With unemployment at 10.2%, the United States faces the worst unemployment crisis of the last 70 years, with 15 million people unemployed, one-third of whom have been jobless for over six months. The lack of full-time jobs is especially severe: another 9 million Americans are working part time because they can’t find the full-time jobs they want and need, putting underemployment at 17.5%. This is in spite of a bold and effective recovery package that has been creating or saving 200,000 to 250,000 jobs each month since April 2009. The jobs shortage is so severe that there are now six unemployed for every job vacancy—double the ratio in the prior recession of the early 2000s.

We’ve seen stock trading come back, our GDP rise, and bailed-out banks back to giving out billions in bonuses. But where are the jobs for working Americans? By itself, the private sector is unable to create jobs in the numbers the United States needs to obtain a robust, full economic recovery. To turn the corner, we need bold government action. Without it, unemployment may stay at or above 8% into 2011.

The employment situation is an economic and moral crisis for the nation and requires an adequate, comprehensive response by the federal government. It also hits some constituencies harder than others, including most of-color and low-income communities, young people and older workers who lose jobs and no longer have the most valuable skills for the current labor market. Unemployment has reached 17.1% amongst African-Americans, 13.1% for Latinos, and 27.6% for youth.

We need a five-pronged approach to creating jobs in the short-term and ending the current unemployment crisis.

1. We need to strengthen the safety net and provide relief for those directly impacted by the recession.

There is a direct boost to gross domestic product (and therefore to employment) from increases in unemployment compensation, COBRA continuation, and nutrition assistance. This is among the most effective ways to boost demand and create jobs, and it is a moral imperative. All of the Recovery Act provisions to improve and extend benefits to the unemployed should be renewed for another year.

2. We need to provide fiscal relief to the states.

Helping state and local governments avoid job and service cuts is as effective as creating new jobs. Nothing is more clearly an obstacle to recovery than another round of public employee job losses and cutbacks in state spending on goods and services contracted out to the private sector. As Paul Krugman puts it so well, we cannot afford to have the states become 50 little Herbert Hoovers, cutting back spending and raising taxes as the economy struggles to recover.  With budget gaps expected to exceed $160 billion in the year ahead, the states need federal revenue sharing as never before. Goldman-Sachs has estimated that state adjustments to their budgets will slow national GDP growth by 0.6% to 0.7% over the next 12 months (see also here). This alone would cost the nation roughly 700,000 jobs and erode needed public services.

This can and must be avoided. The first round of fiscal assistance saved 250,000 jobs in public schools around the nation. A second round to close the $160 billion gap should be enacted immediately to allow state and local governments to plan for the coming year.

3. We need direct creation of public service jobs.

It is time to put people to work in the public- and nonprofit-sector jobs that benefit local communities and make good use of human capital. This is a direct and cost-effective way to create jobs. Any unemployed worker should be eligible; the jobs should pay prevailing wages; and great care should be taken to prevent displacement of public employees. Such a program can be targeted at distressed communities and will be needed for many years to come as unemployment will remain high.

We recommend first-year funding of at least $40 billion. The kind of work that can be done is as varied as the nation’s hundreds of thousands of communities and their needs. Environmental clean-up, stream restoration, community policing, before- and after-school care of children, demolition or boarding up of abandoned houses and buildings, parks improvements, home health care, and preservation of historic buildings are just a few examples. Health care implementation will provide a tremendous opportunity for growth of good jobs in the communities most in need.

4. There is a tremendous unmet need for investments on infrastructure, especially school construction, maintenance, and repair.

Do you remember the Minneapolis rush hour bridge collapse? Or when President Obama visited J.V. Martin Middle School—built in 1897—in the South Carolina’s “Corridor of Shame” during the 2008 campaign? These are just two reminders of how deeply we have neglected basic infrastructure in our country.

The $13 billion of Recovery Act highway and transit funds under contract has already created hundreds of thousands of jobs. The nation’s schools could quickly and effectively spend $10 billion on repairs and maintenance alone, putting to work some of the million and a half construction workers who remain jobless. Jobs in supplier industries will also be generated, as will jobs throughout the economy when those employed spend their salaries. In addition, Congress should quickly complete action on the stalled reauthorizations of transportation and Clean Water Act funding, which will support hundreds of thousands of jobs in construction, manufacturing, design and engineering.

