Good for Obama’s jobs council, good for America?
by Jia Lynn Yang, washingtonpost.com -- June 13, 2011
A central assumption in Obama’s economic plan is that private-sector growth will translate into more jobs in this country.
But that strategy could be less potent as decades of globalization have loosened the connection between the health of large U.S. firms and the economy, analysts say.
As a whole, U.S. multinational firms reduced their workforce in this country by 2.9 million between 1999 and 2009, according to recent data from the Commerce Department. Meanwhile, they added 2.4 million workers overseas.
[...]
The 26-member jobs council, which the president formed in January, set a goal Monday for companies to create 1 million jobs within two years.
Question is, will those Million Jobs, be here in the U.S.?
It seems that some of the members of the Jobs Council may have a 'vested interest' that stretches beyond America's borders ...
U.S. advisory panelists' firms invest overseas
Mike Dorning, Bloomberg News, sfgate.com -- May 24, 2011
As a group, multinational companies with current or former chief executive officers on Obama's jobs council have, over the past four years, almost doubled the cumulative amounts they've reinvested overseas, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
By doing so, companies may be able to take advantage of faster-growing markets or lower production costs, and they can defer U.S. income taxes on profits from overseas sales. Underscoring the difference between corporate interests and the national interest, they're investing money elsewhere that could be helping the U.S. economy, said former Labor Secretary Robert Reich.
"That's a signal that they are betting less on America," Reich said.
Will the Jobs Council (of Corporate CEO's) feel the presidential heat? Will they re-invest some of their sidelined-Billions back into America -- the country that has given them so much?
President to discuss new job growth plans at Cree
by Rob Christensen, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. -- June 13, 2011
The group [Jobs and Competitiveness Council] is expected to release a set of recommendations today on how to spur both short-term and long-term growth in such sectors as manufacturing, construction, clean energy, health care and tourism.
"We have had 15 straight months of private sector job creation and seven straight quarters of growth" Valerie Jarrett, a senior advisor to the president, said in a briefing with reporters. "We are moving in the right direction. But the president is not satisfied with the pace of job creation.
"We all agree there is more that can be can be done to accelerate the pace of job growth," Jarrett said. "There is broad agreement that the recovery will be driven by the private sector."
Well, here's the Council's brand new plan, just released today. A Plan that does seem to tilt toward 'jump starting' those Million American Jobs
-- with or without the help of an All-Talk No-Action Congress:
How We're Meeting the Job Creation Challenge
The President's Jobs and Competitiveness Council
GE CEO Jeff Immelt and American Express CEO Ken Chanault
wsj.com -- June 13, 2011
We believe that the following "fast-action" steps can support the creation of more than one million jobs within these industries.
-- Train workers for today's open jobs. There are more than two million open jobs in the U.S., in part because employers can't find workers with the advanced manufacturing skills they need. The private sector must quickly form partnerships with community colleges, vocational schools and others to match career training with real-world hiring needs.
-- Streamline permitting. Cut red tape so job-creating construction and infrastructure projects can move forward. The administration can take a few simple steps to streamline the process of obtaining permits, without undercutting the protections that our regulatory system provides.
-- Boost jobs in travel and tourism. This industry is one of America's largest employers, but the U.S. has lost significant market share. By making it easier to visit the U.S. through improved visa processes, we can win back market share in travel and tourism and create hundreds of thousands of jobs.
-- Facilitate small-business loans. Help small-business owners obtain the information and support they need to access Small Business Administration funding. At Jobs Council town halls in Dayton and Minneapolis, small-business owners expressed frustration about the challenges in obtaining financing and assistance. We must move quickly to allow easier access to SBA funding. SBA Administrator Karen Mills is already tackling this challenge, and the administration should accelerate and prioritize these efforts.
-- Put construction workers back to work. More than two million construction workers don't have work. Every city in America has commercial buildings that can be made more energy efficient. Both the private and public sectors can step up to create good jobs and save energy.
Our objective for this first set of recommendations was to identify areas where the private sector and the administration could accelerate job creation immediately without the need for major legislation from Congress or actions that would have a long runway.
Even got some "Clean Energy" jobs in there for out-of-work construction workers -- Nice!
And more Loans for Small Businesses, too. That's something the GOP might want to try to think about some day
-- if they ever get around to their Top Priority again: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs!
... right after they get done "fixing" Medicare, that is -- a mini-crisis THAT IS Decades away, btw. No wonder they're transfixed.