Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Obama promises "job summit" in December - YAWN! -HERE'S YOUR SUMMIT- NOW GO FIX IT!

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (1/22-2007 thru 12/14/2010) Donate to DU
 
ddeclue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 09:58 AM
Original message
Obama promises "job summit" in December - YAWN! -HERE'S YOUR SUMMIT- NOW GO FIX IT!
What we need to do is ACT, not talk about new jobs.

We need to be repairing and upgrading infrastructure.

We need to be engaging in scientific research and discovery - NASA, CDC, EPA, NOAA, etc.

We need to be educating people at gov't expense.

We need to be sending more Americans abroad to help others through the Peace Corps.

We need to be putting an end to usuarious credit card companies and insurance companies.

We need to be breaking up big companies so that the resulting companies have to compete with each other and they won't be "too big to fail".

We need to be raising the minimum wage so that people have money to spend into the economy. Wages should further be linked so that no person can be paid less than a fixed multiple of the highest paid person in a business including stock options, bonuses etc - i.e. if the CEO makes $50 million then his least paid employee ought to be making $50,000.00

We need to be enforcing minimum wage, labor, environmental, and safety standards on companies that want to import product into the U.S. and if they want to violate them we need to tax them to parity.

We need to be strengthening labor unions in this country and around the world.

We need to be re-regulating the stock and commodities markets which are screwing Americans out of a proper pension and gouging them at the gas pump. Anyone who buys a stock or commodity should be forced to hold it for a solid year before selling - if this means making the short term capital gains rate 99%, I'm all for it if it will put an end to the casino mentality on Wall Street.

We need to put an end to derivatives and complicated "investments" which have no relationship to actual production of goods or services but which serve only to make a few connected people rich in our "Casino Nation".

There Mr. President - I've just conducted your "jobs summit" for you - you don't need to wait until December to just talk and do nothing - GO FIX IT TODAY!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
ipaint Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 10:01 AM
Response to Original message
1. Pure PR
Talk is cheap.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ddeclue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 10:02 AM
Response to Reply #1
2. Zact-lee!
:D
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
SammyWinstonJack Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 10:03 AM
Response to Original message
3. K&R!
:applause:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
NYC_SKP Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 10:05 AM
Response to Original message
4. Let's see, December, must get calendar, OK. Got it. December is 20 days away.
You make several good points.

I think they've all crossed his mind.

:donut:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
madrchsod Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 10:05 AM
Response to Original message
5. fair trade policies
Edited on Thu Nov-12-09 10:05 AM by madrchsod
us content and no foreign firms in all stimulus packages. that`s what china did and it`s working.


he should have made this the first priority from jan 20 2009....he has less than one year to pull this rabbit out of the hat
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
emulatorloo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 10:06 AM
Response to Original message
6. EXCELLENT IDEAS -- hope you have sent them to whitehouse.gov
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Butch350 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 10:20 AM
Response to Original message
7. Ah, tell me why he hasn't done it already - you make it sound easy.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ddeclue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 10:22 AM
Response to Reply #7
8. He lacks LBJ's and FDR's backbone and political skills?
:shrug:

They got a hell of a lot more done with less Democratic Congresses.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
AndyA Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 10:54 AM
Response to Original message
9. From DU to Obama's desk...
Seems so easy to do, doesn't it? :shrug:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
spanone Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 11:06 AM
Response to Original message
10. i'm sure President Obama hasn't had one thought in this direction
:sarcasm:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ddeclue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 11:21 AM
Response to Reply #10
12. Apparently true given that he bailed out wall street instead of the working man.
no sarcasm....
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Kahuna Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 11:30 AM
Response to Reply #12
15. WTF! The working man is getting up to 99 weeks of unemployment..
This is stimulative to the economy as people who wouldn't have had money to spend NOW have money to spend. Economics 101, my friend. It takes time for people to have confidence again, but it will come. And when people begin to feel secure in their employment situation, they will spend and jobs will return. As people who now have money to spend (because of extended UI benefits) continue to spend, businesses will again prosper and jobs will return. It doesn't happen over night. It never did and it never will.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ddeclue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 12:14 PM
Response to Reply #15
21. Stop making excuses: Unemployment is a joke in my state $1100 month max.
We need JOBS not unemployment benefits. I can't afford to live on UI.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ipaint Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 12:23 PM
Response to Reply #15
27. My ability to pay the rent and buy the bare minimum for food each week
will not be the engine for the creation of good paying jobs by the millions.

