The Money Party is a very small group of enterprises and individuals who control almost all of the money and power in the United States. They use their money and power to make more money and gain more power. It's not about Republicans versus Democrats. The Money Party is an equal opportunity employer. It has no permanent friends or enemies, just permanent interests. Democrats are as welcome as Republicans to this party. It’s all good when you’re on the take and the take is legal. Economic PopulistNegative job growth for eleven years is the best evidence concerning our economic troubles. There were 135 million jobs in 2000 for a workforce of 144 million. Today, there are 139 million jobs for a workforce of 154 million. That represents negative job growth when you factor in population growth.
Job growth in this economy hit a dead calm in 2000 and is now moving backwards. If the issue isn't raised, how can we address the phenomena?
What is the Money Party doing about Negative Job Growth?
The solutions offered by congressional Republicans are packed with their favorite programs (House and Senate versions). Unfortunately, their proposals don't have much to do with increasing jobs.
The first recommendation calls for the federal government to "start living within [its] means." How does that happen? Pass a constitutional amendment for a balanced budget and put the budget process in a "straight jacket" through fixed spending limits. We are told that this will "cut spending to immediately and substantially reduce deficits." The Republicans fail to mention how many jobs will be created.
Their program makes rules on spending but, with one exception, it neglects to mention any specific programs that should be cut. Guess which program they mentioned? Their manifesto suggests that we must "control entitlement spending", Social Security for example. How convenient. They cite the one program running a substantial surplus, the lifeline for seniors.
The Republican jobs program eliminates all those regulations they love to hate. Generating more jobs by eliminating regulations is laughable. Since 2001, rules and regulations for business (e.g., Wall Street) have been tossed overboard at a record pace. No new jobs were created during this period. The collapse of 2008 and the Great Recession that followed are the main effect of eliminating regulations.
It is no surprise that Republicans want big tax breaks corporations. Their corporate welfare proposals are the new "trickle down" economics. Just give the giant corporations one more round of tax breaks and, as if by magic, they will start creating jobs.
They propose a 10 point reduction in the current corporate tax rate (from the current 35% to 25%. They claim that it would produce 5.3 million jobs. That's 053 million jobs for each point taxes are cut. If the Republican's plan to collect the proposed 25% rate, that's actually an eight point increase over the 17% rate those corporations actually pay right now. By their own logic, their proposal will cause 4.24 million jobs to disappear (8 point increase times.53 million jobs per point). Mission accomplished!
The Democrats job plan continues their sleepwalking through history. Keep in mind that the Democrats controlled Congress from 2008 to 2010. They did a lot for jobs on Wall Street but not much for the rest of us.
The Democratic stimulus plan of 2009 produced some jobs. Nearly a third of the $800 billion proposal went to tax cuts. The remaining $500 million offered a modest program at a time of great crisis.
Current proposals by the party offer programs that are a fraction of their 2009 stimulus package. They are hardly adequate. They say closing corporate tax loopholes, moving toward a green economy, and fixing infrastructure (on the cheap) will do the trick. Democrats are also fixated on balancing the budget. They had legislative control for four years, with concurrent presidential control for the last two of those years. They could not or would not create the conditions necessary for job growth.
Both parties go on ad nauseum about job training and make the compulsory references to community colleges as the key element. Community colleges are outstanding resources. They need more funding. But the notion that there is a skills gap between the employees and available jobs was totally debunked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A recent BLS revision of its new jobs data showed that all those new jobs simply don't exist.
Neither party addresses the ravages of free trade. They talk about export growth but forget the reciprocal, friendly free trade deals plus the import of skilled professionals that end jobs here while creating them over there.
The Money Party has done nothing about negative job growth. The party's Republican and Democratic factions won't even mention that this has gone on for eleven years.
How About a Job Growth Program for People
What work will they do?
Fixing the nation's infrastructure is an excellent place to start. The American Society of Civil Engineers did a report care on the nation's infrastructure. They found bridges ready to collapse, buildings unfit for use, and public transportation in a sorry state to name a few of the $2 trillion worth of repairs the nation needs. That project would create jobs and have a multiplier effect on the economy through greater efficiencies and opportunities as a result of the repair work.
Stop shipping jobs overseas and people will keep the jobs they have. Give up on free trade for them and a royal screwing for us. Think of people first and corporate convenience, control, and CEO bonuses last.
Brad DeLong at UC Berkeley developed a model that estimates a 1.67% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) for each point reduction in unemployment. There are other models but let's use this one.
Take the official Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) unemployment rate of 9.1% and the 2010 GDP of $14.66 trillion. Reduce unemployment by 6 points and GDP increases 10% to $16.1 trillion.
Better yet, let's use a more accurate representation of the job situation. BLS publishes an alternative unemployment statistic, U-6 (p. 26), showing 16.1% unemployment. U-6 includes: "Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force.
If we reduce U-6 from 16% to 6%, that would increase GDP to $17.1 trillion.
Why is sustained negative job growth the problem that can't be mentioned?
Why won't they address it specifically?
A Crisis of Imagination or Venality?
The Money Party is short on imagination. It won't allow its minions, the servants of power, to think outside the box of the status quo. The party is a one trick pony.
The party is also short on compassion or even the most elementary forms of common decency. It's OK to see millions of people evicted, jobless, without health care, etc., as long as short term profits are maintained for those CEO bonuses and other enrichment for a tiny minority. It's perfectly acceptable for this to go on despite available solutions. If you don't look, it's not there should be their motto.
