Three cheap ways for Obama to spur job growth
“We should not have to choose,” President Barack Obama said this past week, “between getting our fiscal house in order and jobs and growth.”
If that sounds unobjectionable, that’s because it’s another of those “false choices” Obama imagines to be filling the minds of everyone else in America.
But the solution is not more public spending now and higher taxes later to pay for it.
Corporate balance sheets are flush with cash. Banks have the problem of a “reverse run”: Instead of a rush of withdrawals, they have too much money coming in (which are recorded as liabilities and raise their deposit-insurance costs).
Private money is available. But capital has gone on strike.
The way to get jobs and growth without adding to the debt is not to seize it through taxes or government borrowing and force it into the economy. Washington has tried that.
What hasn’t been tried lately is encouraging private actors to put their money to work on their own volition. Here are three low- or no-cost possibilities for Obama:
1. Make some phone calls.
Not to business leaders, but to his own Cabinet secretaries.
In a recent appearance on Fox News, a former chief economist for the Labor Department, Diana Furchtgott-Roth, said Obama could “make things a lot easier on employers and on hiring” by telling the bureaucracy to stop making new rules that crimp businesses.
“He could call EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and say, ‘Why don’t we just hold off on those new ozone rules, or clean air rules, until the unemployment rate is down to 7 percent?’ ,” Furchtgott-Roth said.
“He could call his Interior secretary and say, ‘Why don’t we just allow more oil drilling in the Gulf [of Mexico]?’ Because there’s been a moratorium since the BP oil spill — that’s about a year and a half ago.
“He could tell his National Labor Relations Board acting general counsel, Lafe Solomon, ‘Hey, why don’t you just lay off Boeing?’ Because Boeing wants to open a new plant in South Carolina to build [787] Dreamliners, and [Solomon] says they can only a new plant in Washington state, where they have their existing plant.”
The list, she said, is long. “Each cabinet secretary is doing things that impede businesses from creating jobs.”
2. Temporarily lower the minimum wage.
I don’t mean lowering existing workers’ wages. Rather, allow companies to pay additional hires a little less. To sweeten the deal, the government might continue to pay the new worker a portion of any jobless benefits to which he or she is still entitled, to offset the lower wage. This would save the government from paying full unemployment benefits while lowering the company’s cost.
One of the more ill-timed moves by Congress in recent years was that of the new Democratic majorities in 2007 to raise the minimum wage in three steps. Even after the recession hit, the floor for wages kept rising. The higher wages have only hurt the millions of low-paid workers who lost jobs.
In fact, the jobless rate for high-school dropouts began rising soon after the 2007 bill. By this July, it stood at 15 percent — much higher than any other grouping by education level.
The absolute number of 16- to 19-year-olds with jobs in July was the lowest since 1963 — when there were 5 million fewer Americans in that age range.
3. Tear down some houses.
Normally, I would agree with 19th century French economist Frederic Bastiat’s “broken window fallacy.” You don’t create wealth by destroying wealth.
But hundreds of thousands of foreclosed houses are already destroying wealth by bringing down the value of other homes. And the longer they sit empty, the more likely they’ll become uninhabitable anyway because of mold or other conditions.
The feds own about 248,000 foreclosed homes. They should follow the example of some commercial banks and raze a portion of them. This would create truly shovel-ready jobs in an ailing sector, and perhaps end the freefall of home values.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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357 comments Add your comment
GT
August 20th, 2011
10:05 am
Michael H. Smith my bet is you just hate black people. You cloister you observations to match a conclusion you have already arrived to and probably concluded before the event even happened. I will admit not all Democrats are innocent but Obama is a moderate you keep trying to dress up as a liberal. I hear this language from a lot of Tea Party members, thinly disguised bigotry. The hate in the eyes of that Midwest Tea Party leader last week challenging the president could have been cut with a knife it was so obvious.
