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From the Dept. of "If you have to say it..." JOBS sign on HQ of leading Deficit Peacock US Chamber of Commerce. (photo: vpickering)
CBS News has released a new poll and, not surprisingly, with official unemployment around nine percent, it found that an overwhelming 51 percent of Americans said jobs/economy is the most important problem facing the country. By comparison, the national debt comes in second with a mere seven percent of Americans saying it is the most important problem, followed by health care with five percent.
When asked to choose what should be a higher priority between just cutting government spending or creating jobs, by a greater than two-to-one margin, Americans choose job creations. A full 63 percent think job creation should be the higher priority, while only 26 percent choose spending cuts, with 11 percent choosing both.
Yet our politicians seem to have either not have gotten the memo or simply don’t care. Washington has fallen deep into the grips of a full blown wave of deficit hysteria to justify domestic spending cuts. (Although the hysteria does always temporarily vanish when more money is needed for more wars)
The American people have at least taken notice that their elected representatives have totally abandoned their concerns about jobs and the economy.
Majorities feel that everyone in Washington pays too little attention on job creation. Fifty-three percent think President Obama spends too little time on the issue of jobs 68 percent feel Congressional Republicans give it too little time, and 68 percent believe Congressional Democrats spend too little time on jobs.
On just a purely political level, this speaks to a profound failure in our two-party system. Normally, a political party should be in a full-blown panic desperately trying to rectify the problem that two-thirds of the electorate believes the party spends too little time working on–what is overwhelmingly the top priority with the voters. Yet, if anything, it seems both parties are spending even less time focused job creation, as if the Washington elites have simply gotten bored with the whole jobs thing.
The total disconnect between the concerns of regular people and the Washington political elites has rarely been so blatantly obvious, and yet the gap seems to grow almost daily.
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Obama, Pete Peterson, Rick Scott, Scott Walker, JEB!, Ignite!, The Catfood Commission, Zombie Ronald Reagan, and Bill O’Reilly know what’s best for us.
Tax Cuts and Austerity Measures.
No surprise there — most of the “representatives” have been instrumental in sending our manufacturing overseas,so Wall Street is fine and will finance their campaigns.
If they were interested in helping people they would get to work and change the rules of the “game” – but why would they want to have such a hard job?
Now it is all about money – at least until the people rise up.
It doesn’t matter what the “people” want. It’s what the plutocracy and the corporate media want.
They got the memo, but as you note, the politicians simply don’t care.
They are not working for us. At least we (the public) appear to have finally gotten around to noticing (thanks WI!), so maybe we will yet prove that we care enough to do something about it…
Both parties are spending time decimating public services so they can privatize the last vestiges of public workers jobs and pensions. The Dems are privatizing schools via Arne’s Race to the Top corporate subsidy and the Repubs would privatize the air we breath, is they could meter our lung capacity.
The people have to wake up and smell the Creeple and stop acting like Sheeple. The people have the power.
People don’t matter. Money is all that’s important. Everybody who is unemployed represent somebody whose money they’ve managed to drain completely away into their own accounts.
“… the gap seems to grow almost daily.”
Yup. Every day there is some new previously unimaginable hypocrisy.
I suppose it means that even though we get to vote from time to time, we don’t really live in a democracy if power and influence come from a source other than We, the People.
Both Parties seem completely content in the knowledge that there will be no populist middle-class uprising. And if there is, as with the Tea Party, it can be co-opted though racist and classist dog-whistle politics. Meanwhile, Obama leads the well meaning, lobotomized, middle-class American sheep to the slaughterhouse. The Neoliberals in the White House are laughing all the way to their off-shore banks. The Neocons, nothing more than Neoliberals with bombs, are laughing America into a new oil war. Let’s cut teachers, cops, and firefighters to pay for all of this corruption and greed.
So as Mike Malloy would ask, “What’s it gonna take America?”
That happens to be the same percentages that approve of the air strikes now underway in Libya.
And that’s relevant because…..? That’s like saying that two thirds of the people like pudding, therefore the fact that two thirds of the people also like vodka is relevant to the amount of people who like pudding.
What’s that I hear?? Dick Cheney from his crypt: SO?????
They have their’s don’t they? That’s all that matters to them.
This is what you would call one of them there “Bingo’s”.
The idea routinely gets shot down around here, but more political parties are necessary since what’s happened since the 2008 election confirms both parties we have are bought and paid for by Wall Street, the MIC, the health care lobby, etc.
No, there would be no ‘winning’ (with apologies to C. Sheen) elections out of the gate, but I’d feel so much better casting a vote for someone who I truly believed in, vs. the current lesser of two bad choices approach I have to take now.