5. Businesses need incentives to create jobs.

The economy will move towards a full recovery only when businesses have the confidence to create jobs. A tax credit equal to 15% of expanded payroll costs for new job creation deployed over the next two years would lead businesses to hire an additional 1.4 to 2.8 million employees next year, and slightly less in 2011, according to estimates by the Economic Policy Institute. (The credit would be decreased to 10% in the second year to encourage immediate job creation.)

The overall cost of the program would be relatively modest - between $13-37 billion in 2010, and $14-36 billion in 2011. The government would foot up-front costs ($71-$80 billion in the first year, and $62-$67 billion in the second).  But by increasing employment, the government would recoup a significant amount by spending less on social programs like unemployment insurance, health care, and nutrition assistance.

Americans want to work. And they know that this will take bold action. Last year, when the financial system collapsed, President Obama convinced voters usually skeptical of government action that he would lay a new foundation for broadly shared prosperity and opportunity. Now is the time for people at the grassroots level to make their voices heard and help Congress act on that promise.

Alan Charney is Program Director at USAction

Every year at Thanksgiving dinner, my mom makes everyone around the table say what they’re thankful for.  This year, I decided to put my own spin on it and compile a list of things for which we can all be thankful:

1. President Obama

It was almost five and a half years ago that the junior Senator from Illinois was thrust on to the national stage and just over a year ago that we made history and elected him to the presidency.  Since then, Barack Obama has made strides towards health care reform, economic recovery, closing Guantanamo Bay and ending the war in Iraq.  While it hasn’t been smooth sailing, we never envisioned this to be easy and with help, we are on our way to economic recovery and improving our foreign policy.

2. Progressives in Congress

Where would we be without the likes of John Rockefeller, Sherrod Brown, Chris Dodd, Chuck Schumer, Jan Schakowsky and Donna Edwards?  While it’s really easy to get caught up in cynicism, it’s because of these members of Congress that we are able to move on health care reform, financial reform, economic recovery and other issues that are so important to us.

3. Health care reform moving through Congress

It’s been a long road hasn’t it?  It seems like just yesterday that reform was just a pipe dream and a campaign promise.  This year, however, we can be thankful that legislation is moving through Congress and headed towards the President’s desk.

4. Unions

Everyone in America has benefitted from the union movement even if they are not a union member.  The eight-hour workday, suitable working conditions, decent wages and health benefits are just a few examples.

5. Progressive Advocacy Organizations and Local Activists

Where would women’s rights be without Planned Parenthood, NOW, Feminist Majority, the National Women’s Law Center and NARAL?  Would health care reform even be on the table if not for Health Care for America Now, USAction and other groups?  Activists across the country are working tirelessly every day to ensure a fairer and more just society and that’s certainly something to be thankful for.

6. Social Security

For over 70 years, Social Security has provided retirement security to countless Americans.  In order to preserve the program, the President and many members of Congress are committed to keeping it solvent and viable.

7. Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP

Medicare, Medicaid and SCHIP provide health coverage to millions of men, women and children every year and these programs are even more important in a recession.  One of President Obama’s first acts after taking office was signing legislation expanding SCHIP.

8. The estate tax

The estate tax is a progressive and fair source of federal revenue, which has been an important piece of government funding for almost a century.  While the estate tax was levied on only 15,000 estates last year, we all benefit from the federal revenue provided by the estate tax, as it goes to fund social services, public programs and federal infrastructure.  The estate tax was set up with the recognition that America’s wealthiest generally benefit most from public programs and infrastructure (i.e., gasoline subsidies, roads, education, environmental protection), and thus it is only fair that they contribute more to the longevity of these services.

9. Progressive Media

It’s a good thing we have talking heads like Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow and progressive blogs like Huffington Post, Daily Kos and Aggressive Progressives.

10.  Progressive Hollywood

Whether it’s Richard Schiff and Bradley Whitford on the Employee Free Choice Act, Edie Falco on health care reform or the collaborators on the the Obama “Yes We Can” video, these celebrity activists play an important role in bringing awareness to important issues and campaigns.

11. Comic Relief

After a long day, there is nothing quite like relaxing to the satirical eye-openers and stimulating discussions on The Daily Show, Colbert Report or Real Time with Bill Maher.

12. Facebook,  Twitter and Youtube

Social networking sites are vital tools for political and community organizing.  Besides, how else would you be able to keep up with old friends, get hourly updates on Ashton Kutcher and see a cat flushing the toilet?