It's time for The Money Party to go, all of them. Living under their tired, inhumane rule has become intolerable.
END
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Comments
campaign contributions by G.E.?
I think we could put together an interactive mapping showing the campaign contributions and how the ones who spends the most, magically their lobbyist demands are what ends up being presented as "jobs".
Like G.E., that's pure B.S., they want to flood the U.S. with more foreign guest workers because that enables technology transfer offshore, so they give Obama huge bucks and end up presenting that B.S. as if it comes from the White House.
Obviously, public works cannot make huge campaign contributions...
as it is they are privatizing our public works and selling them off for short term peanuts, literally selling America.
It's not just jobs ...
Adding jobs is a fine idea, however, it isn't going to happen as long as our political leaders continue to take campaign contributions from the deep pockets of corporate America. The only resolution to our downward spiral is to take the toys away from the children in Washington and every state government. We need to insist on clean-money campaign reform, contributions solely from the people with limits and oversight.
I realize that this will place thousands of lobbyist on the unemployment role, where they can enjoy their 26-weeks of benefits before being cut off by the neoconservative policies.
Too bad. It's time they enjoyed the poverty they forced upon everyone else.
First, replace the SCOTUS
First we need to reform the Federal judiciary. That is, we need to find a way to get a substantial number of them out! Also, the Republican blocking of all judicial appointments - especially when Obama's nominees are highly qualified - can hardly help the almost hopelessly corrupt condition of the judiciary.
We should be working for state-by-state ballot and vote-counting reform, because that's where reform can and should happen. What about pushing for a Constitutional amendment to reform campaign finance reform? As it stands, the highest Court has spoken more than once and will not allow it!
BTW: Please don't use the word "children" to describe venal and puerile apparatchiks! That's an insult to real children everywhere! (And the project is a lot more complex and difficult than taking toys away from children.)
I agree, lay off the 'children';)
We shouldn't call them political prostitutes either, terribly unfair to prostitutes.
Speaking of which, Scalia outdid himself with Walmart. He's got big plans to destroy any semblance of justice and he's working it hard.
This two part video pretty much sums up the Mandarins who carry the water for The Money Party.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUtQ331-FBc&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rux-4LJr9mY&feature=youtu.be
What a statement!
Michael Collins
Hilarious videos
Is the audience actually taking notes? Getting it all down? Like a serious seminar?
Is this what happens when you take a red-blooded Texas boy out of Texas and leave him in Paris for a while?
Got it!
Slavery is inefficient! Outsourcing is much more profitable!
But one part of the Remote Worker System was omitted. When things get out of hand and you look at the screen on the end of your inflatable dingus, you see that the factory has suffered some kind of social disaster ... it's being wrecked by workers ... profits are gravely endangered. (Read the classic March to the Monteria by B. Traven!)
No problem ... switch over to your remote control system for a drone strike and blow the whole thing up. (Otherwise, it could conceivably become your competition while, thanks to the drone app add-on to your remote worker management system, everything is neater and ultimately more profitable.)
Labor, like any other resource, eventually is exhausted. So move on to the next country.
Wait a minute ... almost forgot ... before calling in the drones ... SELL YOUR COMPANY SHORT ... THEN, call in the drone attack!
Wait a minute ... even better ... as soon as you call in the drone attack on YOUR factory ... call one in for the factory in another country, operated by your competition ... oh, that's in China ... well, guess we'll have to get the White House involved .... how much will that cost?
Thanks BuzzFlash.com
Thanks BuzzFlash.com for front paging the latest Money Party article!!!
http://buzzflash.com
Michael Collins
buzzflash has good taste, folks, viral media
We often cover topics on EP that are not elsewhere, so if you want people to read something here and raise up a topic, use all of those share buttons and get it going.
It really makes a difference that we are heard.
Great Report
It's unfortunate that the American MSM is nearly non-existent in the jobs discussion; very similar to Congress! Most polls indicate that Americans are more concerned about jobs than any other economic issue, but the powers that be along with their media cronies are more concerned about more tax cuts for the wealthy and cutting social safety net programs. Keep up the great work!
The American MSM is owned by
The American MSM is owned by the Money Party and is on the front lines of their class warfare!
The MSM are the "helots" of The Money Party
Your point is axiomatic and explains why nothing gets done. We don't have total censorship, not by a long shot. But those who write the ongoing narrative don't let the facts intrude, even when they expose them.
Michael Collins
Vanishing Science Jobs
Good article in the New York Post covering America's vanishing science jobs.
(Please read if you've been duped into pursuing the sciences)
http://tinyurl.com/6klgdh4
Thank you! Well worth the read
We have great universities and fine professional scientists and what do the "rulers" do? They squander that exceptional resource. Shameless behavior on the part of those who know better.
Michael Collins
Great Article
The first paragraph accurately expresses the state of affairs concerning who holds political and economic power in the United States. The rest of the article documents some of the adverse consequences of this state of affairs and offers some ideas on feasible policies to address the situation.
All in all a great article. I have republished it with attribution and a link back to the original article on the Global Geopolitics & Political Economy Blog. You can see it at the following url: [ http://globalgeopolitics.net/wordpress/2011/06/24/questions-for-the-mone... ]
Alan F. Fogelquist
Global Geopolitics & Political Economy
Thanks Alan. I'll check that out.
We're in serious trouble when the 800 pound gorilla doesn't get a nod from the wise ones in DC. Thanks for reposting!
Michael Collins
link not working
Alan Fogelquist: your link hasn't worked for me.