What I would be willing to do is not reelect Obama if we could trade it by not reelecting this minority of Klansmen we call Tea Party. I truly believe Obama, a good man, has drawn out the worst in this country and given them a platform. If getting rid of this tribe of illiterates that have damaged this country immeasurably could be done by not electing Obama the end sum would be a better America that tends to it business and not it’s mental illnesses, so be it.
Streetracer
August 20th, 2011
10:18 am
GT @ 10:05 – I’m personally getting real effing pi$$ed at people who claim that anyone who believes in self reliance, self determination, taking care of yourself, your family rather than relying on Government is somehow or other a Racist.
MarkV
August 20th, 2011
10:18 am
Michael H. Smith @5:42 am: Considering all the idiocies you have spewed out in these posts, my error pales in comparison.
carlosgvv
August 20th, 2011
10:19 am
Hmmmmmmmm – “this President couldn’t lead a group of Boy Scouts through the woods”
And neither could Perry, Bachmann, Palin or any other of the current Republican losers.
carlosgvv
August 20th, 2011
10:24 am
Michael H. Smith
“it is not the job of Government or anyone in government to create jobs”
I believe that is essentially what I said. A little reading comprenhison for you seems to be in order.
“he has done everything to destroy the economic business climate”
O really? Why don’t you tell us all just exactly what you think he has done to do this.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 20th, 2011
10:26 am
“Obama, a good man”
—————–
A good man who follows an America-hating racist pastor for twenty years, seeks the support of domestic terrorists ho bombed their fellow Americans, and counts among his “intellectual” kindred spirits someone who works for Islamist terrorist groups.
Obozo is not a good man. He’s a hater, a destroyer, and something less than a real American. Much less.
Phil's Tel-A-Gramm
August 20th, 2011
10:32 am
Obozo is not a good man. He’s a hater, a destroyer, and something less than a real American. Much less.
Yeh. Sure. Uh huh. Right. Uh huh. Sure . Whatever. Looking for attention, are ya. That’s what I thought. Uh huh. Say something else smart. Like, Squirrel!
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 20th, 2011
10:37 am
Thanks for the attention, PTAG!
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 20th, 2011
10:39 am
Obozo is vivid proof of the difference between being a citizen and being an American.
killerj
August 20th, 2011
11:03 am
To late to worry about job,s now you had your chance and you chose health care that,s bankrupting the system,you chose world global economy over America first…..time to pay the piper.Go Tea Party.
Phil's Tel-A-Gramm
August 20th, 2011
11:04 am
You’re welcome. By the way, President Obama is a citizen of these United States of America.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 20th, 2011
11:14 am
Never said he wasn’t.
scott
August 20th, 2011
11:18 am
Obama could utter only two words and we would see an immediate growth in jobs:
I QUIT!
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 20th, 2011
11:22 am
scott, both he and Biden would have to resign at the same time for that to work, leaving the Presidency to the Speaker of the House.
Uncle Jed
August 20th, 2011
11:28 am
Mr. Deluxe,
Been wondering where you were and real happy to know you are well and alive over here. The other place is a tough row to hoe sometimes and mighty hard to stomach. I’ll be back to visit. Jed
Phil's Tel-A-Gramm
August 20th, 2011
11:30 am
If everyone comes over here to visit Hillbilly, will he move back to Jay’s blog.
carlosgvv
August 20th, 2011
11:32 am
“Corporate balance sheets are flush with cash”
This mean that Corporations could start hiring now and this would make a substantial dent in unemployment. They are not doing this for two reasons. First, they are simply piling more and more work on their existing exployees, knowing they won’t dare quit. Many of these employees will work unpaid overtime since they have been told to “get the work done or we will replace you with someone who will”. Secondly, they are sending as much work as possible overseas to save on labor costs. This shows their complete lack of patriotism and concern for the American worker. And yet, in spite of all this, so many of you here blame everything on Obama. Big Business and the Republicans have found you to be easily fooled by their propaganda. I wonder if you will ever realize that, to them, you are nothing more than simple tools.
jconservative
August 20th, 2011
11:32 am
Jcon said – “The “jobs” problem will not be fixed by legislation or changing residents of the White House. The problem is much deeper than that. In the decade of the 2000’s US multi-national corporations added 2.4 million jobs in foreign countries. ….The same corporations in the decade of the 2000’s cut 2.9 million jobs in the United States.”
