On the stimulus/jobs mismatch
As you know, I'm a believer in a stimulus bill, but last night I had a dream that got me thinking.....
It was 1935, and I was at a WPA jobsite applying for a job. They asked what experience I had, and I said office, computers, and sales of technical equipment. The guy looked at me and said they didn't have anything like that, but they could put me on the crew.
The next thing I knew, I was shoveling gravel on a rail bed. My soft office hands were bleeding, my weak back was killing me......
There are lots of folks out there who will be able to bridge into the construction jobs of this bill, especially some of the manufacturing jobs lost, but if you look at the people who are being laid off right now, for many, this bill offers them little. Their best hope is to wait and benefit from the secondary effects.
Waking up from that dream, I realized there's no office version of digging holes just to fill them up, you know?
It was 1935, and I was at a WPA jobsite applying for a job. They asked what experience I had, and I said office, computers, and sales of technical equipment. The guy looked at me and said they didn't have anything like that, but they could put me on the crew.
The next thing I knew, I was shoveling gravel on a rail bed. My soft office hands were bleeding, my weak back was killing me......
There are lots of folks out there who will be able to bridge into the construction jobs of this bill, especially some of the manufacturing jobs lost, but if you look at the people who are being laid off right now, for many, this bill offers them little. Their best hope is to wait and benefit from the secondary effects.
Waking up from that dream, I realized there's no office version of digging holes just to fill them up, you know?
posted by mikevotes at
6:39 AM
2 Comments:
I'm actually optimistic that the bill will eventually result in repair and rebuilding of railroads, highways, dams and whatnot across the nation.
Granted there is no office version of infrastructure work... but I feel that the 'stuff' of America needs to be addressed. In my neck of the woods we're fretting over the details of a bridge across the Columbia River, and it's very definitely a concern to everyone here - bluecollar and whitecollar types alike.
Maybe as time passes, other people will have the same uncomfortable nightmare, and some bright person will come up with a plan that will work. Anything's possible. Remember the subsidies for artists during the 30s?
By
Anonymous, at 12:28 PM
And, regardless of any infrastructure improvements, the job measures will result in trickle up.
When you give middle and lower class jobs, that money goes back into the economy quickly so, office type jobs will eventually return. There's just no real way to create them by fiat.
By
mikevotes, at 1:43 PM
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