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Saturday, January 10. 2009
Crash
This is a sign-o-the-times: in three states, New York, North Carolina and Ohio, their phone and online systems for unemployment claims crashed due to the overwhelming volume of people filing first time unemployment claims. Jeez. Four and a half million people are collecting unemployment benefits, the highest number in nearly 30 years.Currently, I barely work 25 hours per week. Two months ago this was going to be a full time job, a prospect that left me wondering if I would be up to it. Thankfully, or sadly, the economy changed my work schedule and now I’m down to 25 hours per week — unless of course I get one of the infamous “VTO” e-mails and find myself heading home early.
“VTO” is shorthand for “Voluntary Time Off.”
I’m actually at work now. Might as well make use of the quiet time.
In the states that have not had their systems crash, people calling to file unemployment are left on hold for an hour or more or (and this would really tick me off) the system just hangs up on them. From my home state of Wisconsin, Howard Cosgrove of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development said, “Regardless of when you call, be prepared to wait and just hang on. Try not to get frustrated. We’re on their side and we’re doing the best we can.”
Small comfort to the thousands — hundreds of thousands — who are filing their unemployment claims this month. Most states have been busy hiring people just for the unemployment departments so they could meet the demand. Maybe I should check with the California Employment Development Department! They are probably hiring and it looks like it could be a long-term temporary employment opportunity!
This past summer California’s unemployment rate was 7.3% (tied with Illinois), ticking higher than the national average, but only 4th in the nation behind Rhode Island (7.7%), Mississippi (7.9%) and of course Michigan, which had an unemployement rate of 8.4%. That was nearly five months ago. It would be a horror to look up the current numbers ’cause nothing has improved since August.
On a national level, we lost over 500,000 jobs in December.
The number of people people collecting unemployment last year: 2.6 million, the highest number since World War II:
This is funny: Someone asked me why I keep my job since it is so inadequate!
Not since the gas crisis of the early 1970’s has the economy been hit this hard. There are those though who choose to believe it isn’t so bad, that having the government do anything to change the situation is wrong. They believe in the free market and the free market will correct itself! These are the same people who don’t think the autoworkers in Michigan should have decent wages, health benefits or pensions.They also believe — and are successfully disseminating the message — FDR’s New Deal prolonged the Great Depression. Economic historians and historians in general have debunked this rewrite of history, but there was George Will on ABC’s This Week blabbing that very tale. If it hadn’t been for Hitler and Tojo, the Great Depression would have continued.
Here’s the hypocrisy. This argument is used to oppose the Obama economic plan, which calls for the federal government to inject about a trillion dollars into the system.
Personally, I hope stimulus checks are part of the plan. I could use one.
So, what was required for the U.S. when we were thrust into World War II? The government had to pump billions into the private sector so we could produce the millions of pieces of equipment needed to fight the Axis Powers. In other words, the federal government stimulated the private sector with huge infusions of cash. And it worked.
The irony of that being, in 1936 Roosevelt bowed to pressure to scale back his recovery plans which would have boldly pumped more money into the private sector, the very same tactic used to gear up our military for World War II.
It either works or it doesn’t work, George, you can’t have it both ways.
Prior to World War II, the New Deal had some slow success and a bit of slump in 1936 when Roosevelt faltered and gave in to pressure to scale back the New Deal, but overall, economists tell us, the New Deal got America going again. World War II just hastened the recovery.Now, when Barack Obama takes control of the Oval Office, he wants to immediately enact his economic stimulus package, the boldest economic recovery effort since the Great Depression. It’s big, but he’s already compromising with Republicans about what will be in that package. They are getting their much-beloved tax cuts.
There are those who are criticizing Obama and his plan, mainly because the projections for the plan’s success are based on assumptions of how the plan will be enacted after it goes through the Congressional process. I can already see (and hear) Rep, John Boehner pontificating at the podium, with his coterie of fellow Republicans standing behind him, standing firm against the rising tide of Socialism the Obama New Deal represents — to them.
It doesn’t really represent Socialism and Boehner knows that, but calling the plan Socialism makes for a most excellent sound bite! It gets the base all riled up! Except, in these economically desperate times, most people don’t want to hear meaningless sound bites, they want to know what the politicians are going to do about the problems facing our nation. That’s why Barack Obama was elected by such a significant margin. Unlike his opponent, Obama had a plan. McCain, he just had the tired old Republican tune, “Tax cuts! Tax cuts!”
Well, the public has been hearing that song and watching that dance for a couple decades now and a majority of us are tired of it. Tax cuts for the wealthiest among us hasn’t done a damn thing for the people in the lower stratas of the economy.
As we saw in the general election, calling it “Socialism” didn’t work; the people chose Barack Obama in November which proved one of two things: A) the electorate doesn’t believe it’s Socialism, or B) the electorate believes it is Socialism and that’s what the country needs. Either way, Congressman Boehner and his Republican colleagues are on the wrong side of this issue.
It also puts to rest this Republican lost election mantra that the U.S. is still “center-right.” Just on the face of it, were the country still “center-right,” John McCain would be the president-elect.
Obama, on the other hand, has to believe that the 55% who voted for him, plus many more who would have voted for him but just couldn’t pull the lever for such an unknown, are behind his stimulus plans and expect the president-elect to be bold. Learn from FDR’s mistake: don’t cave into pressure.But that’s my fear: Obama will prove to be a fearful, wimpy Democrat (like so many who have aspired to his upcoming office) and back down from his bold initiatives for fear of being labeled a Communist. Heck, I’d revel in it if someone were to call me a Communist! No one’s called me that in years and I sorta miss it!
Every economist agrees bold action is required by the government — the private sector isn’t going to do it — and Mr. Obama, you’ve been elected to enact that bold plan, so do it.
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