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What does President Obama bring to the table with his jobs package?

 19 Oct 2011

Part of the reason President Obama's job package isn't resonating with the public is because it looks a lot like the last bailout that did nothing to improve the economy.  This public mistrust is warranted because there is nothing within this package that could possibly improve the economy.  Instead the President should promote it for what it is - a necessary public expenditure.  We need our schools.  We need our fire departments.  We need our police departments.  The problem with the President's package is that it does nothing to change the union's abandonment of their youngest and most vulnerable members.  When I'm actively promoting unions I make the argument unions need to change this policy for their own survival.  But today I'm only concerned about the quality of the service to our communities. 

The President proposes to supplement teacher and other public employee paychecks.  Everyone knows this help is necessary because of the economic conditions.  However, how effective can this money be in ensuring quality services if it is first used to pay the $105,000 a year person and if there is any left over some might go to the employees making $32,000 a year?  The President needs to go to his supports and figure out so means to make this new bailout money go far enough to keep all the teachers, firemen and police at their stations.  When he comes back to the American people and tells us that all our schools will employ the same number of teachers as they did in 2008 and all our cities will have the same number of firemen and police as they did in 2008, that's when we should approve this extra bailout money.