest in the world. Who do you think those goods that are manufactured by India and China are being sold to? The Indians and the Chinese are too poor to afford them. Europe has the good sense to protect themselves with trade walls and tariffs.
The fact is that you only have yourselves to blame for your problems. There is nothing stopping you from demanding that your leaders punish outsourcing companies with punitive taxation and tariffs, but you keep falling for the "free trade" mantra being chanted by the same CEOs pocketing millions by shipping American jobs overseas. Competiveness is a lie. Wake up.
Ok here is my take on the current employment issue. First the problem starts with us. What a lot of people don't relize is that Middle and Lower Class America are the game changers in our country. History has proven in the past that these groups in any nation/society, are the ones that call for the changes that they need to survive. There are a lot of problems in our country but what is anybody really doing anything about it. We can sit here and complain but what are WE doing. Our military Budget to me is insane actually. I am going to use just on sticking point on this. We have 12 aircraft carriers in service. 12 ..... do we really need 12. How much is it to run one of those ships. The ship itself, paying for that the crew, the airwing, the pilots, and everything that is needed to run a ship of that size. Again do we need 12??? We have major infrastructure problems, but who is doing anything about this. And if somebody is trying to do something who is supporting them. College students, fresh out of school, under a mountain of student loan debt, and cannot find jobs. But they are still expected to pay on those loans. What are we doing for those people. I am a college graduate, I have a job, it is not in the field that I went to school for, but it atleast its a job. I went to school for IT. We need to stop blaming everyone else, that is what I see we are becomming, we want to blame everyone else for our problems, but to be honest the buck stops with us. So again I ask what are we doing to fix this the problems of our country??? So before you start blamming anybody else first ask what you have done for YOUR country to help fix the problems that we face in todays world.
We have to rediscover the glue - the organizing principle - that enables people to work together for political change.
The government is a joke. Most of the politicians are owned and operated by foreign lobbies and transnational corporations. So hope has to come from outside of government. It has to come from "we the people".
But we in the bottom 98% are divided and conquered. Worse than that, we are atomized. Night after night, we sit in front of the tv, doing nothing. There are many great tv programs, but watching them does nothing to revive our political and economic system.
Change will come when people are no longer able to pay the electric bill. The tv will then release its grip on us, and we will be out in the streets, learning what it means to be part of a "society".
For decades, political struggle has been "uncool". And labor unions have been corrupt and stifling. That needs to change. A healthy human being has a faculty which enables him or her to collaborate with other human beings. We have to find that faculty within ourselves and revive it collectively. Let's stop pretending that every man is an island. We're all in the same boat: Let's deal with it.
How to restore America? how to innovate? how to fix jobs in America? ...... The solution is as easy as getting together on september 11th, 2011 – sharing music,art, and culture
We need to take a step back in order for humanity to evolve. Innovation can not move forward without love behind it -
that goes for our imagination,our dreams, our individuality,and our innovated children that will take us into the future.
As of now we are an economically driven society, not morally driven – People fight for their rights, but not for responsibility.
by coming together for a nationwide picnic on September 11th, 2011 sharing music, art, and culture.
On our day – without politics, media distractions, or prejudice..... we shall overcome.
For multiple purposes and meaning, we start at the roots of American conflicts
* give the floor to our Native American culture – sharing stories, traditions, and the true meaning of respect for each other
and all living things.
* give the floor to our community hero's – These are the real celebrities, the rockstars.... follow them with a camera, and possibly a notepad and pen, to take note.
* give the floor to our local farmers – to inspire more co-op farming and self sufficient communities.
* give the floor to the "little people" with big ideas – sharing idea's. talents, skills. To inspire more trades, revive the MA & Pa's and open markets. Create jobs in the green direction.
* give a day to be grateful for all we have and all we can do.
There is a much deeper perspective to the necessary movement, however, this is step 1.
sincerely,
lRaimondi
please help US http://www.change.org "The painted lady x projects"
The Solution:
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I watched Fareed's special last week on innovation and jobs and read the blog carefully. I must say that I didn't find they key solution to America's job woes. We must find a way to make it possible for companies financially to manufacture products in Asia and India as profitably in the United States. Until we do that, any new innovation/product or item needing mass producton will leave our shores and no amount of government works programs will offset that.