Michael said – “I disagree with your first sentence and add that NO solutions have come from obumer or the socialist democrats of his ilk to correct this “DEEPER PROBLEM”.”
I would agree that no solutions have come from this administration. I would add that no solutions have come from the last 5 administrations when the “deeper problem” first raised its head. US jobs have been disappearing since the late 1970’s. The numbers are what the numbers are. The trend has been there for over 30 years. All saw the trend, most ignored the trend.
Please remember that in 1992 Pat Buchanan ran against a sitting Republican president just on the one issue, the disappearing of American jobs.
Job training is wonderful. BofA just announced they are getting rid of 10,000 employees. They are not needed. They are not wanted. So what are we going to train those 10,000 people to do? Train them to build rapid rail systems? Train them to convert the 18 wheeler fleet to natural gas? Train them to build and maintain nuclear power plants? Train them to build windmill farms?
And who is going to pay for the training? Who is going to underwrite the funding for rapid rail, natural gas fleets, nuclear power plants and windmill farms?
No matter who we put in the White House, no matter who we put in charge of Congress, the facts of the global economy and its requirements will not change. The facts of technology and its impact on production & employment will not change.
If you hate Obama, that’s OK. It’s allowed. No reason is needed.
I do not like Obama. I detested George W Bush.
The Obama dislike is that he is an observer, not a doer.
George W was a doer, but look at what he did; he asked for and signed into law the first major entitlement in 38 years – the prescription drug plan for seniors. A plan that in 6 years has already created an unfunded liability of $20 trillion. And it has no source of funds, all funds are out of taxpayer pockets. Classic socialism straight out of the textbook on “How to Create a Socialist Society”
Yet people who say they hate socialism love George W,
In the last 31 years Republicans have been in the White House 20 of the 31 years, yet the job slide continued.
In the last 31 years Democrats were in charge of the House 18 of the 31 years, yet the job slide continued.
In the last 31 years Republicans have been in charge of the Senate 16 of the 31 years, yet the job slide continued.
Who is in charge does not seem to matter does it?
Steve - B.
August 20th, 2011
11:49 am
How can additional deposits be a problem with banks? Every article in the AJC about Georgia bank closing has stated the problem with the closed banks were they did not have enough deposits compared to their bad debt.. How can additional cash make you have a worse “leveraged” position. The linked article makes no sense at all and defies any bridge to common sense.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 20th, 2011
11:49 am
carlosgvv
August 20th, 2011
11:32 am
———————
You’re excuse-making. Our President Bush kept unemployment much lower than the Idiot Messiah, and it didn’t cost us $800 billion in stimulus and $1.5 trillion annual deficits.
Where’s the “change”? Why can’t the smartest person in the world, a Nobel prize winner, get people back to work? He inherited a recovery and blew it.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 20th, 2011
11:51 am
Government continues to throw sand in the gears of the economy. High corporate taxes are the primary reason businesses move operations offshore. The secondary reason in government regulation and unfunded mandates which inexorably move in one direction–more. Thank you, Democrats.
Steve - B.
August 20th, 2011
11:54 am
‘jconservative’ – That was a really nice post, very balanced.
Our country has been losing jobs for years through outsourcing. That is why housing is such an important factor to employment, building a house can’t be outsourced. Whoever gets elected in 2012 will not change the fact we have a surplus of millions of homes. That will be why the economy drags along for several more years.
Steve - B.
August 20th, 2011
11:56 am
We also lost jobs through productivity gains.
GT
August 20th, 2011
12:09 pm
jconservative excellent post.