Where on this earth are the jobs going to come from to replace the losses incurred as a result of the real estate bubble bursting taking the job bubble it created along with it.

In a consumer driven economy no less all.

I'm 53, not in my lifetime.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Kahuna Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 01:45 PM
Response to Reply #27
29. Pent up demand and new innovations to whet the appetite for spending...
If you're 53, you should know that it always happens that way.

BTW, I'm on unemployment too, so don't think that I'm insensitive to your plight. I'm lucky enough to be in a state where the maximum unemployment is adequate for me to pay my $1,400 a month rent, cable and still eat well.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ipaint Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 06:02 PM
Response to Reply #29
30. I'm 53 and a member of the working class
And it's never worked that way from where I live and work. Stagnant wages and service jobs rule the day. I heard it was supposed to work like that after NAFTA. Never did. I don't expect it to now.

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
TheWraith Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 12:03 PM
Response to Reply #12
18. Are you fucking delusional?
You know that the Wall Street bailout happened months before Obama took office, right? Apparently not.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
tammywammy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 12:13 PM
Response to Reply #18
20. Nah, Bush was taking Obama's advice back before the election
That's just how powerful Obama was.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ddeclue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 12:16 PM
Response to Reply #18
22. No YOU apparently are. Obama has continued the Bush policies not ended them.
:eyes:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
doc03 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 11:15 AM
Response to Original message
11. All of that is fine but it costs money, people are already
going ape shit over the deficits. The big chance was blown, the stimulus plan was what 10% infrastructure at best? There is no way you could get a do over, did you see the polls, people already are leaning toward a Republican victory next year. Didn't you notice the media started the 2010 campaign yesterday. Tweety was going nuts about that poll yesterday and predicting gloom and doom for next years election. This morning I turn on CNN and they were talking about the same poll and have dug the national debt clock again. Lord knows what Faux is doing.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
glowing Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 11:22 AM
Response to Reply #11
13. They won't care when they have a job. Sitting around worrying about keeping a job
or not having one makes people worry about a defecit.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ddeclue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 11:22 AM
Response to Reply #11
14. TAX THE RICH. Problem solved.
Our tax rates are ridiculously low for the superwealthy in this country compared to what they've historically been in the 20th century. The deficit "problem" is a Republican contrivance brought about by tax give aways to the rich and shameless.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
MilesColtrane Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 11:41 AM
Response to Original message
16. Yeah, that lazy SOB! He's just sitting there!
ahem

Some provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 suggested and lobbied to Congress and signed by the President:


More than 11% of the total bill is allocated to help states with Medicaid

Total: $147.7 billion
$86.6 billion for Medicaid
$24.7 billion to provide a 65 percent subsidy of health care insurance premiums for the unemployed under the COBRA program
$19 billion for health information technology
$10 billion for health research and construction of National Institutes of Health facilities
$1.3 billion for medical care for service members and their families (military)
$1 billion for prevention and wellness
$1 billion for the Veterans Health Administration
$2 billion for Community Health Centers
$1.1 billion to research the effectiveness of certain healthcare treatments
$500 million to train healthcare personnel
$500 million for healthcare services on Indian reservations