So there you have it.  We still have some large hills to climb, but this Thanksgiving, before feasting on your turkey or tofurkey, take stock of everything we can be thankful for.  Come Friday, though, it’s back to work:  we must make sure next year’s Thanksgiving list is even longer.

What are you thankful for this year?

You’ve probably heard that President Obama is about to decide whether to send a lot more troops to Afghanistan.¹

And since you’re an activist, you also know that there are a ton of reasons this would be a mistake: Hundreds more troops will be killed along with countless civilians. And we could get stuck in an Iraq-style quagmire for decades, while terrorism experts say this isn’t even a good way to fight Al Qaeda.

Well, here’s one more reason: The war will bankrupt our economy and divert funds we urgently need for health care, education and jobs.

Afghanistan is just about the most remote, difficult-to-access part of the world there is. Sending a gallon of gas there costs $400; keeping a soldier armed, fed and cared for costs almost $1 million a year!²

Tell President Obama — with the economy in shambles, we just can’t afford any more war. It’s time to stop sending troops, and create a clear timetable to bring everyone home from Afghanistan.

http://act.truemajorityaction.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=44

We have nearly 70,000 troops already in Afghanistan,³ yet over the last few months, things have consistently gone from bad to worse despite our engagement. So it’s no surprise that most Americans are now opposed to the war.⁴

Despite Afghanistan’s problems and lack of public support, some people inside the beltway want to send a huge number of additional troops into harms way — with no timeline for their return and no clear mission to gauge progress by.⁵

It’s the same mistake that got us trapped in Iraq, and which President Obama has promised to avoid with a new foreign policy.

Don’t let us go down the same path again - tell Obama not to send more troops.

-Darcy

Darcy Scott Martin
TrueMajority / USAction

1 - www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120725456&sc=nl&cc=brk-20091123-1914
2 - www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/us/politics/15cost.html
3 - www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/24/barack-obama-us-troops-afghanistan
4 - www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/24/afghan.poll/
5 - www.edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/11/24/us.afghanistan/

With fights over the estate tax and fiscal year 2010 budget looming, advocates and activists should take note of this timely, important report that documents one of the many reasons we need a progressive federal tax system.

The Institute on Taxation & Economic Policy (ITEP) released a new study that highlights the harsh reality “that most states require their poor and middle-income taxpayers to pay the most taxes as a share of income.”  In Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States, ITEP highlights the lack of fairness in state tax systems across the country.

The study identified some states as worse than others, deeming ten states the “Terrible Ten” for “the extraordinary degree to which they have shifted the cost of funding public investments to their very poorest residents.”  The “Terrible Ten” - Washington, Florida, Tennessee, South Dakota, Texas, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Alabama - “ask poor families-those in the bottom 20% of the income scale-to pay almost six times as much of their earnings in taxes as do the wealthy. Middle income families in these states pay up to three-and-a-half times as high a share of their income as the wealthiest families.”

The authors offered solutions for lawmakers who seek to make a more fair and equitable system for their states and for low- and middle income families.  These inlude moving away from sales and excise taxes and towards the progressive personal income tax.  However, the study warns, “states that choose to balance their budgets by further increasing the general sales tax or cigarette taxes will make their tax systems even more unbalanced and unfair.”

“In the coming months, many states’ lawmakers will convene to deal with fiscal shortfalls even worse than those they faced last year,” said Matthew Gardner, lead author of the study. “Lawmakers may choose to close these budget gaps in the same way that they have done all too often in the past — through regressive tax hikes.  Or they may decide instead to ask wealthier families to pay tax rates more commensurate with their incomes.  In either case, the path that states choose in the upcoming year will have a major impact on the wellbeing of their citizens — and on the fairness of state and local taxes.”

See the full report in PDF form, press release, and state-by-state fact sheets, here: http://www.itepnet.org/whopays

On Saturday, Senate leadership secured 60 votes so that we can proceed to debate on the 100-year quest for a national health care system for America.

We are coming closer and closer to real health care reform — reform that makes health care more affordable, improves access to people who lack basic care, reins in the insurance industries and includes a public health insurance option.

Important obstacles remain.

The House has passed a health care bill that contains many things we like. But their bill also includes a restriction that is onerous and insulting and would restrict access to abortion coverage for tens of millions of women. That restriction must be removed.

The Senate bill also presents challenges. It would prohibit undocumented workers from buying health insurance — with their own money! — which is not only punitive but also is, simply put, a stupid public policy. Who could possibly argue that anyone shouldn’t be able to purchase health insurance?

