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I agree with President Obama that there are “core strengths” in the American economy that can bring jobs back, like innovation and universities. Yet there are also fields where more workers are needed. A strategic job creation policy should focus on those sectors. Some services are vital for our communities and are hard to find now because of lays off and/or local budget cuts. We need workers to provide child care, tutoring, and to care for our elderly. We need more teachers to teach our children. We need more nurses in hospitals, homes and in schools. We need social workers in distressed communities. We also need more jail warders and educators to fight against bad detention conditions and encourage detainees’ reintegration. And they all need competitive wages. The federal government needs to support the states to maintain these vitals services. The state pays the teachers, the nurses, the police officers and many other occupations that have been affected by the state’s budget cuts. According to AFL-CIO, the state and local governments (including school districts) have a $178 billion budget shortfall this year alone—while the recession creates greater need for their services. States and communities must get help to maintain critical frontline services. Public jobs creation’s opportunities are here. We need the government to understand where our needs are and adopt the best policies if we are ever going to reach full employment again. Back CommentsAdd Comment |
On December 3rd, the White House will hold a jobs forum at the White House. The President has stated that we have only taken the first steps in curing our economy. We won’t have a real recovery “until businesses are investing again and businesses are hiring again”.