Steve B what I like about most housing is most of it is small business. The American dream will not be found in large corporate structure, it is found in Piece of Cake or Linda’s Produce, small businesses where the owner is not some trained hired hand management which one day is head of Home Depot and the next Crysler. One size does not fit all and the smaller the size the more hope it will fit at all.
Red State Redemption
August 20th, 2011
12:13 pm
Hey Jneocon: here are some facts for you about Republicans vs. Democrats and “who is in charge.” This is just Congress, not the Presidency. And just for the record, I detest Obama and am convinced he wants to categorically destroy the economic foundation of America (free enterprise, capitalism, business development, entrepreneurship, etc.) and rebuild it in a quasi-Marxist model where everyone has the “same amount of stuff.” The ultimate liberal twinkle-toed fairytale pixie dust Utopia. And for the record, I’m glad he goes on vacation with America in peril. The longer he’s away from Washington, the better.
Anyway, since it’s Congress that passes the budgets, sets the deficits (positive or negative), and provides legislation affecting jobs and the economy, let’s look at the record of Congress over the last 30 years and who controlled what:
JOBS
Jobs created when Democrats controlled Congress (12 years) = 8,100,000 net new jobs.
Jobs created when Republicans controlled Congress (10 years) = 21,773,000 net new jobs.
Jobs created when Congress was split (8 years) = 9,888,000 net new jobs.
DEFICITS
Total Deficits when Democrats controlled Congress (12 years) = $5.022 Trillion.
Total Deficits when Republicans controlled Congress (10 years) = $1.219 Trillion.
Total Deficits when Congress was split (8 years) = $1.063 Trillion.
NATIONAL DEBT
Total New Debt when Democrats controlled Congress (12 years) = $7.859 Trillion.
Total New Debt when Republicans controlled Congress (10 years) = $3.238 Trillion.
Total New Debt when Congress was split (8 years) = $1.781 Trillion.
Draw your own conclusions, but these are undisputed facts from government sources.
Sources – Democrats controlled Congress from 1987 – 1994, and from 2007 – 2010. Republicans controlled Congress from 1995 – 2000, and from 2003 – 2006. There was a split Congress from 1980 – 1986 and for 2001 & 2002.
bls.gov
whitehouse.gov
treasurydirect.gov
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 20th, 2011
12:33 pm
President Obama says he wants to get the U.S. economy growing, so here’s a tip that may help: In order for Congress to ratify free-trade agreements, the White House must first send the signed deals to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
On his three-state tour in the Midwest this week, Mr. Obama repeatedly told audiences that the Korea, Colombia and Panama free-trade deals would all be law by now if not for an obstructionist Congress. Passing the deals is something Congress “could do right now,” he said.
Except that’s not true. Congress can’t pass the agreements “right now” because it doesn’t have them. They are still sitting on the President’s desk. Seriously.
——–
Obozo: Lying, do-nothing sack of excrement.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903639404576516551126644750.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_AboveLEFTTop
Phil's Tel-A-Gramm
August 20th, 2011
12:34 pm
Kyle,
How can you expect Georgia banks to loan out money if the elected Georgia Republicans continue to set such bad examples by refusing to pay back their own 2.2 million dollar bank debt.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 20th, 2011
12:35 pm
Excellent work, Red State.
MarkV
August 20th, 2011
12:37 pm
The US GDP grew at a rate of 3% in 2010, the year after the stimulus law was enacted. Everybody is bellyaching about the 0.4% growth rate in Q1 of 2011 (and it is low), but GDP growth rate was 0.5% in Q1 of 2007. Only two years between 2003 and 2008 the GDP growth rate was higher than 3.0%, in 2004 (3.5%) and 2005 (3.1%).
carlosgvv
August 20th, 2011
12:44 pm
Barry
Bush and Cheney got us into two usless and expensive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They financed them with the American credit card. Because of this and other blunders, Obama inherited a mess that even Jesus Christ would have a hard time fixing. And yet, all you can do is constantly call him and “idiot messiah”. This tells me that, more than anything else, you want our next President to have a lighter shade of pale.
