Five Reasons Congress Should Be Deeply Ashamed About Jobs
PAUL BUCHHEIT FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT
U.S. Representative Marlin Stutzman said, "Most people will agree that if you are an able bodied adult without any kids you should find your way off food stamps." That depends on whether those ways can be found. If Stutzman and other members of Congress believe it's that easy to find a job with a living wage, they're either ignorant of middle-class life or victims of free-market delusion. In either case, Congress, with its shameful response to the people who elected them, has not only made the job search more difficult for average Americans, but has also impeded the process.
Senate Republicans killed a proposed $447 billion jobs bill in 2011 that would have added about two million jobs to the economy. They filibustered Nancy Pelosi's "Prevention of Outsourcing Act," and temporarily blocked the "Small Business Jobs Act." Most recently, only one member of Congress bothered to show up for a hearing on unemployment.
Congress' unwavering support of big business donors shows a callous disregard for the needs of the millions of Americans they're supposed to be representing. Here are five of the paralyzing consequences:
1. They've Stifled the Growth of Millions of Young Adults
In the U.S., more than half of college graduates were jobless or underemployed in 2011. Over the last 12 years, according to a New York Times report, the United States has gone from having the highest share of employed 25- to 34-year-olds among large, wealthy economies to having among the lowest. The Wall Street Journal recently noted that nearly 300,000 people with at least a bachelor's degree were making the minimum wage in 2012, double the number in 2007. Not since the 1960s have so many young adults been living with their parents.
2. They've Mocked the Concept of a "Living Wage"
At the very least, one would think, workers should be able to sustain their lifestyles over the years, to keep from falling backwards in earnings. But they've lost30% of their purchasing power since 1968. This happened during a time of steady American productivity. It has been estimated that a minimum wage tied to productivity should now be $16.54 per hour, but the current $7.25 is less than half of that, and below poverty-level. It's been getting worse in the last five years. While 21 percent of post-recession job losses were considered low-wage positions, 58 percent of jobs added during the recovery were considered low-wage. Congress fiddles while more and more American families lose their earning power.
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http://truth-out.org/buzzflash/commentary/item/18138-five-reasons-congress-should-be-deeply-ashamed-about-jobs
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