One-Point Plan for Job Creation

how you gonna pay for it? loans from China?

government intervention= job destruction

My thought on paying for it would be an infrastructure bank like that created in South Dakota.

Essentially, taking advantage of the fiat currency regulations that are currently used by banking cartels, and employing them for the creation of jobs.

Alternatively, one could staff a WPA/CCC with the ranks of those on Federal Unemployment.

In the case of a project like HSR, these people would be receiving valuable OJT in a skill that will only be increasingly valuable in the years and decades to come.

Plus, we would be getting a return on investment for unemployment benefits.

Government intervention does not ALWAYS lead to job losses. The original WPA and CCC proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt.

well it sounds like you have put much thought into it OP. good job. that would be one way to pay for it yes, but there are only so many roads, so many bridges to repair or replace. That is a short term solution but what about longterm sustainable employment?

Given the current state of our infrastructure (graded D most recently), there is likely enough work to keep everyone going for quite some time.

Once those issues have been dealt with, however, I see no reason why this same workforce could not be employed for large capital construction projects not directly related to infrastructure repair.

Basically, if we're going to pay people benefits for being unemployed, we should see to it that the taxpayer gets a return on that investment.

Here's a long-term project that could conceivably be undertaken:

The complete razing and reconstruction of Detroit.

Tear the mother down and rebuild it from the ground up as the first 21st Century American City, complete with every possible technological marvel our society has developed. Commuter rail, wireless internet, wireless power transmission, smart power grids and renewable backups in every home, etc...

I don't know if I agree with the Detroit thing, tear it down yeah okay, but I would leave it that way. Not to sound harsh but a lot of the people that live there would let it go to shit again.
Your plan is starting to sound like what they have doing in China, building for the sake of building and now they have cities no one lives in.
I think if you remove regulation and the strangulation of taxation from people and companies they would create jobs on their own. The government would actually take in more money with less taxes because the pool of tax payers would be larger.

At this point in our history I hate the fact that everyone is standing around wondering what the government is going to do.
We can do this on our own, we don't need the damn government and poloticians screwing things up.

Good, we can buy equipment from China and hire Mexicans to do the work. A winning situation for TPTB.

My one point plan for job creation: implement trade tariffs.

I am Anonymous Coward and I approve this message.

The Razing/Rebuilding of Detroit was just a pie-in-the-sky large-scale hypothetical.

If it WERE to be undertaken, I would say that the city should be rebuilt, because it still sits in an excellent location, people DO own the land and the buildings, so any deconstruction would need to be matched with real-estate swaps for the same value.

In this situation, if a WPA/CCC were to be approved, it would ideally be with a caveat that all materials/equipment should be manufactured/purchased from US factories.

I was being sarcastic. That would be a good idea. Anything to help or mfg. industry.

I understand. If you don't mind, I'd like to try keeping the snark-factor to a minimum, and have the best serious discussion possible.

You have identified a critical point that should be present in any potential legislation, which is the mandating of using domestic production to support this effort.

Kudos. :)

A better plan, it has two more points

1.) dissolve the federal reserve system
2.) Repudiate the debt.
3.) End income tax.

Once the people are allowed the freedom to use the fruits of their labor as they see fit this country would bloom.

It didnt work then wont work now. The programmes were judged to be failures and it wasnt as bad. They were workfare, now one need not even labour for free money

Workfare, as you put it, would be a vast improvement over the current system.

Right now, the only return from unemployment benefits is demand-side stimulation, providing the fiscal means for people to purchase.

Through a new WPA/CCC, we would see a Capital Gain result from the use of these funds, in addition to the above listed benefits.

As to your assertion that the WPA/CCC were a failure, I think that I will have to disagree. There are any number of massive projects whose benefits we are still reaping today.

I'll refer you to the Wiki article rather than list them all individually.

In a present/future context, this could be a cost-efficient way to construct renewable power systems on a large scale.

impeach obama

Looks like the thread has ben hit by the one-star bandit.

Hopefully more people will decide to give constructive comments.

Sure but it wont happen, Nobody want to work, they will all get doctor excuses, childcare excuses, disability excuses hardship excuses and those that dont will get hurt and sue for damages and discrimination or steal and sell the tools and materials.
Even back then the money spent was mostly wasted. It's not govt's job to create jobs, as govt is always run by theives and like hires like. Govt is supposed to keep honest people safe from predation, but have become the creators of the predator class

I would say stop shipping jobs to overseas.

Then again.

If they were to be produced on American Soil it would be more expensive. But at least it'll be more output.

I'm afraid I have to disagree that the money was wasted. As I stated before, we are still, today, reaping the benefits of the work done by the WPA and CCC. Their projects have had a lasting impact that is still being felt over 70 years later.

Government has often intervened in the job market, with varying levels of success. Typically, they meet with failure when they attempt indirect intervention. Direct intervention has produced some of the longest periods of full employment in America's history.

I hope that you can see past worst-case scenarios. Even someone who is invalid and can't come into an office can be put to work processing work orders at a computer terminal.

Even someone who cannot work a computer terminal can be put to work answering a phone.

Even someone who cannot answer a phone can be put to work sorting silverware in the WPA cafeteria.

Everyone is capable of contributing, if the right job is found for them. I prefer that view to the negative one that was contributed earlier.

I've been unemployed for over 2yrs. start my new job on monday, $12/hr. yippee