Episode 60: Jobs Baby Jobs!

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Commentators from the right side of the aisle will tell you the way to crush Obama and the democrats in 2010 is by highlighting just how very crappy the job market is. I can attest to the dire straits we are in regarding the job market from personal experience. I am earned my Masters degree last year in hopes of getting my career in the entertainment industry started. Keep in mind this is not the flashy stuff you see on TV, but the behind the scenes work in audio post production, where a career in audio is more realistic. I did what all of us graduating did – packed my bags and moved to L.A.! I had a great internship, earned lots of wonderful recommendation letters, and even got to hang with Hollywood’s elite. None of this was able to stop the bulldozer of hard economic times. Fact of the matter is I chose the absolutely worst time to begin a career, especially one as volatile as the entertainment industry. For all the reasons we have debated many times, the economy simply fell apart. I happen to live in a state with inept politicians to add more fuel to the jobless fire. And as I look around me, it is clear my story is not unique. Most of my classmates who took the plunge are in as bad a shape as I am as well, living literally penny to penny. Read a newspaper, blog or watch TV and millions of college grads will tell a variation of my story.

I was all for the stimulus, seeing the greater good it could provide. The stimulus does just about nothing for people in my position. College grads, who are more likely to create the jobs of tomorrow, got the short end of the stick with the stimulus plan. Still there are far more in the working class than the academic class, so logic dictates policy should benefit the needs to the many, not the few. I get that 100%. Still sucks to be us though.

So yes, republicans do indeed have a very valid talking point here, and if they want to go on the offensive yet again, that is their best card. However, as I’m sitting on the plane on my way back to California, I had a thought about jobs I figured I’d share. I think the economy is completely busted, and we are going about fixing it the wrong way. It is true that despite stimulus, Americans continue to lose jobs. I read in the NY Times America is about to overtake Europe for a higher unemployment percentage. Throwing money at broken businesses is not going to work. This is because the stock market, in my opinion, has never been worth the amount the ticker tells us. Based on reports I’ve been reading from various sources, I’m convinced the financial problem is way deeper than the bank and housing crisis, and has spilled into the private sector. Much like the Dot Com bust, most companies were overvalued, and the housing crisis brought the whole charade down like Jenga blocks. Take Starbucks for example. There is no way they could be worth so much that there are 5 (empty) Starbucks within 2 blocks of each other. The lack of consumption is a problem, but I think the way bigger problem is that current value of the stock market is what businesses are *supposed* to be. Let’s take Apple’s stock. Many have applauded them for surviving the recession/depression, but Apple is a VERY smart company, thus their stock is high because their business practice in the personal computer market is second to none.

If the value of stock is where it’s supposed to be, that means hiring new, or bringing back old employees will be very difficult, because the busted companies never really had the cash to do so. I think that is the true reason while unemployment continues to decline. That is makes construction jobs that much more important. First, it mitigates the damage of a busted economy, because there are more people in the working class than academic class. And because something always needs to be built, it lays the foundation for the point of this post; investment in construction will help us build the foundation for the jobs of tomorrow. The way out of this recession is through new technologies and innovation. Rebuilding our current model is a waste of time and money because it has already reached its maximum potential. I argue that the crisis is largely due to overextending the potential of our economic model to the point of bursting. Now, the unemployment crisis WILL bottom out. Like the bubbles in a fizzy soda, we have to wait for all of the bubbles to pop before the unemployment rate flattens like old Pepsi.

Thus the solution is creating entirely new business sectors. I have argued for green tech many a times, but that’s not the only route. There are exciting innovations in the tech sector, digitizing medical records will provide jobs for at least a decade, electric and hydrogen cars are the cars of tomorrow, rebuilding our broadband infrastructure for the 21st century is essential for making the listed opportunities possible. Instead of bailouts, the government should move to fund innovation. The private sector can’t do it because venture capitalists are strapped for cash as well. We have a plan for the working class – let’s get the academic class into the fold. They longer you keep us on the sidelines, the longer it will take to create true growth.

So while I agree with the republicans that ultimate growth has to come from the private sector, the government is the only entity with cash. We have to shed away our hatred for the government and make them do their job. Get involved with your politics at the congressional level and hold your representatives responsible. The government is only as bad as we are negligent and complacent. Obama has said many times, that once things have stabilized, the reigns of economic growth will go back to the private sector. I urge the GOP to drop the socialist rhetoric and actually Youtube his speeches. It’s very clear that Obama has no intention of turning America into Europe. Let’s make the debate about what new industries we can create, and when and how. If we continue on our current trajectory, the job loss crisis will not improve. The answer is new industries, new innovations, and maintaining, not rebuilding current industries.

My republican friends, attacking unemployment is probably not your best platform if you want to look like you’re looking at the long term strategy. It is hard for businesses to say they busted because that would involve admitting failure. Now, the better idea is to attack which industries to grow and when. TO only highlight problems and offer no solution creates an unhealthy political environment and will ensure the GOP failure.