As you may recall, on the campaign trail, Joe Biden was heralded as “head of the Middle Class taskforce” – whose activities 
can be viewed here. Yet the question remains: What has Joe Biden done for the Middle Class?
can be viewed here. Yet the question remains: What has Joe Biden done for the Middle Class?Several months ago, I checked the Middle Class Task Force site only to find a discussion of ways to help people send their kids to college… and I thought, “So what?” What is the purpose of going to college if there are no jobs waiting at the other end of the tunnel? Moreover, a 20/20 special posited that Bachelor’s Degrees are “America’s biggest over-rated product.” Upping college enrollment seems to be the wrong approach. After all, 1 in 5 people who are unemployed hold at least a college degree, according to NPR.
This month, everyone’s clamoring, “Where are the jobs, Joe?” We’re told there’s good news from the White House – that 150,000 jobs have been either saved or created in the first 100 days. Yet, when questioned how they arrived at that figure, Joe just sheepishly replied, “I’m a little above my pay grade here as I try to explain in more detail how they count spinoff effects of actual jobs created, I’m sorry. I’m not an Economist. My background is in foreign policy and the constitution.”
He told us to be patient, that the $500 million training program was on its way. The latest unemployment figures indicate 345,000 jobs were cut in May, bringing the national unemployment rate to 9.4%. Back in January, we were promised the unemployment rate wouldn’t exceed 8% if the stimulus was passed. (To be safe, Obama changed his figures to a projected 10% unemployment rate before the end of the year.)
House Republican John Boehner (OH) argued, “More than 2.5 million Americans have lost their jobs this year, and what have the Democrats in charge of Washington given them? A trillion dollar ‘stimulus’ that isn’t producing jobs immediately, as the Administration promised.”
“It doesn’t satisfy me, it doesn’t satisfy the president,” Vice President Biden told reporters. “We will not be satisfied until we are adding jobs on a monthly basis.” Though he admitted that “everyone guessed wrong” on the stimulus, he added that there are plans to “ramp up” the pace of the approved stimulus package projects.
He mentioned 3,600 projects that are currently underway... but these are all fleeting construction jobs, whether it’s “building out the Smart Grid,” working on new bridges, improving highways or weatherizing houses. A White House official added that boosting the federal Weatherization Assistance Program from $250 million to $5 billion has created jobs from the stimulus money. “That translates to jobs for professionally trained crews using computerized energy audits and advanced equipment to determine the most cost-effective measures,” says Van Jones, Special Advisor for Green Jobs.
Beyond all the hyperbole, this says to me, “Look at all the 12-month contracts we’ve created!” No doubt some of these green jobs will be worthwhile and the training programs will bring workers up to a higher pay grade. Yet, what good are jobs if they’re primarily temporary contractor jobs with no security, construction gigs that’ll dry up when the projects are finished, minimum wage service sector positions and burger flipper jobs that grant little economic freedom? This age-old question, of course, dates back to the Clinton Era job growth and is nothing new. Yet if Joe Biden is truly an advocate of the Middle Class, he must realize that these jobs need to be middle class jobs offering decent pay, decent benefits and job security.
In the meantime, the “soaring cost of living devours the Middle Class,” as Robyn Blumner of the St. Petersburg Times suggests. So-called progressive activists are calling for “Middle class bail-outs.” Trade schools have practically vanished, which used to be the path toward middle class jobs. As Jeff Klenovic points out, our tax structures are unfair and we work too much. If you’re a sympathetic, loyal fan from Joe’s home state of Delaware, perhaps you’d be more understanding. I, however, am not satisfied thus so far.
Prolific writer Richard Benson argues that “Our government prints up jobs out of thin air the same way the Federal Reserve prints up money.” He adds that 60% of our post-9/11 job creation was directly related to the housing boom – realtors, mortgage brokers, construction workers – jobs that have since dissipated. Daniel J. Mitchell of the CATO Institute adds, “There is virtually no support for the notion that government spending creates jobs.”
It logically follows that the government could, instead, focus on areas it has some sway over. If we want to remain competitive in the global marketplace and boost the Middle Class job positions, we need to take a fresh approach to our trade policies. For instance, why is Boeing outsourcing 70% of the manufacturing jobs for the 787 Dreamliner, when those could be solid American manufacturing jobs? And, as you know, call center jobs that generally pay $10/hour or higher are one of the most frequent positions being shipped overseas to places like India.
“If Barack Obama wanted to create 3 million real jobs, he could do it today,” Professor Harold Black of the University of Tennessee, quips. “All he would have to say is the following: ‘My fellow Americans, in order to create permanent jobs, I will eliminate both the capital gains tax and the corporate income tax. I will make permanent the Bush tax cuts and aggressively work to limit government spending to no more than 20 percent of GDP unless in the case of a national emergency. I will also seek to fully exploit all domestic energy sources. I believe that in adopting these policies, we can reignite American commerce, energize consumer confidence, restore the integrity of the dollar and guarantee that the American dream will be a reality for our children, our children's children and for all Americans for generations to come.’”
Instead, Joe Biden is sent on a wild goose chase for pipe dream jobs that always seem to elude his grasp.
Comments
Jennn ... Good article.
I am always amazed at the "jobs saved" wording used by this administration. "Jobs saved" is an unquantifiable enigma. There is absolutely no way to trace, track or otherwise determine how many jobs have been "saved."
For the record, the term "Progressive" is generally accepted code speak for communist.
I suspect that President Obama gave Biden the "stimulus czar" task as makework. Biden lamented the difficulty of measuring stimulus results--it's not difficult, it's impossible. Just the thing to keep Joe busy and out of the presiden'ts way.
George Copeland
RNC Examiner
www.examiner.com/x-13572-RNC-Examiner
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