Fareed, with all due respect I disagree strongly on your view of an infrastructure bank for precisely the reasons you advocate it. Private business will not invest in our infrastructure because there is not, nor should there be, a profit motive. By privatizing a bridge, you will start seeing toll ways and sell offs to foreign interests as we have seen in the past
It is not in the best interest of capitalism to fix things or to take a risk on a brighter future. That is not what shareholders want or the market. It may be what they need, but that is not the world today. So, it must be a national effort. IT must be a call to arms, a large idea that incorporates all.
The real solution is to shift military spending to the US, utilizing our men and women in uniform and employing citizens. If we were to shift nearly 40% of the military budget and save the $15-20 billion on the drug war (roughly $600 billion) as a security measure to transportation (HSR), Energy (Pickens Plan) and infrastructure (pick a plan) coupled with Energy Grid on a 15-25 yr plan-we would solve all of the US's major problems: economic recovery, unemployment, immigration, energy crisis, cheaper/safer transport, education and a stable infrastructure for growth.
Ideas to Reinvigorate America
1. Immediately pull out all troops in Iraq and Afghanistan- enough is enough- let the CIA and the Special Forces troops continue their operations there without risking the lives of thousands of typical soldiers
2. Legalize euthanasia: this would dramatically cut healthcare costs and reduce the deficit
3. Create a criminal commission to specifically target pedophile catholic priests and sentence them to the full extent of the law- with luck, this could start a worldwide movement which might pressure the church to eliminate the unnatural practice of imposing forced celibacy upon it’s priests
4. Change the U.S .immigration policy: create an “Ellis Island” of the southwest- more people in the U.S. legally equals more tax revenue, especially after 1-2 generations
5. Eliminate all campaign funding for U.S. political campaigns- you shouldn’t need to raise $1billion in order to effectively to run for president- the campaign should only last one month and there should be an open forums in which the people petition to be the candidate and those who are registered in their party vote first for their parties candidate, followed by the general vote in which everyone votes for the presidential position
6. The electoral college should be abolished
7. Senators and Congressmen should have term limits- no more career politicians
8. The Glass-Steagall Act should be reinstated- investment and deposit banks should be legally separated
9. Food commodities should not be allowed to be speculated upon- this causes starvation in America and around the world
10. Ethanol and crop subsidies should be eliminated
11. Eliminate loopholes in the tax system- people and corporations should pay what they are supposed to pay
12. Raise taxes on the rich to Clinton era levels and raise everyone else’s taxes as well
13. Cut military spending by 30-50%
14. Revive the labor movement in America- Unions must return as a force in the private sector- look to the German model
15. Reinvent the education system in America- assume children get no help outside of school and don’t allow ANY child to fail- rethink the way school is taught- look to the Finnish model (only top 10% of college grads are considered for teaching jobs, 2 teachers in each class, same teachers throughout elementary years)- pay teachers more and eliminate tenure- invent new teaching methods using technology
16. Extract and utilize America’s natural energy resources, specifically natural gas, in order to diminish OPEC’s power and create American jobs
17. Create federal work initiatives which put the unemployed back to work rebuilding America’s infrastructure (roads, bridges, highways) similar to the WPA of the New Deal
18. Change the culture of America regarding athletics- move away from organized sports and emphasize intramurals- the point is to deemphasize the dream of becoming a professional athlete and concentrate on academic performance instead