Linda
August 20th, 2011
12:52 pm
carlosgvv@10:19 Perry is an Eagle Scout, as is his son.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 20th, 2011
1:08 pm
MarkV, thanks for letting us know Obozo’s failed policies have caused a double-dip recession.
carlosgvv
August 20th, 2011
1:08 pm
Linda
I was a Star Scout. Does that mean I should run for Governor?
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 20th, 2011
1:11 pm
“more than anything else, you want our next President to have a lighter shade of pale.”
——————–
What I want in our next President is for him/her to not have a deathwish for the American economy. That, of course, rules out Obozo.
Linda
August 20th, 2011
1:18 pm
carlosgvv@1:08, It means that you might, just might be able to lead yourself out of the woods.
carlosgvv
August 20th, 2011
1:45 pm
Linda
Which, unfortunately, is something you don’t seem able to do.
Streetracer
August 20th, 2011
1:47 pm
Carlosvv @ 12:44 – There you go with that “RACIST” stuff again. Getting rEal old. I personally couldn’ care less what color the next Prez’s skin is. What I want is someone who will start moving Government back toward fiscal responsibility. I would be happy if we got back to a point that my federal income tax payment (at present income and rates) was more than a Section 8 housing subsidy for somebody that never worked.
Linda
August 20th, 2011
2:01 pm
carlosgvv@1:45, I’m allergic to bugs. I have enough sense to stay out of the woods. Why don’t you add something substantive to the blog? Have you seen any aliens from outer space lately?
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 20th, 2011
2:02 pm
PHOENIX (AP) – Facebook said Friday it mistakenly removed a post in which Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer criticized a controversial policy decision by President Barack Obama’s administration to limit deportations of illegal immigrants.
Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes responded to a query by The Associated Press by saying in a brief email that Brewer’s post was removed in error and that Facebook was sorry.
———————–
Just another example of cronyism on behalf of fascist Dear Leader, your Idiot Messiah Obozo.
Phil's Tel-A-Gramm
August 20th, 2011
2:10 pm
Ahhh! The smell of GOP hatred. The best part of waking up is… knowing that the Republicans are suffering so much at the hands of Obama. It does a body good. Thanks for cheering me up.
Sane Person
August 20th, 2011
2:46 pm
Lower the minimum wage????? You have got to be kidding. Yes, paying people less than $7 per hour will solve our problems. How utterly moronic.
sircharles19
August 20th, 2011
3:04 pm
Opinions good and bad one are accepted! President Clinton should have never made NATA (wrong spelling) to become law. Making it easy for businesses to move overseas and hire cheap labor. America, to day and has been suffering from this law. When you call for any services, you are calling overseas and don’t know it. Speaking to those clerks on the other end is very troublesome. Businesses don’t hire because theya re afraid of losing a lot money. Now, when they lay off people, they are mere firing them. So, america has been in deep, deep mess since Clinton and both of the Bushes have striped America job markets and its way of life int hell. I knew Bush did not care when I saw him fly-over Louisiana-during Katria. that said a lot about the person who has been reelected for 8 years. Now, all of you do the math and asked yourself, are you still employed?
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 20th, 2011
3:40 pm
Sane Person: How utterly moronic.
————————-
What is your Idiot Messiah’s plan, then? Oops, forgot, we have to wait until September when he and his wife take separate jets back from their vacation on Martha’s Vineyard.
Idiot Messiah: Do-nothing loser.
carlosgvv
August 20th, 2011
4:07 pm
Streetracer
That is the first time I have ever mentioned race. The race card has been played so many times by so many people that we forget that, sometimes, race really is an issue. The pure venom and hatred shown by so many here against Obama tells me that it isn’t just his policies that they don’t like. I simply don’t believe that a white President would receive these kinds of verbal abuse and utter disrespect. Linda, is this enough substance for you?
