How confident are you in govt's ability to create jobs?
(PHOTO CREDIT: Justin Sullivan/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Jobs, jobs, jobs.
That was one of President Obama's top priorities in last night's State of the Union address.
The president is calling for a "jobs bill" from Congress right away. More specifically, Mr. Obama wants to give a tax break to companies that hire workers - to get rid of capital gains tax on small business investments - and he wants 30 billion dollars of TARP money to help local banks lend to small businesses.
The president also wants to put more federal dollars into so-called green jobs and infrastructure projects - and to extend unemployment benefits to Americans still out of work.
But economists say fixing the jobs situation won't be quick or easy... that it will take a strong economic expansion to get things going again.
The national employment rate is at 10-percent, up from seven-percent when Mr. Obama took office; and just today, the government reported last week's first time claims for unemployment fell, but not by as much as expected.
Meanwhile a new poll suggests that Americans agree it's hard to land a "quality" job.
The Gallup poll shows that only nine-percent of Americans say now is a good time to find a quality job; that number is down sharply from January 2007 - when 48-percent of those surveyed were optimistic about finding a quality job.
And, this bleak outlook on finding a quality job is consistent across all ages, incomes, genders, and different regions of the country.
This means not only does the Obama administration need to worry about lowering unemployment and increasing the quantity of jobs, but the quality as well.
Here’s my question to you: How confident are you in the government's ability to create jobs?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Is the stimulus package creating jobs?
(PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Almost a year since President Obama signed the massive $787 billion dollar economic stimulus package into law, turns out the public isn't so crazy about it.
A new CNN-Opinion Research Corporation Poll shows almost three-quarters of Americans say that at least half of the money spent has been wasted.
The poll also shows 63 percent say the projects in the plan were included for purely political reasons, while only 36 percent say the projects will help the economy.
Overall, 56 percent oppose the stimulus plan... last year, a majority supported it.
There's even disagreement among the president's top lieutenants on how effective the stimulus package has been. Three top White House officials gave three different answers on the Sunday talk shows about how many jobs could be credited to the president's recovery act.
Valerie Jarrett said the plan "saved thousands and thousands of jobs." David Axelrod said it "created more than, or saved more than two million jobs," while Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said it "saved or created 1.5 million jobs."
The so-called American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was meant to stimulate the economy by increasing federal spending and cutting taxes.
The White House predicted the stimulus package would keep the unemployment rate from going above eight percent - it's 10 percent.
Here’s my question to you: Do you believe the stimulus package is creating jobs?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
What can be done to create jobs?
(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?
Job market beginning to improve?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The economy is beginning to recover by some accounts, but not in the way that hits millions of Americans the hardest - unemployment. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan says the economy will grow more than expected in the third quarter - he expects three percent growth.
But Greenspan points to the "pretty awful" September jobs report - which showed a worse than expected loss of 263,000 jobs. He says unemployment will continue to go up - eventually topping 10 percent.
It's currently at 9.8 percent, which is the highest rate since 1983.
There are estimates as many as 750,000 additional jobs will be lost between now and next March - that would mean almost nine million jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007. But employment is a lagging indicator - meaning the economy will begin to recover quite a while before we see a pickup in the jobs numbers.
All this has President Obama talking about job creation. The administration and Democrats want to extend safety net programs - like making unemployment benefits available for up to a year and a half. They also may propose new tax incentives for businesses to get them hiring again.
Whether any of these ideas will work remains an open question. One Democratic aide said: "There may not be anything we can do."
Here’s my question to you: Do you get any sense the job market is beginning to improve?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Should Congress keep extending unemployment benefits?
(PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Hondros/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The House is considering a bill today that could help more than one million jobless Americans. It's an emergency measure, widely expected to pass, that would extend unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks for people living in states where the jobless rate tops 8-point-5 percent. That includes 27 states plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
This would be in addition to the 26 weeks of benefits that most states offer, and the federally-funded extensions of up to 53 weeks that Congress approved last year.
As this recession drags on and the jobless rate goes up, lawmakers have been under pressure to extend benefits... with governors from 22 states calling on Congress to act quickly. It's estimated that there are now more than six potential workers for each job opening - that's up from 1.7 when the recession began.
But critics say that additional unemployment payments can be a disincentive to looking for a job... and that it could be counterproductive to extend benefits now - when the economy is showing signs of recovery.
The bill's sponsor says it won't add to the deficit because it would extend a federal unemployment tax paid by employers... and require better reporting on new hires so the government doesn't keep paying them unemployment benefits. Senate Democrats say they'll address the measure as soon as the House votes.
State unemployment checks are around $300 a week, plus another $25 from the stimulus act. The national unemployment rate is now at 9.7 percent and expected to be above 10 percent for much of next year.
