It’s Time for Another Jobs Summit in America
Posted by Michael A. Kamperman on August 19, 2010
With weekly jobless claims climbing back to the 500k level, the time has come for President Obama to convene a Jobs Summit. Mysteriously jobs continue not to be the primary focus of the Whitehouse. The strategy of kicking the can down the road hoping for a natural recovery in the economy has failed. But who should be invited to the Summit? Any citizen in America who wants to share an idea should be invited. The Summit should start out as a series of smaller regional Summits. Then, those presenting credible ideas should be invited to the Washington Summit. Let economists, CEOs, Congressman, and anyone else who wants to contribute ideas attend a regional Summit, and if they have a credible idea, then invite them to the Washington Summit. The reason for this concept is to decentralize the voices our President and Congresional leaders hear from. The advisers they currently have have taken us nowhere. There are plenty of good ideas, but unless someone is connected their voice is never heard in Washington.
For example, Bill Gross is getting a lot of credit for coming forward with a proposal to use Fannie Mae to refinance any current mortgage already guaranteed by the government without an appraisal. This is a great idea and it will help stabilize the housing market and put diposable income into the hands of numerous consumers. The only thing is the idea has been out there for well over a year. On page 105 of How America Can Escape the New Great Depression it says “Fannie Mae should also refinance any mortgage in good standing without an appraisal.” The book was published in March of 2009. Imagine where things might be if the idea were implemented back then. What other idea is out there that can’t get through the filters?
The Summit should be televised and hosted by the President and the Congressional leadership. The American people should see and here these ideas. Some ideas will rise to the top and gain broad-based support. The politicians will not control the ideas presented and will have difficulty spinning them. There should be a bi-partisan agreement between Democrats and Republicans that no idea will be dead on arrival just because it involves cutting or increasing taxes or spending. The objective of the Summit is to get something positive done as opposed to the usual Washington grid-lock where two sides shout at each other and accomplish little. Make no mistake, in a depression grid-lock is a bad thing. I’ll throw out another idea right now. Starting in 2014, let’s place a tarrif on all products made outside the U.S. if the employees do not receive health care. It is crazy to let countries like China ship products into America made by workers who are on their own for healthcare when the corresponding American competitor is required to provide health-care. It’s just crazy for us not to insist on a level playing field.
