Time to Turn National Focus From Debt to Jobs


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Tuesday was a big day in American political history.

No, it wasn't my birthday, but it was Herbert Hoover's. He was born on August 10, 1874. Hoover would be so proud of the indifference of today's GOP to the suffering of millions of jobless Americans.

A year ago Tuesday, President Obama signed a jobs bill that saved the jobs of 300,000 school teachers, police officers and fire fighters. Nothing like that is happening today, so if your kid is in a larger class when he or she goes back to school, or if it takes longer for the police or fire department to respond to an emergency at your home, thank your local Tea Party member. [See a collection of political cartoons on the Tea Party.]

I know what you're thinking. The United States can't afford to do anything like that again. It's tragic that we can't afford to create jobs but we can always come up with the dough to bail out bankers and billionaires. Or to hand out tax freebies to hedge fund managers, oil company executives, and corporate jet setters.

It's time to turn the focus from debt to jobs. If more people had jobs, they would pay taxes that would reduce the debt. Consumers would have more money to spend which would stimulate the economy.

Monday, Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois introduced legislation that would create 2.2 million new jobs without creating any new debt. The plan would fund new jobs in education, health, and energy conservation by making sure millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share of taxes and by ending tax freebies for oil companies and Benedict Arnold corporations that send American jobs overseas. See the top 10 cities to find a job.]

Because the corporate tax rate is the lowest it's been since the 1950s, big business is sitting on a mound of cash that they should want to use to put their fellow Americans to work. Rep. Schakowsky's proposal will help them do the right thing. Since the so-called "job creators" haven't done anything themselves to create jobs in this country, it's the least they can do to help their fellow Americans out.

Tea Partyers will put up a stink, but the party brand is radioactive. A new national survey conducted by The New York Times and CBS News shows the Tea Party's negative rating has doubled in the last year from 18 percent to 40 percent.

Fair taxes mean more jobs and less debt.

  • Check out a roundup of editorial cartoons on the economy.
  • See a slide show of 10 things Obama can learn from Clinton.