Education
Total: $90.9 billion

$44.5 billion in aid to local school districts to prevent layoffs and cutbacks, with flexibility to use the funds for school modernization and repair (State Equalization Fund)
$15.6 billion to increase Pell Grants from $4,731 to $5,350
$13 billion for low-income public schoolchildren
$12.2 billion for IDEA special education
$2.1 billion for Head Start
$2 billion for childcare services
$650 million for educational technology
$300 million for increased teacher salaries
$250 million for states to analyze student performance
$200 million to support working college students
$70 million for the education of homeless children

Aid to low income workers, unemployed and retirees (including job training)


Payments to Social Security recipients and people on Supplemental Security Income were parts of the final bill
Total: $82.5 billion
$40 billion to provide extended unemployment benefits through Dec. 31, and increase them by $25 a week
$19.9 billion for the Food Stamp Program
$14.2 billion to give one-time $250 payments to Social Security recipients, people on Supplemental Security Income, and veterans receiving disability and pensions.
$3.95 billion for job training
$3 billion in temporary welfare payments
$500 million for vocational training for the disabled
$400 million for employment services
$120 million for subsidized community service jobs for older Americans
$150 million to help refill food banks
$100 million for meals programs for seniors, such as Meals on Wheels
$100 million for free school lunch programs

Infrastructure Investment

Total: $80.9 billion

Core investments (roads, bridges, railways, sewers, other transportation)


Road and highway construction is the biggest single line infrastructure item in the final bill
Total: $51.2 billion
$27.5 billion for highway and bridge construction projects
$8 billion for intercity passenger rail projects and rail congestion grants, with priority for high-speed rail
$6.9 billion for new equipment for public transportation projects (Federal Transit Administration)
$6 billion for wastewater and drinking water infrastructure (Environmental Protection Agency)
$1.3 billion for Amtrak
$100 million to help public transit agencies
$750 million for the construction of new public rail transportation systems and other fixed guideway systems.
$750 million for the maintenance of existing public transportation systems
Investment into government facilities and vehicle fleets
Total: $29.5 billion
$4.6 billion for the Army Corps of Engineers for environmental restoration, flood protection, hydropower, and navigation infrastructure projects
$4.5 billion to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
$4.2 billion to repair and modernize Defense Department facilities.
$4 billion toward the establishment of an Office of Federal High-Performance Green Buildings within the GSA.
$4 billion for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (wastewater treatment infrastructure improvements)
$4 billion for public housing improvements and energy efficiency (Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)).
$2 billion for the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (drinking water infrastructure improvements)
$890 million to improve housing for service members
$300 million to acquire electric vehicles for the federal vehicle fleet
$250 million to improve Job Corps training facilities
$240 million for new child development centers
$150 million for the construction of state extended-care facilities
$100 million to improve facilities of the National Guard
$240 million for the maintenance of United States Coast Guard facilities

Supplemental investments

Total: $15 billion

$7.2 billion for complete broadband and wireless Internet access
$1.5 billion for competitive grants to state and local governments for transportation investments
$1.38 billion for rural drinking water and waste disposal projects
$1 billion to the Bureau of Reclamation for drinking water projects for rural or drought-likely areas
$750 million to the National Park Service
$650 million to the Forest Service
$515 million for wildfire prevention projects
$500 million for Bureau of Indian Affairs infrastructure projects
$340 million to the Natural Resources Conservation Service for watershed infrastructure projects
$320 million to the Bureau of Land Management
$280 million for National Wildlife Refuges
$280 million for the National Fish Hatchery System
$220 million to the International Boundary and Water Commission to repair flood control systems along the Rio Grande
$220 million for other public lands management agencies
$500 million to update the computer center at the Social Security Administration
$290 million to upgrade IT platforms at the State Department
$50 million for IT improvements at the Farm Service Agency

Energy

Loans and investments into green energy technology are a significant part of the final bill
Total: $61.3 billion

