I've been reading through some of the "unemployed vs the employed" threads here on City-Data, and while I see a great deal of stuff being said about pros and cons of UE payments, I see little in the way of discussion of how to LOWER the unemployment rate and get this economy back on track again.
The unemployment rate in this country has been hovering at nearly 10% for for almost two years now, and while there are signs that the economy is stabilizing, there are far too few new jobs generated to bring down the UE rate, in fact, it went up 2 tenths of a point from October to November, which is not the direction we need to be going in.
Although it's unrealistic to think that the doofus-heads in DC-land will actually look out for our own interests, it's sometimes nice to think that we reside in a "people's republic" in which our leaders serve us in OUR best interests. But if a miracle were to happen and our elected officials started looking out for us instead of themselves, I have some great ideas I'd like to share to help bring down the UE rate to normal levels, and keep it there for the foreseeable future.
Idea No 1: Abolish all so-called "free trade" agreements which have done nothing but suck jobs right out of the economy just as Ross Perot predicted, remember that little fellow? I voted for him too, as I knew he was right.
Anybody that tries to convince me that "free trade" is actually good for the economy, I don't even bother debating them, as they're so far off the track of logic it's not even worth my time to debate this issue. "Free trade" ONLY works when Country A has an even balance of trade with Country B, and even a 5th grader knows that we import far more than we export. That's not free trade at all, that's unbalanced trade, and unless this is corrected by our leaders, jobs will continue to vanish, never to return.
Idea No 2: If all the job vacancies were filled tomorrow, the UE rate would drop by a breathtaking 20%, which may very well be just enough to put us on the road to solid recovery. How to make this happen? This is an easy one: Make it easier for people to get themselves hired back into the workforce. That means actually HIRING the unemployed, instead of being uber-picky and only selecting people who already have a job to fill a vacant position. I don't care if this is done by tax incentives or the mighty force of law - there needs to be a way to get the unemployed off the streets and into the workforce with the minimum of delay. This means no credit checks, no discrimination of "gapped" workers, or ageism, or any of myriad of ways that make it almost impossible for millions of *hard working, good work-ethic* people to be able to find work. If it means that the government has to take a hard line with businesses in order to do this, so be it. I'm a huge fan of Big Brother Government when it comes to appropriate business regulation - ever heard of the Clean Air / Water Act? Yep, that's the government for ya.
Idea No 3: I know this is gonna rankle a lot of you; even I have problems with this idea, but with proper oversight and coordinated efforts by everyone involved, I think it could work very well for our country. I suggest that the government takes whatever action to ensure the formation of powerful national unions for service workers, and get virtually all service workers into them, even in "right to work" states.
Like it or not, the low-paid service sector is a HUGE part of our economy, and even if we were to manufacture most of our own stuff again, the service sector will always been an integral part of our economy. The problem with this, of course, is the very low wages that the typical service worker makes. Just imagine if all cashiers and fast food workers in America had the same sort of unionized power that the auto workers gained in decades past, with vastly improved pay and working conditions. And guess what? These jobs can never be exported or outsourced.
Think about that for a moment. If Wally World is forced to pay $20 an hour, they have no choice but to pay that - they could close the store, but it'd be bye-bye Wally World...LOL. Sure, prices would go up, but do we need so much crap from China anyhow? Personally, I'd be willing to pay more for stuff knowing that I was supporting a well-paid workforce, which will flow back to me in the form of a much improved economy. Presto, I'll be able to afford to actually pay the higher prices for stuff. Isn't that a neat idea? I think so anyhow.
Idea No 4: An easy one, a no-brainer, really. Make it almost impossible for an employer to hire illegals. I don't care if we have to organize raiding parties all across the country - this is a problem that needs to be corrected immediately for the sake of our country. *Enforce* the laws already on the books, lower the boom and
send the illegals home. Now, what's so hard about that?
Idea No 5: Another one I have mixed feelings about, but I'll toss it out there anyhow. Shorten the workweek to 35 or even 32 hours, in order to spread the employment load across more workers. The downside of this, of course, is that the former 40-hour workers will have to take a corresponding decrease in pay, which would be a bit unfair to them, IMO. But at least it'd get the unemployed off the streets and working again, which is far better than having millions of people sitting at home, their hard-earned skills eroding away from lack of use. Perhaps this could be a temporary measure, to be put into place to force the UE rate down, and then taken back off once the economy is able to sustain a fully-employed workforce at 40 hours a week or better. Have everyone sacrifice a little for the greater good of the country sort of thing. Yep, I think that might work.
I'd like to open this thread for others to share their ideas about how to lower the UE rate. Feel free to pick apart my ideas as well, just don't expect me to get into any heated debates with ya.
Ideas are just that, just ideas...I just thought I'd get a few of them off my chest on here.
Enjoy!
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