(PHOTO CREDIT: Justin Sullivan/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
As the White House convenes what it's calling a jobs summit, consider this:
Almost 16 million Americans are out of work, and one-third of them have been unemployed for more than six-months. There are currently six workers competing for every open job. The government releases the November jobs report tomorrow, with unemployment expected to remain at 10.2 percent.
The White House affair is a meeting with business leaders, academics and other experts to come up with ideas on creating jobs.
But Americans have their own ideas on how to get people back to work. A new USA Today/Gallup poll shows 18 percent of those surveyed suggest the best way is to keep manufacturing jobs in the U.S instead of sending them overseas. 14-percent say lower taxes, 12-percent say more help for small businesses, and 10-percent say create more infrastructure work.
Other ideas include reducing government regulation, creating more green jobs, providing more stimulus money, and buying American or raising taxes on imports.
Meanwhile, there are some glimmers of good news:
The Labor Department reports that the number of first-time filers for unemployment fell last week to a near 15-month low.
Also an independent private job placement firm shows the pace of job losses slowing to the lowest level in two years.
But the fact is jobs are a trailing indicator and probably won't show any robust growth for awhile - despite other signs that the economy is in recovery. Also, many experts say a lot of the jobs that have been lost will simply never return.
Here’s my question to you: What can be done to create jobs?
Tune in to the Situation Room at 5pm to see if Jack reads your answer on air.
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Steve from Virginia writes:
The best start would be to restore law and order. Over 8 million jobs could be returned to law abiding citizens and immigrants by making e-Verify mandatory and mandatory cross-checking of the Social Security and IRS databases when employers hire. We could curtail in-sourcing of millions of jobs by requiring employers to prove they can't find qualified Americans before issuing visas. The next best step would be to restore the source of our previous prosperity- our manufacturing base and fair trade practices.
Cruz writes:
Tax all those patriotic souls that sent their jobs overseas and use the new revenue to invest in companies that keep their jobs here at home. I want to see labels everywhere that say “Made in America”.
Tom from Forest Hills, Pennsylvania writes:
Just one thought, Jack: How about a national bond fund that creates jobs to place electricity and cable lines underground and replace old water and sewage systems?
W. from Nebraska writes:
How about we quit spending money in pits like Iraq and Afghanistan and use it to rebuild our infrastructure? I read a story about a $70+ million water treatment plant in Iraq that is barely running because they don't know how to maintain it. As backwards as Iraq is, Afghanistan is ten times worse. Imagine the work that could be created here with the money we've wasted in Iraq and the money we will waste in Afghanistan.
Jasper writes:
The amount of people out of jobs is equal to the amount of people that are illegally in this country. It is a no-brainer.
Paul from Manchester, Vermont writes:
Jack, While I don't often agree with what you say, tonight it sounds like you are on my side. I own a company that employs, at very fair wages and benefits, 50+ Vermonters. The economy has taken a bite out of our business… The government should give all middle class (yes, and even upper class) folks more of their money back by lowering taxes. The more they have to spend, the more they spend and that translates into jobs. Putting money in at the top (by bailing out auto companies for example) does not create folks who can buy cars!