There are other issues with the Senate bill — the subsidy for low-to-mid-income Americans is not generous enough and we oppose taxing health care benefits for middle-income Americans, a provision that in particular negatively targets women and children. We hope these provisions will be improved through the amendment process or in conference committee.

We have work to do. But we are hardly starting from scratch. Our champions in Congress have been identified, our grassroots networks are in place, we are ready to mobilize. We built USAction for this fight. From Day One we have made it the core of our organization.

Health care reform is closer than ever. It’s going to be tough — and maybe even get tougher as we get closer to the end of this marathon.

To those of you involved in the decades of leadership in health care advocacy, thank you for the incredible work you have done. The end really is in sight.

Jeff Blum
Executive Director
USAction

Accompanied by some of his Democratic colleagues, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid unveiled the Senate health care bill to an excited crowd at a press conference yesterday.  H. R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which includes a public option and progressive financing mechanisms, brings us one step closer to comprehensive health care reform.

H. R. 3590 will not only provide more affordable health coverage to families and businesses, stop insurance company abuses and provide the choice of a public health insurance option, but it is also financed with progressive revenues.

The Senate bill unveiled today includes a 0.5 percent increase in the Medicare Hospital Insurance tax for individuals who earn more than $200,000 and couples who earn more than $250,000. Unfortunately, it also includes a tax on health benefits, which disproportionately impacts families, women and children.

At the press conference, Senator Dick Durbin noted that while the Republicans have yet to offer a proposal that expands coverage, lowers the deficit and holds insurance companies accountable, their biggest gripe

about H.R. 3590 is that it’s over 2,000 pages.  For crying out loud, if I wanted to watch someone complain without good reason, I’d re-watch Sarah Palin’s Oprah interview.

Because Senator Reid has vowed not to use reconciliation for health care reform, we’ll need 60 votes to secure passage.  We are so close to victory; however every vote counts and your Senators need to hear from you.

Last month, demonstrators converged at the Capitol Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC demanding that Karen Ignani, President of America’s Health Insurance Plans, meet with seven families from all over the country who have suffered economically and physically from the insurance industry’s coverage denials and mishandling. Ignani refused. This is not surprising, considering that AHIP, as the industry’s lobbying arm, has been ardently opposed to health care reform that cut into the industry’s profits.

Yesterday, Ignani turned down yet another opportunity to redeem herself and AHIP and meet with small business owners. They came to AHIP’s national conference at the Renaissance Hotel in Chicago to tell her how they need reform to keep their businesses going, how they are forced to decrease coverage for their employees, or fire them completely because they can’t afford the rising costs of premiums…all because of insurance company greed. Their letter to Ignani emphasized how rising health care premiums are forcing them to make hard decisions, like cutting coverage for employees or even firing loyal workers.

She refused to meet with them again. Her refusal exemplified how distant health insurance companies wish to remain from the people they supposedly serve. Their greed shined through yesterday, disregarding people who need quality, affordable health care, including small business owners who could provide jobs and security in this tumultuous economy.

As William McNary, USAction President, said at yesterday’s rally, insurance companies are blocking reform efforts “because they are profiting very nicely, doing very well, thank you, under the current arrangement that puts their profits over patients”.

After Ignani’s cold shoulder treatment at the hotel, the eight small business owners ventured outside where the environment was much more welcoming. They were met with five hundred supporters from labor, community organizations, medical students, local doctors and other health care supporters all pulled together by Citizen Action/Illinois. Wendell Potter, a former insurance executive, also came out to show his support and condemn insurance company greed.

As they shared their stories, it was clear that they represent thousands of small businesses all over the nation who struggle with health care costs and employee retention. These small business owners represent American entrepreneurs and self-starters who are essential in the effort to kick-start our economy’s recovery.  Their stories showed us how profits are a bigger priority for big insurance, and that profit-gluttony kills jobs while

endangering the health of millions of hard-working Americans.

“These small business owners want the four C’s of health care: costs that are affordable, coverage that is comprehensive and guaranteed, commitment, they’re willing to contribute their fair share but they need everybody to do their part and choice, between a private insurance and a public health insurance plan,” exclaimed William McNary at the AHIP rally.

Who would be against that? AHIP and Karen Ignani, apparently.

Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos reported on an alarming study done by George Washington University’s School of Public Health and Health Services on the long-term effects of Stupak-Pitts Amendment. While the short term effects of Stupak-Pitts is are concerning enough, the study indicates that coverage for medically indicated abortions (i.e. a woman’s life is in danger) will disappear, even if you are covered by private insurance.