Linda
August 20th, 2011
4:10 pm
sircharles@3:04, You are referring to NAFTA. American businesses pay US taxes on profits made overseas when they bring those profits home. You knew that, didn’t you? Some US companies pay more in US taxes than the income they make in the US. You knew that, didn’t you?
The blame game has escalated from “blame Bush” to “blame Clinton.”
Personally, I think it’s great that McDonald’s makes money overseas & pays more US taxes. I don’t think it would be practical for them to cook the hamburgers in the US. Do you? Preventing US companies from venturing overseas is akin to slavery. I’m for freedom.
GT
August 20th, 2011
4:22 pm
I think the idea of NAFTA was to eventually bring up the standard of living in Mexico so people would stay there instead of coming to the US. Not sure how well it worked. It might have worked better if we just legalize drugs. What do you think the future would look like? Do you think it would look so much different than today if that happened? When you bring in taxes and stop crime, on something that causes far too much violence and money the way we handle it now, why are we so stubborn? Gambling was outlawed, I am sure people died over that when it was illegal, at the very lease put in prison. Now you can gamble in just about any place in America. No earthquake just the reality that it was going to happen, you can’t stop it, why not make money off of it and save trillions.
When the world was new America made money off the backs of its cheap labor. They told themselves it was their genius, but nope it was their slaves and ignorant cheap labor. Big business started screwing this up. Car manufacturing drew a mass labor force under one roof as oppose to a plantation with many small independent operations. Big business in essence destroyed America’s economic edge, immoral as it was. Unions formed to protect labor, producers could no longer steal labor, had to pay for it. Big businesses response to increased labor cost, leave the country and find a place that doesn’t value human life as much as the US. Many of our population lived a pretty good life on the backs of this labor, higher on the hog than they really deserved and certainly want to admit. This economic reality may do more to stem the flow of illegal immigration than any NAFTA type action for keeping the world out of our country. They really don’t like us as much as we think, it was always the money. As for American’s they will find both in the investment world and the business world they will be far more rewarded doing the work themselves with only themselves to blame. Their will be smaller business where the cheap labor with be their own labor which actually is moral and free. Investors will lose their own money as well as the Wall Street guy and may actually understand how they lost it and get better at investing. They certainly will not be paying a chairman of a corporation a fortune just because he went to Yale or Harvard and knew someone, while the company loses billions
brad
August 20th, 2011
4:27 pm
Tiny Barry: What’s up dude, you seem more pissed off than usual, if that’s possible. Tough week?
Linda
August 20th, 2011
4:32 pm
carlosgvv@4:07, Boehner is darker than Obama. Would you vote for him if he was running for president?
Do you think that the white people who voted for Obama, who would have never been elected without the white vote, didn’t notice that he was a little black? Do you think they turned against him when they noticed his skin color?
Do you think that the black people who did not vote for Obama also did not notice that he was a little black, meaning they are also racist?
Do you think that maybe, just maybe there are actually both white & black voters in America today who don’t give a tinker’s whit what color Obama is or what color his underwear is, who merely disagree with his policies?
Do you think that Obama is getting any more “verbal abuse & utter disrespect” than Bush?
Carlos, that’s substance.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
August 20th, 2011
4:36 pm
carlosgvv: I simply don’t believe that a white President would receive these kinds of verbal abuse and utter disrespect.
—————-
Your memory extends all the way back to, what, mid-2009?
Anybody put out any movies fantasizing about Obozo’s assassination, as happened during our President Bush’s time in office? Didn’t think so.
Get real.
GT
August 20th, 2011
4:46 pm
Linda I will bet you the Tea Party’s problem is race as much as all the other stuff they try to talk about. I don’t think the majority of America is like the Tea Party. I remember growing up and it was state’s rights nothing about slavery. When you see people who absolutely refuse to compromise in the south ,where I grew up, you will usually find a redneck very close by. As we have seen it only takes a few rednecks to wreak a party.