Here’s my question to you: Should Congress keep extending unemployment benefits?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Why hasn't stimulus package produced more jobs?
(PHOTO CREDIT: Justin Sullivan/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Six months since the Obama administration pushed through the massive $787 billion economic stimulus package. So where are the jobs?
House Republican Whip Eric Cantor says he doesn't think the program is working as well as it was advertised, and says no one should be highlighting the benefits of the plan.
Cantor points out that when this thing was passed - the administration predicted it would keep unemployment lower than 8.5-percent. The jobless rate in July was 9.4-percent.
The White House has pushed back against critics of the stimulus bill - saying it's working as planned - by easing but not erasing the impact of the recession.
They say it will take a "very, very long time" to fill what they call a "very, very deep hole." That's fine… but where are the jobs?
Most economists agree the recession would have been worse without the stimulus... although they don't agree on how much it has helped.
Meanwhile - a new USA Today/Gallup Poll shows most Americans think the stimulus package has cost too much money and isn't doing enough to end the recession.
57-percent of those polled say it is having no impact on the economy or making it worse. 60-percent doubt the plan will help the economy in the future... and only 18-percent say it has done anything to help their personal situation. Not exactly rave reviews.
Here’s my question to you: Why hasn't the stimulus package produced more of a recovery in the jobs market?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Economy forced you to consider career change?
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
Millions and millions of Americans have lost their jobs since this recession started in December of 2007; and the unemployment rate is expected to top 10-percent before the end of this year.
Job opportunities in the health care industry are on the rise.
The harsh reality is that a lot of these people have remained out of work for a very long time. Many of the businesses that used to employ them - the auto industry, finance, real estate and construction - have also been hit hard by the recession.
At the same time, other fields - like health care, clean energy, computer science and government - are expected to grow a lot in the years to come.
USA Today reports that millions of Americans are making dramatic job changes. A survey by Career-Builder shows 71-percent of workers who were laid off and haven't found jobs yet say they're looking for work outside their fields. This could mean the unemployment rate stays higher for longer - as workers need time to get training and then find jobs in a new field.
And these transitions aren't always easy. Sometimes the unemployed have to spend thousands of dollars getting that training - to learn skills needed for a new career. And then they find they have to take pay cuts.
The government is trying to help... the economic stimulus package included $4 billion over three-years to help retrain and place unemployed people in new jobs.
Here’s my question to you: Has the economy forced you to consider a career change?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Would you work without pay for a month to save your job?
A British Airways passenger jet comes into land at London’s Heathrow Airport. (PHOTO CREDIT: Matt Cardy/GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
British Airways is asking thousands of its employees to work for free for up to a month.
Because of financial problems, the airline has e-mailed workers offering them between one and four weeks of unpaid leave - but with the option to work during this time.
Last month, the company showed a record annual loss of more than $650 million. As the global recession drags on, the airline is seeing demand for passenger seats and cargo space fall... while ever higher oil prices translate to more and more expensive jet fuel.
The CEO of British Airways recently said there were "absolutely no signs of recovery" in the airline industry - calling it "by far the biggest crisis" they've ever faced. He says he's agreed not to take a salary for the month of July.
But, one of Britain's biggest unions says employees can't afford to work for free for a month; they say while the company's CEO might be able to do that, ordinary workers can't.
British Airways - which employs more than 40,000 people in the UK - says the voluntary pay cut would be spread over several months. They say more than 1,000 people have signed up for their work-for-no-pay plan so far.
Here’s my question to you: Would you be willing to work without pay for a month in order to try to save your job?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
What will country’s sour mood mean for election?
The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate for July has risen to 5.7%. (PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES)
FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
More bad news about the economy as the nation's unemployment rate rose to a 4-year high of 5.7% percent last month.
Employers cut another 51,000 jobs in July, making it the 7th straight month of declines. The Labor Department reports that 463,000 jobs have been lost this year.
And, this doesn't even tell the whole story, because the unemployment rate doesn't include those who have become discouraged looking for a job or those who took part-time work when they really want to be working full-time. If you count the unemployed and underemployed, the rate jumps to 10.3%. Another troubling sign is it's taking the unemployed longer to find new jobs. Some of the hardest-hit industries include those affected most by the housing, credit and financial crises – like construction and manufacturing.
It comes as no surprise then that a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll shows Americans are downright disgusted with where this country is headed... only 24% think we're on the right track. That's the lowest number since 1980. Only four presidents have seen this number drop below 30% while in office – Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and the first President Bush. In each case, their party lost the White House in the next election.
Not exactly a good sign for John McCain and the Republicans.
Here’s my question to you: What will the country's sour mood mean for the election?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
@jackcafferty on Twitter
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