Jobs

[Stinky The Clown]

It isn't a classic four letter word, but you'd think it was as they're never mentioned in a positive way.

They are also the way out.

We can talk about business and the effects of taxes and all that right wing bullshit, but let's go to the essence: all businesses really want are full order books.

The tipping point has been passed. "They" have stolen from consumers to the extent that no one is buying. If we want to fuck with the tax codes, provide incentives to hire people. Provide incentives to bring jobs back from Bangalore and Beijing. Make it a tax advantage to ending the operations of maquila along the US/Mexican border.

A MASSIVE ($1T++) federal spending program would help to kick start things.

Jobs.

[OneGrassRoot]

1. EXACTLY, that's what I've been saying. What good does....

"pouring money into the economy by taking restrictions off of the wealthy" (quote from teabagger relative) by getting rid of all taxes and regulation really do?

If the average citizen has no money to spend, what types of businesses are these wealthy going to magically create via this trickle-down theory that they won't part with? Edit to add that, contrary to the mantra on the right about capitalists being risk takers, today's capitalists don't seem to be. They want a sure thing before they part with their money.

It seems the only type of economy the far right wants -- including those who are NOT wealthy though just don't seem to get it -- is a serf economy. But even then, how many servants, yacht builders, private plane mechanics, etc., can really be needed?

We need that money to start at the bottom and trickle up, so demand can be created and acted upon.

Speaking of demand though, besides green technology and infrastructure, what do you guys think are growth industries in this new day and age, here in the States?

We don't need to make shit just for the sake of making shit, ya know? I'm really trying to look at the big picture and see how Americans could be employed doing things they can feel good about, that contribute and don't destroy the environment, health, etc.

[safeinOhio]

5. Supply and demand is a law,

trickle down is a theory.

[xoom]

2. and there will actually be shovel ready jobs in this bill, right?

[xoom]

3. oh yeah there are no shovel ready jobs..

[alc]

4. gov't can help short term

If we can find "shovel ready" work, then jobs can be created.

But those jobs don't help medium-term. They take money from the budget and do not contribute an equal amount of revenue. We need to create jobs that add to the GDP. There are 2 ways I see to create jobs

1) Big business adds jobs - I don't this will happen. It's too cheap to manufacture elsewhere and they have enough US employees to oversee foreign manufacturing. And we're getting to the point that the US market is not the biggest (China in 2016, then India and Brazil will pass us in another 10 or so years) which means being in the US is a disadvantage if taxes are higher than another country. There are things we can do to lose jobs at a slower pace but I don't see any way to stop big businesses from going global in every aspect of the business.

2) New businesses create jobs (technology, service, entertainment, ?). This is generally done by entrepreneurs working with rich investors. There may be alternatives, but we need to identify the potential "job creators" and figure out how to encourage them. One way involves "making the rich richer", and allowing entrepreneurs to become very rich. If we don't want this we need some new and out-of-the-box thinking. It's pretty easy to start and grow businesses overseas - infrastructure, labor, and communications make it not much more difficult than doing it in the US. Rich investors who can help the small company become medium and the medium company become big have the connections, accountants, and lawyers who can move the company to another country. Assuming that money is the investor's driving factor, how would you encourage them to stay in the US?

Not all rich people create jobs. Most are moving jobs overseas. But a lot of jobs are created by the small percent of rich people who do create US jobs.

[Stinky The Clown]

6. Hi there

[OneGrassRoot]

7. About your #2

I agree, and I think one way to limit the same cycle of the money and resources being hoarded by the few, is to institute approaches that they use in some European countries (and a few are doing here, too, like Costco), where the CEO doesn't make more than x amount of the lowest-paid worker. That doesn't limit incentive, as some fear with pay caps; it provides incentive for the venture itself to do well which involves everyone.

There are new legal entities which are hybrids of for-profit and nonprofit, and have the legal description of the social mission being the priority. Unlike traditional corporations, they are NOT beholden to create profit for shareholders as their legal means of existence.