Daily Kos’s article is below, with excerpts from Sara Rosenbaum, the chief author and Chair of the Department of Health Policy.

GWU Analysis Details Industry-Wide Implications of Stupak-Pitts

by mcjoan

Wed Nov 18, 2009 at 07:00:03 AM PST

The George Washington School of Public Health and Health Services has analyzed Stupak-Pitts, and concludes that “the Amendment would produce industry-wide effects, leading to the elimination of health plan coverage for nearly all medically indicated abortions.”

Although the Amendment appears to address only plans that receive federal exchange subsidies, even health plans sold to private, large employers that purchase outside the exchange ultimately are likely to be affected, the analysis concludes. These findings are based on an assessment of the extent to which the health benefits services industry adjusts its products over time to conform to the regulatory environment in which it operates.

“Under national health reform, millions of women, including women who are covered by small employers (as employees or spouses or dependents of employees) as well as those who are currently uninsured, will receive their coverage through health insurance exchanges. By barring the sale of subsidized products that cover medically indicated abortions as part of a broader package of benefits, the Amendment can be expected to cause the industry to re-design its offerings in order to avoid violating the legal restrictions on abortion applicable to exchange products that receive subsidies,” said Professor Sara Rosenbaum, JD, lead author and Chair of the Department of Health Policy. “The Amendment also can be expected to chill efforts to develop supplemental coverage for medically indicated abortions, because it appears to prohibit the joint administration of both a basic and supplemental product,” Rosenbaum noted.

Additionally, “based on past experiences with claim administration decisions involving treatment exclusions,” the analysts conclude that insurers are likely to interpret the exclusion broadly, and exclude not just elective abortions, but also medically indicated abortion and “treatments for serious illnesses, injuries, and medical conditions that include an abortion undertaken for health reasons.” Insurance administrators, they find, are likely to err on the side of coverage denail in order to avoid sanctions.

The report also includes findings on the “rider” provision of the legislation, the provision that would supposedly allow women to purchase supplemental abortion coverage. From the full analysis [pdf].

The provisions of the legislation, as well as the technical challenges that arise in benefits administration, militate against the creation of a supplemental coverage market. Thus, if the result of national health reform is to move millions of women into a market that operates subject to the exclusion, then it is fair to predict that the entire market for coverage ultimately will be affected as a product tipping point is reached and virtually no supplemental market appears.” (p. 14)

Orrin Hatch plans to introduce the Stupak amendment in the Senate. This amendment isn’t just a reiteration of Hyde, it’s a direct attack on a legal, medical procedure, not to mention the women who might need it.

Read more about the study on Progress Ohio’s blog.

  Working In These Times recently published an astute article on the possible inclusion of progressive financing in the final health care bill.  While regressive financing mechanisms like the excise tax are on the table, they’ve received pushback from progressives in Congress along with USAction, Citizens for Tax Justice and their coalitions with Health Care for America Now and Rebuild and Renew America Now.

USAction Program Director Alan Charney, prominently featured in the article, articulated that taxing the rich is not only a moral imperative, but smart politics:  “This excise tax was causing serious political problems with the progressive base, not just unions.”  In addition, Charney goes on to say that “the only fair way to pay for reform is to tax those who benefited from this economy:   the rich.”  The article concludes with Charney’s analysis of the financing fight: 

First, both houses of Congress pass their versions of progressive, tax-the-rich financing. Then, he hopes, “The excise tax is squeezed out, so in conference they come up with financing that doesn’t involve the excise tax anymore.” Given how far reform advocates have come on financing and keeping some form of the public option alive, these are realistic expectations for the tense health-care combat that lies ahead.  The Senate leadership’s new direction on taxation, he observes, “is a sign that there’s a better chance that the final bill will be good, and we’re helping this process along.”

Click here to read the full article.

Today, the following question was posed to political commentators, legislators, and intellectuals in The Hill’s Congress Blog:

Which issue will be more important to voters in 2010–the deficit or jobs?

Part of my job is to know what legislators are thinking and trying to influence that with the voice from the people, so I pose a very similiar question to the American public, especially the unemployed, underemployed and those who are on edge about receiving the pink slip or getting called into the boss’s office without any explanation:

What issue is most important to you as you think about going to the polls next year–our nation’s debt or jobs?

Let’s hear it!