You know with all the Republican railing against the stimulus bill one thing that the CBO is confirming is that without it things would be much worse. Of course, it is easy for Republicans to criticize it they caused all the problems that created a need for it. After they conveniently bailed out the bankers, they had hoped to leave the American people high and dry. However now the CBO is reporting that the stimulus both created jobs and lowered the unemployment rate.
Sometimes stories happen because of planning; other times serendipity intervenes, which is how we got to the conversation we'll be having today.
In an exchange of comments on the Blue Hampshire site, I proposed an idea that could be of real value to unions, workers...and surprisingly, employers.
If things worked out correctly, not only would lots of people feel a real desire to have unions represent them, but employers would potentially be coming to unions looking to forge relationships, and, just to make it better, this plan bypasses virtually all of the tools and techniques employers use to shut out union organizers.
Since I just thought this up myself, I'm really not sure exactly how practical the whole thing is, and the last part of the discussion today will be provided by you, as I ask you to sound off on whether this plan could work, and if so, how it could be made better.
It's a new week...so let's all put our heads together and rebuild the labor movement, shall we?
As I pick up the pace of work again, coming into the midterms, I have to get some stories cleared off the desk in order to make room for some others, and that's what we're about today.
We'll be talking about saving more than 300,000 of this country's most important jobs, and paying for it in a way that is not only good policy, but is a real problem for Republicans who are yelling "no new taxes!" once again while pretending they care about actually paying for actual spending and actually want to cut actual unemployment.
We have a bit of work to do today, but we want to keep it somewhat short...so let's get going.
One thing that may be getting lost in the shuffle of having a tea-party zealot running for Senate in Kentucky is the fine slate of Democratic candidates we have running for Congress this year here. Candidates that are Washington outsiders and understand the problems that face real Kentuckians and Americans because they themselves are there facing those problems with us everyday. A good example of that is Ed Marksberry in Kentucky's Second Congressional district. Far from being a Washington elitist who is out of touch with working Kentucky and America, Ed is a Carpenter who wants to bring working values back to Washington and fight for them.
With all the bluster we here from Republicans about "small business", as it turns out these are all just talking points to mask their true agenda. You see, just like with our troops when it comes to honoring small business with action instead of words, Republicans are missing in action. Case in point, the Senate bill to help small businesses recover and create jobs. While Democrats are truly trying to help small businesses rebound, all we get from Republicans is the same old garbage spewed like gospel.
You know with all the tea-party anger out there raging against "big government" and "Socialism" something has gotten lost in the mix. These folks are quite simply mad at the wrong folks for the problems that have beset our country. If there is anger should it not be directed at those who caused those problems, crashing our economy and being bailed out?? Especially when those very folks refuse to free lending and create much needed jobs.
Ah, Independence Day is upon us once again. However, for many Americans this year may not be much of one for celebrating. Millions of Americans have seen a tough couple of years and no light seems to appear at the end of the tunnel. With the current state of job losses, debt, bailouts for Wall St., and a continuing scorn for working America one begins to wonder just what in the hell we really think we are free from.
The hypocrisy of the Republican Party is astounding. When in control of our government they took a surplus and turned it into a huge deficit. They allowed the worst attack ever on American soil and stole generations of Constitutional protections while starting two expensive and ongoing wars to hide their own incompetence. Their policies of spend, and spend, and then give out a little Corporate welfare all while outsourcing middle-class jobs was a failure, all while crashing the American economy in the ditch.
When the reckless policies of the previous administration and several before them finally allowed the "robber barons" within our financial institutions to crash the economy once again, they were bailed out nicely and it was profit as usual along the way. For the average American worker though, it has been a different story. Millions are still out of work due to the economic collapse and millions more of a new "lost generation" are living in their parents basements because the jobs meant for them were lost or outsourced.
One huge ideological difference that exists between Progressives and Republicans is that Progressives believe that it is far past time that we invested in our own country and people. While Republicans are interested in investing in China, and failed wars in the middle-east Progressives are seeking to invest once again in our own land and people. While a Conservative and a tea-bagger will tell you this sort of investment is "waste" the truth of the matter is that these investments, far from the bottomless pits in China and the middle-east actually offer dividends to the American people on their investment.
I have felt for a long time now that the best means at the disposal of America for creating good, high paying jobs is the investment in and development of the fuels of the future. Using American innovation, hard work, and farmland as well as the many closed down factories that dot the mid-western landscape to refine them we could create a whole new industry that not only provides jobs and cheaper energy, but ends our slavery to middle-eastern countries who hate us but supply us with oil.
Despite some inner bickering, one thing Kentucky Progressives agree on is that Congressman John Yarmuth of Kentucky's Third Congressional District is Congressman awesome. A co-sponsor of HR 676 and constant friend to the working American Yarmuth has been a leader in the Congress since first elected in 2006. Yarmuth was at it again in a video released today, linking the lack of Universal Healthcare directly to the loss of jobs in his district and calling out Mitch McConnell for delaying the process of fixing a broken healthcare system.
February 26, 2010 Evansville, Indiana. Click here to see our previous post about Whirlpool moving 1100 of our jobs to Mexico. The folks in Evansville, Indiana let Whirlpool know that moving to Mexico might not be a good idea. We covered the event with photos (click here to view photos) and videos (the videos are after the page break) hoping to give our readers a flavor of what transpired in Evansville, Indiana February 26, 2010 and according to our sources the Evansville police estimated 5500 were at the rally.
Richard Trumka had this to say: "What’s happening here in Evansville is a head-on collision between corporate greed and failed economic policies-and it’s happening all across our country." Click here to see the video.
Across the Ohio River from Kentucky in Indiana is the city of Evansville. For years, American workers have made quality appliances at the Whirlpool factory there. Now, Whirlpool has decided to close this factory down and put 1100 more Americans out of work. It it even more outrageous the circumstances under which they plan to do so.
While I have been disappointed by the direction of this Administration one thing remains true. When they took office our country was disasterously close to a Great Depression. A Depression wrought by the irresponsible policies of greed enacted during the Bush years of being rubber-stamped by an uncaring Republican Congress. While I personally feel the stimulus did go far enough, the Looney Tunes on the right are now deeming the whole bill a failure. Yes, talking heads like Glenn Beck may bark like a dog, but the facts show they are just licking their own butts.
Need a good job and a good retirement plan America? Sorry that's reserved for the Taliban.
AFP Afghan President Hamid Karzai unveiled an ambitious Western-funded plan Friday to offer money and jobs to tempt Taliban fighters to lay down their arms in an effort to quell a crippling insurgency.
Want to know how bad the economy the Republicans crashed has been for America?? All one has to look at is the numbers for working families. Sadly, millions of American families are stuck with both breadwinners unemployed. Besides having a "lost generation" of young folks who cannot find a job, we also are quickly gaining a "lost generation" of parents that are unemployed.
