America’s Number One Priority Must Be Jobs
February 2, 2010
by Webmaster
America's Number One Priority Must Be Jobs
President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech last week focused on the right topic — JOBS — private-sector jobs. Retaining and creating jobs must be the top priority for the President, Congress, governors, state Legislatures, county supervisors, mayors and city councils in 2010. Creating private sector jobs must be a national priority if the United States is to offer hope to the unemployed, continue its leadership in global commerce and provide federal, state and local governments with the revenue they need to overcome growing budget deficits.
We applaud President Obama on his proposal to encourage the creation of new jobs through a tax credit of up to $5,000 for each new employee hired by small businesses. It would not be realistic to think that this credit alone will create new jobs, but we support the focus on small business and the strategy to help small business owners add new jobs at the earliest opportunity in order to bolster our economic recovery. We encourage the President to follow up this proposal with a major push to rebuild our nation's infrastructure so that small businesses have new contracts on which to bid.
In his State of the Union address, President Obama also proposed more funding for Pell Grants, which are need-based federal grants to help students attend college. These two programs, which encourage new private sector jobs and a college education, are the kind of investments that America needs to recover from the current recession and build for the future.
Jobs and education are among the highest priorities for most American families. Together they provide hope, opportunity and the foundation for a higher quality of life. They also lead to more tax revenue for governments at all levels. The President's proposals are small steps on the way to economic recovery, but they represent a strong commitment to important short and long-range goals.
In November 2007, before the start of the Great Recession, the California Employment Development Department reported 4,723,200 jobs in L.A. County. In December 2009, the seasonally adjusted job total for L.A. County was 4,262,000, down by 461,200 jobs.
President Obama has our support when he talks about jobs and education. Let's continue the conversation in Washington D.C., Sacramento and throughout L.A. County. It's our future.
And that's The Business Perspective.
Comments
Their analysis, based on Congressional Budget Office data, concludes that by far, the single largest contributor to the deficit are the Bush-era tax cuts. The second leading cause is the decrease in revenue brought on by the recession. In third place are the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These three items account for nearly 90% of the project deficits over the next decade. Despite the massive tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy during the Bush years, unemployment stands at historic levels. The notion that tax cuts for businesses and the wealthy automatically leads to job growth is a myth that should finally be laid to rest. As an employer, I am more concerned about what benefit I derive from my tax contributions than the absolute amount I pay.
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