How do we create jobs?

The Coffee Shop
1

Some thoughts on putting people to work:

Many economists believe that if it wasn’t for the WW2 we might not have come out of the Great Depression. What did WW2 do to the economy?

Increased in GDP, federal spending, and military spending…

And perhaps more importantly “the expansion of employment, which paralleled the expansion of industrial production. In 1944, unemployment dipped to 1.2 percent of the civilian labor force, a record low in American economic history and as near to “full employment” as is likely possible (Samuelson).”

So how do we apply the above principles to today without going to war? We need a fit military and we now need to turn our attention to the infrastructure. Both require vast amounts of manpower and $$$. We apparently have lots of unemployed people and the FED has no trouble spending our $$$.

Why not open up the military age limit to anyone that can pass a physical? And offer “real” bonuses for reenlistment? Let’s give people a chance to be employed, earn a wage and not hold their age against them. Let’s more bodies on the border, the entire border, and protect it too. In the process we move people off the unemployment/welfare rolls to taxpaying citizens and beef up our security.

Second, why don’t we apply vast amounts of manpower to cleaning up our messes and repairing our infrastructure.

As an example let’s take Detroit. In many parts of the city it’s 3rd world. Why not create a core of engineers designed to quickly tear down structures that are no longer capable of safely housing people. That should create thousands of jobs because almost every city in the US has homes like this. Get rid of the dope pads, rat traps etc. Others can help families that really need help with heating/plumbing etc…

How about both parties creating a joint 5, 10, 20 year plan that has definable targets and goals for improving the infrastructure. For example, if building more mass transit is a good idea then why not identify where it is needed and just do it. If building more bridges or bullet trains is a good use of $$ then again, why not? Use the powers of the FED, emergency acts if necessary, to appropriate land, get us off the oil fix, and move forward towards energy independence.

So what’s wrong with this plan other then it depends on the Fed, and not private enterprise, to drive this plan. And what’s your alternative to getting people employed and off the dole quickly?

2

I guess it’s easier to just pump more money into the unemployment and welfare systems then to actually try to solve the problem.

My thought was that they should do something like the x-prize, except for energy. Throw $50 million, $100 million prizes for different things involving wind, water, whatever else they can come up to effectively reduce oil consumption. X prize was only about $10 million, I think, but it spurred a ton of investment because people wanted to be the first to pull it off. The energy issue might not be as glamorous as space, but I think if the $ prize is enough, it light a fire under some people.

More realistically, they need to push some of the money out to people who can make use of it quickly and create jobs. We bailed out the banks who got screwed because they made “risky” loans. So it makes sense of us, the taxpayers to take on that risk? Umm…no. I’d rather risk the money on the smaller businesses and individuals who can’t get operating capital now. The govt needs to stop buying things for us, and give us the power back to make those decisions are selves.

I better stop now.

3

What did WW2 do to the economy?

Increased in GDP, federal spending, and military spending…

two things:

first, increased gdp did not result in increase federal spending. it happened the other way around.

second, the us came out of the war in so much debt it wasn’t even funny.

it wasn’t military spending that created all those jobs. it was spending PERIOD.

enlarging the military is a silly solution to this problem.

the thing about the second world war, though, was that there wasn’t a lot of inefficiency in the government spending. when your survival is threatened, chances are you’re less likely as a private contractor to dick around with government money, though there probably was some profiteering.

4

It should be noted that spending isn’t really what improves the economy

but production (which will of course result in spending)

To create jobs, start producing stuff, and accept you may have to work for less $/hour while producing it than you did last year.

5

The positive befits of WW2 was on the manufacturing side not the huge army side. Having everyone join the military is not that productive it’s the same as just having work camps. On top of that war is a young man’s game and not a lot of people want to join the military.

We went into huge amounts of debt during WW2 and just throwing more money around is not going help anything.

My idea is to let the economy drop. Businesses that can’t make it fail those who can have to restructure. Peoples consuming rate changes which effects businesses. Once things quite down everything will slowly start to grow and everyone will be little wiser.

6

so then lets bomb our way out of this recession! Perhaps we can start a war in Iraq or something…

7

I think we should pay people to plant trees. Lots of trees.

8

It should be noted that spending isn’t really what improves the economy

but production (which will of course result in spending)

To create jobs, start producing stuff, and accept you may have to work for less $/hour while producing it than you did last year.

you’re right, my bad - i should have made that clearer.

9

As others have said it wasn’t the war but the manufacturing and innovation that not only increased the GDP but also extended growth well beyond WWII.

I think we are in a similar situation but different circumstance.

Rather than “hiring people” into the government or giving money away, why not simply offer loans for construction? The individual(s) looking to buy a house that may also be unemployed picks up a hammer, goes thru an apprenticeship on the job and builds his own house, his neighbors house and rebuilds the entire neighbor hood.

5 years later he has a house, a loan and skills to build stuff. He only builds what he can afford because he/she knows he has to pay it back. He’s now part of the labor force and will cause the prices to drop thru competition. Can you imagine the rebuilding in Detroit or any major urban area if you broke the unions and put every able bodied person on welfare and unemployment into construction?

Same thing could be done for building alternative energy, roads, bridges etc etc. Only what will pay for itself and is needed get’s built and then the “Tax payers” get paid back nd even make some interst on their investment.

You can do the same in any sector. Put people to work building and making things…you know like we did 50 years ago with cars and stuff :-). How about eliminating the minimum wage and start making our own cloths again?

Of course you’re going to have to work for less, because everyone else around the globe is as well…which of course is the rub. People don’t really want to work, they really don’t want to do hard work and REALLY REALLY don’t want to do hard work and not get paid alot. Instead we want to ship all that “Hard stuff” over seas and live off the fruits of their labors.

~Matt

10

“there wasn’t a lot of inefficiency in the government spending”

Incorrect - http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/The_Truman_Committee.htm
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