We’re being governed by the paid for shills of Vampires.
OilyBomber knows the feckless liberals will vote for him in 2012. He has nothing to fear. The blogs will Nader-hate the left into voting for Prince Barry. It’s like a script that they’ve been following for 20 yrs.
Even with 20% unemployment, he’ll retain his throne. A testament to the wonders of American democracy.
Fuck the People. Protect corporate and corporate’s profits. Modern day pro corporate politicians supporting modern day slave-owners, who like the slave-owners of the pre-civil war Antebellum Senate, obstructed and did not change anything cause it, COST TO MUCH? Are the seeds of America’s next civil war being sown by the corporate elites, as history repeats?
Wasn’t there a large gathering at the mall last Saturday chanting ” No more Jobs , No more Jobs, No more Jobs ?”
People across the country are beginning to feel the effects of continuous war .
Go to the costofwar.com web site and look up what it cost your state and county. This is wealth has already been extracted, not some fussy number that are kids are going to pay back the Chinese, some day in the future.
Every other gallon of oil America burns today comes out of a military exhaust pipe. We blew our future on our ” defense (MICC)”.
It’s gone and in the end all for a false sense of security.
If it were hypocrisy, they’d at least pretend to care. No, it’s not hypocrisy, it’s unbounded contempt.
Everything became clear to me after Citizen’s United, esp the fact that the only “citizens” who matter are the corporations and the filthy rich
Yes they do. One problem! The People do not want to give up comfort! Taking a stand requires sacrifice and being in uncomfortable situation. Not enough people are starving or dying yet for the cell phone carrying youth to be concerned about the detrimental effects of Corporate’s Sodomy on America!
Liberals are masochists, that’s the ultimate problem. That’s why I’m no longer a liberal. They have no fight in them. Of course, Prince Barry doesn’t take Norman Soloman or Christina van der Hooverell or John Nickels, et al. seriously. No matter what, they’ll vote for the Great Oz.
Where’s the end game? When is enough, enough?
It’s pretty simple. Private industry creates by 5 to 1 the most jobs. These jobs not only turn a profit & stand on their own two feet, but they support (push the wagon) the government and fill the treasury [net gain]. Ride the wagon government jobs, which take $1 from the treasury only put back $ .25 [net loss]. If you want something to go away, you tax it. Lower costs (taxes) = private job growth. How many politicians offer special tax incentives to business for them to move into their district ?
David Dayen has a fresh cross-post available: Japan: Tap Water Too Radioactive for Infants in Tokyo
I’ll bet you’re still pissed the conservatives lost the argument in the Constitution-writing-and-confirmation era, and the Federal government was allowed to build postal roads. Boy, that screwed up everything!
Spot on K! It is the modern day Dred Scott. Where the interest(s) of the slave owner to perpetuate the exploitation of people was intentionally protected. Citizen United gives to corporations a similar advantage under the color of scumbag law. People are not property, but government can place a tax on Life, in the form of an health insurance mandate? These scumbags will stop at fucking nothing to enslave you into corporate servitude, as the slave owner enslaved humans, for the purposes of uncompensated labor, ie energy and profit!
It’s relevant because it’s the same poll. If we agree with these “regular people” about Jobs vs. Spending Cuts we put it in headlines cause they’re so smart. But if we disagree with them about Libya, we ask why that’s even relevant, sweep it under the rug.
So, where has Private Industry been the last decade (+2) with zero job growth?
Or wasn’t George W. pro industry enough?
Last I heard, GWB wasn’t a real conservative.
These polls would make sense if we had a democracy. Meaning a government that actually worked for the people. Or the majority of people. Instead of a government that works for a select few, the oligarchy, the criminal bankers and the military industrial complex. As such these polls are just useless and pointless.
Not so sure such polls are useless, unless you accept that the U.S. is quite nearly dead, the plutocrats have permanently won, etc.
We’re in bad shape now, but these polls show that there is great political power available to those who might lead a progressive charge.
If voting made a difference, it would be illegal.
–E. Goldman
UniParty. Old boss, new boss. Watch more TV and skreenz! Buy shit! Good Life! Yay! You’re FREE!!!!!!*
*Offer not available to the unemployed
The above list should be a great reason to vote 3rd. party, write in, etc. etc. These people make my stomach turn inside out.
Politicians get tax incentives for companies to move their headquarters into their district while the jobs they create are created in China, Taiwan, Viet Nam, Indonesia etc. Such a deal.
It happens right here in Pinellas County thanks to Bill Young (R, FL-10).
Neoliberalism blows dead goats, as do it’s advocates.