19. Automatically grant citizenship to any students from around the globe who have earned a PhD in the U.S.
20. Vastly increase R&D spending, specifically DARPA spending and the rebirth/ reinvigoration of NASA- this is where the innovation of the last 50+ years has originated from
21. Assert our authority and make strategic alliances in Africa and South America- outmaneuver China who is already pursuing an aggressive plan to secure resources in these regions
22. Remember that China is a communist nation- China as the lone superpower dictating the direction of the world is an unthinkable future which must be thwarted at all costs- western philosophy must endure and remain dominant
23. Invest in technology to counteract the effects of climate change in order to protect the world population- specifically technology to break up/ redirect hurricanes, keep temperatures within reasonable levels, protect coastal areas from tsunamis, harness the energy of volcanoes/ protect populations from eruptions
24. Take a stand against the suppression of the Palestinians by the Israelis- force a two-state solution by threatening to completely cut off funds and military equipment- this will go a long way in changing Arab opinions of the U.S. government
25. End the Cuba embargo- it is an antiquated and unnecessary policy which doesn’t make sense and is limiting the ability of Cubans to change their society and move towards democracy
Nice list. I am not with every single proposal, but the academic, foreign policy, economic, and domestic labor proposals could gain a lot of support. Nice ideas. If I become president I'll try to implement a lot of 'em.
POSTED ON OCCUPYBOSTON BLOG:
MEDIA BLACKOUT – AN EXAMPLE (CNN)
TOPIC: JOB CREATION
Fareed Zakaria is trying to support the 99% but he can do more – reference the Global Public Square Blog.
http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/05/fareeds-take-how-to-fix-americas-jobs-crisis/
Below is Mr. Zakaria’s take on How to fix America’s Job Crisis:
“Well, there are several things we could do to spur job creation. I wrote about them last week in TIME Magazine. But, briefly: (a) create a regulatory and tax climate that helps small businesses since they create most of the new jobs, (b) revive manufacturing by focusing on research, technical training and apprenticeship, (c) help growth industries like entertainment and tourism to expand and, perhaps most urgently, (d) rebuild America's dilapidated infrastructure and put millions of people in the construction and housing industries back to work.”
Our question should be to Mr. Zakaria – what is expected of corporations for job creation?
Due to corporate greed, a lot of jobs in all sectors – blue and white collar jobs in wide proportions (too wide!) are going overseas. There is no talking point in a, b, c or d above about what is expected of large corporations towards expanding jobs at home and decreasing executive pay/bonuses so that they can hire more people.
I would like to see the OccupyBoston movement influence the media and stop the blackout - for CNN to talk about what the bloggers are actually saying. People, the 99% are blogging about these issues and not being heard.
http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/post/11123158326/im-fortunate-to-be-working-this-year-but-in
All of you who can identify with the above and want CNN to report on behalf of THE PEOPLE to expose all the BIG Corporations and all the layoffs they have had please post – " I AGREE " nothing more just "I AGREE"
I personally would like to see them all exposed by sector, by geographical location – how many American workers did they layoff and how many overseas did they hire ??
CALL TO ACTION
OccupyBoston Community – please post “I AGREE” on CNN blog: http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/05/fareeds-take-how-to-fix-americas-jobs-crisis/#comment-123375
This is to get CNN to expose all the big corporations who are:
1. Reducing American jobs, not creating jobs
2. Creating jobs overseas instead of here at home
3. Cutting costs by downsizing and offshoring instead of lowering executive pay
4. Cutting costs by reducing healthcare benefits and asking employees to pay more out of pocket instead of reducing executive pay
5. Cutting costs by freezing merit increases and eliminating bonuses for employees because “the company is not performing” — AGAIN… instead of reducing executive pay
(Note – this is even high performing employees, while the executives still get bonuses when the company is not performing !! I say where is the ‘freeze’ for them ?)
THIS IS THE FACE OF THE 99%:
http://wearethe99percent.tumblr.com/post/11123158326/im-fortunate-to-be-working-this-year-but-in
I AGREE
I AGREE !.
I AGREE
Stop the 'Golden Parachutes' –
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/another-corporate-outrage-golden-parachutes-failed-ceos-153646807.html
“By now you’ve probably heard the news: Leo Apotheker has received a severance package worth $13.2 million in cash and stock for his 11-month tenure as CEO of Hewlett-Packard.”
CNN should be reporting on news like these and what is fueling the 'occupy' movements by the middle class America. Instead we have Erin Burnett's shallow reporting on CNN on the Occupy Wall Street movement.
I THINK ANDERSON COOPER SHOULD HAVE ERING BURNETT ON HIS RIDICULIST !
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