Laser focus on jobs

The good news as Wall Street gives a thumbs-down to the “No taxes, No jobs” deficit-ceiling-deal (with its built-in automatic spending cuts virtually certain to kick in amid more Congressional gridlock) is that U.S. crude oil futures ended Thursday at $86.63 a barrel in New York — down $5.30! The bad news is that oil companies only use the futures price to justify increasing prices at the pump no matter what their profits have been lately.

Still, the GOP got out of the way of putting FAA employees and the 70,000 construction workers who were idled because of partisan posturing (over re-authorizing an important agency) back to work, and Friday’s unemployment figures are encouraging, because it’s clear that we need to encourage job creation so we can grow the spending power of the middle-class. Otherwise our consumer-based U.S. economy will continue to wallow in Teacession.

Demand is what causes hiring, not government policies, including tax rates. If we don’t increase earnings for most of the consumers in this country, there’s no reason for big or small companies to add staff, period. Families will continue to lose wealth, home values in most cities will continue to decline, and our standing in the world will follow our economy into a tail-spin, all because we were hoodwinked by messaging spin that says “leave tax rates lower for those who can afford to pay a little more” (those rates are at near-historic lows) while so many in the middle and lower economic brackets are suffering.

Unemployed Americans don’t want a government handout, they want to go back to work they’re proud to do.  Deductions & loopholes employed by major corporations ensure tax “rates” aren’t a real issue. Want to read something really amazing? Raising income taxes on high-income people won’t push them out of your state. Seriously.