$11 billion funding for an electric smart grid
$6.3 billion for state and local governments to make investments in energy efficiency
$6 billion for renewable energy and electric transmission technologies loan guarantees
$6 billion for the cleanup of radioactive waste (mostly nuclear power plant sites)
$5 billion for weatherizing modest-income homes
$4.5 billion for the Office of Electricity and Energy Reliability to modernize the nation's electrical grid and smart grid.
$4.5 billion for state and local governments to increase energy efficiency in federal buildings
$3.4 billion for carbon capture experiments
$3.25 billion for the Western Area Power Administration for power transmission system upgrades.
$2.5 billion for energy efficiency research
$2 billion for manufacturing of advanced car battery (traction) systems and components.
$3.2 billion toward Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants. <42>
$500 million for training of green-collar workers (by the Department of Labor)
$400 million for electric vehicle technologies
$300 million for federal vehicle fleets, to cover the cost of acquiring electric vehicles, including plug-in hybrid vehicles.
$300 million to buy energy efficient appliances
$300 million for reducing diesel fuel emissions
$300 million for state and local governments to purchase energy efficient vehicles
$250 million to increase energy efficiency in low-income housing
$600 million to cleanup hazardous waste that threaten health and the environment
$200 million to cleanup petroleum leaks from underground storage tanks
$100 million to evaluate and cleanup brownfield land
$400 million for the Geothermal Technologies Program

Housin
Total: $12.7 billion

$4 billion to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for repairing and modernizing public housing, including increasing the energy efficiency of units.
$2.25 billion in tax credits for financing low-income housing construction
$2 billion for Section 8 housing rental assistance
$2 billion to help communities purchase and repair foreclosed housing
$1.5 billion for rental assistance and housing relocation
$510 million for the rehabilitation of Native American housing
$200 million for helping rural Americans buy homes
$130 million for rural community facilities
$100 million to help remove lead paint from public housing

]Scientific research


NASA is among the government agencies receiving additional funds under the Act
Total: $8.9 billion

$3 billion to the National Science Foundation
$2 billion to the United States Department of Energy
$1.3 billion for university research facilities
$1 billion to NASA
$600 million to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
$580 million to the National Institute of Standards and Technology
$230 million for NOAA operations, research and facilities
$140 million to the United States Geological Survey

Other
Total: $18.1 billion

$8.8 billion: State Block Grants: in aid to states to defray budget cuts.
$4 billion for state and local law enforcement agencies
$1.1 billion for improving airport security
$1 billion in preparation for the 2010 census
$720 million for improving security at the border and ports of entry
$750 million for DTV conversion coupons and DTV transition education
$210 million to build and upgrade fire stations
$150 million for the security of transit systems
$250 million for the security of ports
$26 million to improve security systems at the Department of Agriculture headquarters
$150 million for an increase of claims processing military staff
$150 million for VA general operating expenses
$50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts to support artists
$50 million for the National Cemetery Administration
$198 million for veterans affected by the Rescission Act of 1946
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ddeclue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 12:19 PM
Response to Reply #16
25. Yes he has been sitting there- Fraction of actual investmt req'd & NONE of regulatory changes reqd!
:eyes:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
optimator Donating Member (606 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 11:43 AM
Response to Original message
17. i'm getting tired of this executive by committee bullshit
does Obama need someone to hold his hand on every god damn issue?
Committees are for fact finding, information gathering and strategy, not policy and decision making.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
MilesColtrane Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 12:11 PM
Response to Reply #17
19. Better to make policy decisions without facts, hunh?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ddeclue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 12:17 PM
Response to Reply #19
24. Better to do something than sit on your ass and do nothing.
The "facts" are obvious to all of us. What is needed is ACTION not "fact finding".

:eyes:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
MilesColtrane Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 12:22 PM
Response to Reply #24
26. You think Obama is sitting on his ass doing nothing?
OK
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ddeclue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 12:24 PM
Response to Reply #26
28. For all intents and purposes YES.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
ddeclue Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Nov-12-09 12:16 PM
Response to Reply #17
23. AMEN to that! nt
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Fri Apr 19th 2024, 09:44 PM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (1/22-2007 thru 12/14/2010) Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC