With the unemployment rate hovering around 9%, President Barack Obama is set to roll out his jobs package in September. Political pundits have been speculating about the size and scope of the package while many are hoping for a bold proposal which includes some public works projects that will create jobs immediately. Meanwhile, President Obama is currently on vacation with his family in Martha’s Vineyard. There is no doubt that the president deserves a break to recuperate and spend time with his family. Nevertheless, the timing of the vacation is strategically questionable. At a time when the Dow is plummeting, and Americans are asking where the jobs are, the unintended message they’re receiving from President Obama is “don’t worry I have a plan but you’ll have to wait until after my vacation.” Over the past few months, the public has been yearning for strong leadership in Washington. A decision to stay in the White House would’ve given the president a chance to step into that leadership vacuum and send a strong symbolic message to the American public that he is focused like a laser beam on job creation, and hammering out the specifics of his jobs proposal with Congressional leaders.
The soon-to-be-proposed jobs package presents yet another leadership test for President Obama. Will this be a big and bold proposal similar to the “grand bargain” that was hoped for in the debt-ceiling negotiations or will it be a relatively modest proposal that has a greater possibility of passing both chambers of Congress? If he proposes a big package that eventually becomes law, he will be lauded for his strong leadership. But if the bill fails to pass in Congress, he will be weakened politically. So will the president fight for a grand proposal that may end up getting voted down in Congress? Or will he push for a smaller package that has a greater possibility of getting passed? Regardless of the political calculations, the ultimate guidepost should be the degree to which the proposal will reinvigorate the economy and stimulate job growth.
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You also may want to consider if this job package will do anything to alleviate some of the issues that cause the job issue. Solar companies are moving to china or going bankrupt (ex. Evergreen Solar). This brings to light the issue that no politician wants to tackle. How do we innovate and keeps those innovations here for our country to produce? China's economic agenda is almost economic warfare against patents and the West. Boeing's new jet is also being built in China but whenever you want to build something in China, you must hand over the schematics to the government who in turn, hands them over to another company. I would also love to see Obama tackle the issue of state differences in taxes. Certain states claim to add jobs but they just steal already created jobs from other states by offering incentives for businesses (China offers even better incentives). I would also love for Obama to go after the WTO countries and make them stick to their words. These countries are putting import tariffs on USA products even though they claim they are free trade. There are massive global markets untapped by American companies because of protective tariffs (Look at the "safety fee" for a Jeep to get into South Korea).
It would be great if somehow the government could figure out that investing in education is a good idea. China and other countries are lagging in innovation (that is why they send many of their students to our universities). I have nothing against people from other countries coming to our universities but I would hope that would tell the government something. We need to educate people here in the USA to develop the next industry to put people to work. We also need to educate to retrain the unemployed (why are there manufacturing companies that can't find workers? Because they aren't technically trained. Invest in tech schools).
Granted this is all coming from my viewpoint as a conservative (not republican!) so take it with a grain of salt.
Glad to see you are staying active Ayobami. GO Pack GO (even Obama wants Rodgers over Cutler).