Apparently all of the Republican governors who want to get rid of collective bargaining rights all give special tax incentives to business and pay for them by taking away granny’s medicine money and putting her and the children on cat food diets. I’ve yet to see your trickle down economics work well, but I have seen the effects of whittling away the middle class by nickel and dime-ing them to death. There has been a redistribution of wealth upward going on for the last thirty plus years.
Jon, is there anyone, anywhere who does an ACCURATE calculation of “unemployment”?
I’m the parent of two college grads, one who’s still unemployed after graduating from a “major” university in May 2010. Obviously, he’s not counted. Nor are his friends, a huge percentage of whom are living at home [when they can] and scrapping odd jobs or pay-free internships while they continue their job search. Those with parents who have the money are going to graduate school.
I’ve always seen the “unemployment numbers” as based on “those who file,” but there are huge, huge numbers of folks who can’t [or are too discouraged to] file, or whose benefits have run out.
Where do we get an accurate indicator of the pain?
The statement is wrong, you cannot conclude from the poll that the people don’t want spending cuts. For all we know, people want more jobs AND spending cuts.
Having minority,white women and male unemployment rate numbers under the last years of the terms of Clinton, Bush and Obama at the beginning of his first term and current numbers would be good. Plus the unemployment numbers are a joke we need the total % of the population employed.
To many people unemployed get lost the way the government currently counts unemployment numbers but under Clinton more people as a % of the population had jobs. Bush and Obama are getting a Free Pass!
By shipping jobs to other countries we lose tax payers and that results in higher taxes or higher national debt for the rest of us.
What Percent of private jobs are dependent on Government bailouts, contracts and or tax breaks (extra evil bonus points for companies that get tax breaks to outsource jobs)? Almost all farming jobs, the entire banking, insurance, stock trading industry, the auto makers, the airlines, the airplane makers.
How many companies like the drug companies, the sugar industry, ethanol are protected from foreign competition?
“11 percent choosing both.”
How many internet business would not be here today without Al Gore funding the Government creation of the internet? Without American Government research and building computers in WW2 would we have personal computers today and Microsoft?
Green Power can be the next internet, the next computer, the next microsoft but only if Government gets involved now.
Sure I want to stop spending on wars. The polls support that but cutting teacher jobs to decrease spending no spending cuts that lead to more unemployment are likely to be supported by voters.
As I stated before, we are a country moving backward. We are trying to be like Europe was in the 12th – 15th century – a FEUDAL STATE.
There will be the landowners – Kings/Queens and Lords and then the serf (you and I). As Rand Paul has said, “we all are working for the rich”.
Also notice that the Lord of old could kick you off their land and you see yourself as destitute, a way of not making it a go. A way to make minorities of any sort kind of disappear. Just look at the housing market.
As Michael Moore stated, “we don’t have debt problem”. We really have a revenue problem – you only need to look at all the GOP governors of late. And the Speaker of the House in DC who is more concerned about Abortion issues then JOBS, JOBS and JOBS- “Hell no we won’t”.
If the people want jobs instead of spending cuts, they’d better vote for Democrats instead of electing Repubs. The Dems MIGHT vote for spending to produce jobs, the Repubs DEFINITELY WON’T.
This is the question: “Which of these should be the higher priority for the nation right now — cutting government spending or creating jobs?”
It asks for higher priority. Saying both means that they think both are equally important. Not everyone thinks cutting spending and jobs are diametrically opposed.
You’re assuming that “private industry” is going to create those jobs in the United States. And that when they DO create jobs here, that those jobs pay a reasonable wage and offer at least some worthwhile level of benefits.
Unfortunately, both of those assumptions have largely been wrong over the past several decades.
Actually, thats true, GWB is not considered a true conservative by conservatives while BO is not considered a true liberal by liberals. GOP has RINOs Dems have DINOs. Its erie how the left and right are structurally mirrors of each other except with opposite viewpoints.
Something that seems to fly past the radar of most of the GOP talking points…
The lower the unemployment, the less money needs to be spent on “entitlement” programs. The higher the revenues. Employed people pay taxes. They pay state taxes. They pay Federal taxes. They pay FICA taxes. They also do not take money in the form of Unemployment Benefits. They (if paid a living wage) don’t take money in the form of Food Stamps or WIC or Medicaid or other “Welfare” programs.
Tax revenues go up without having to raise tax RATES. Expenditures go down, without having to cut programs!
Yo – Tangering Man – WHERE ARE THE JOBS?
You are in denial.
It was democratic president who set up the cat food commission and stacked it with deficit hawks. If you want more of this, by all means re-elect these DINOs.
