Putting Americans to work

Friday, Nov. 21, 2008 | 2:09 a.m.

As the nation’s economy continues to sputter, it has become routine to read announcements of massive layoffs at major corporations. On Monday it was reported that banking giant Citigroup intends to slash 53,000 jobs on top of the 22,000 cuts it announced last month.

After a while, these numbers become numbing. Nevada’s unemployment rate in September, 7.3 percent, was at its highest point since 1985. The nation’s unemployment rate, 6.5 percent in September, was last reached in 1994.

The Labor Department also announced Thursday that new claims for unemployment benefits reached a 16-year high last week. There are now more than 4 million unemployment recipients, the highest number since 1982. President George W. Bush has said he would sign a bill extending those benefits an additional seven to 13 weeks beyond the regular 26-week benefit.

Considering that two-thirds of our economy is based on consumer spending, it does not bode well that the number of people without jobs continues to increase.

That is why President-elect Barack Obama and congressional Democrats should be commended for placing renewed emphasis on job creation. Democrats are now arguing that aggressive action to shore up the economy will boost employment and, importantly, consumer spending.

“That’s what an economic recovery is all about, putting people in America back to work ... Republicans in Congress seem not to have gotten that message — but come January, that logjam will break,” Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., told The Washington Post.

It’s hard to argue against that logic. We have expressed our desire on these pages to support a national job-creation program that would help build or replace roads, bridges, schools and sewer systems. Democrats, to their credit, are also looking at other options, including an energy plan that would create more “green” jobs.

From this point forward any recommended stimulus packages or bailouts that are adopted by Obama and Congress should have in mind the preservation of existing jobs or creation of new ones.

The Bush administration has little to show for its simplistic philosophy of tax cuts coupled with a hands-off approach to the free market. Those policies may have delivered short-term successes but the president’s legacy will be measured by long-term results, and on the employment front they’re looking like a train wreck. Action that sparks job growth should get America back on track.