Now that surveys indicate what people want, it sends a signal to our elected officials that this is an issue not only to ignore, but also to actively obstruct. There is an almost Lovecraftian perversity in the people who run our country, as though they were working for Cthulhu to destroy human beings to make way for ultratelluric daemons of Cosmic Evil —people like Rupert Murdoch & the Koch Bros. Nothing done in this country makes economic sense. The Oligarchy may ultimately end up with all the money but there’ll be no one left to process the transactions, build the luxury jets, cook the gourmet meals, build & run the social media. Their cash can be used to wipe their butts, but if they only have credit cards to use instead, that’ll hurt.
The first problem is the discussion has been framed as “Budget cuts” rather than “Balancing the Budget”.
This results in the biggest elephant being ignored, raising taxes on the wealthy and most particularly on the Wall Street Mafia. (Oops, did I just say a naughty word?).
The second biggest item is the National Security budget. This includes the DoD, the TSA, veterans costs amongst others. The veterans MUST receive the attention they deserve, but we must factor that into any fight we think about getting into in the future. However, we have weapon systems like the F35 that make no sense in any war we can see in the future. Then using 160 $1M missiles on a regime that can’t shoot straight (Libya). But how about the inefficient political engineering (pork barreling) of DoD projects to see that they go to every Congressional District? Etc, etc.
Third, payroll taxes are contributing to balancing the budget for many other purposes (via borrowing) than Social Security and thus Social Security is paying for itself, so hands off.
Now we can talk about, one-by-one, programs and their cost effectiveness. These then should be put on a spreadsheet along with funding(taxes) where they can be compared and “voted” on.
We must get over “wanting something for nothing” and “stick the other guy for it” politics. No more kicking the can down the road – we will have to raise taxes and every government program is on the table.
BTW, we are among the lowest taxed 1st world nations in the world, 42% (including state and local) so knock it off about being taxed to death.
Distractions like redefining abortion, bashing immigrants, etc has got to stop. It must be jobs, jobs, jobs and then balance the budget.
“For all we know”, people may want more cuts on corporate welfare & more spending on regulation to make lobbying illegal. If what were spent on lobbying were spent on job creation, it would not only provide new jobs, but also prevent no longer bribed elected officials from funding the exodus of jobs offshore. And if the Jabberwocky learnt Esperanto, Alice would have spent less time in Wonderland. Don’t denigrate polls by installing your own political fantasies as a substitute.
neither party is living in the real world and as long as their pockets are being filled by their corporate masters why listen to us? Didn’t Obama say everything is great because the Market is up? We know cutting speading is bull but DC does not care
I’m not saying the Dems are perfect. Far from it. But there are only two choices. If you think the R’s are going to go on a wild spending spree to build infrastructure, preserve state and local government jobs, extend unemployment benefits, or advocate for any other jobs creating program, you’re living in Fantasyland. At least with the Dems, there’s a chance.
who did the government hire to build those roads ? I doubt anyone on government payroll actually did any construction work.
thanks to NAFTA. signed by which president ?
the defense department had the world wide web up and running way before Al Gore. And who is the defense industry made of ? government workers ? I don’t think so.
takes a lot of lobbyists to get that much done !
Ah, where did the Department of Defense get the money to get the “world wide web up and running”? You don’t think that was government money?
I’m not claiming my statement as true which is why I qualified it. What I’m criticizing is the headline which denigrates the poll because it comes to a conclusion which is not supported by the poll. The headline injects political fantasy because it is not supported by logic and the given data. If you don’t know how to read polls, then you shouldn’t really be commenting.
OK, let’s say what you say is true – zero private sector job growth. Then there should also be zero government job growth,and zero government spending increase. Where is the money coming from to pay for expanded government ? Take more from the rich ? or sell more US Treasuries. I don’t think so. If the private sector stalls out, so should the government. yea, OK “what about Bush’s 2 wars”, like he decided to attack for no good reason. In my opinion, 9/11 makes for an exception.
Oh and btw, by around 2/3s majority, Americans don’t want higher taxes to solve the deficit.
The government has no money of its own. Money that is in the treasury comes from taxpayers, who are like half the population.
Sure they do – on the rich, you know the people who have done so well the last bunch of years sticking it to the regular folks.
these two thirds of Americans might pay one tenth of the tab. I’ll take that deal in a heartbeat ! If you eat the golden goose, there will be no more eggs. Don’t get it yet ? If you kill off the engine that pushes the wagon, the ride stops for everybody.
Move offshore with your portfolio where you hide your income to not pay taxes. We won’t miss you.
Holy smokes, 67 has to be snark. Has to be.
Or a metaphor aneurysm.
We need to purge more bluedogs. If you want a party that cares about what you care about you can never purge enough of them and their enablers. This time it should include obummer.