The time for action

Tuesday, June 21, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

Nevadans are used to getting bad news about unemployment and the prospects for economic recovery. The U.S. Conference of Mayors, in a report released Monday on the economies of the nation’s largest cities, delivered more bad news. The Las Vegas metropolitan area, according to the report, enjoyed peak employment in the second quarter of 2007 but is not expected to return to that level until the third quarter of 2017. The news for Reno is even worse, with a return to peak employment not anticipated until beyond 2021.

Other cities nationwide face similar predicaments, prompting Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, president of the conference of mayors, to say: “It’s time for Congress to get on with the serious business of legislating short- and long-term solutions to our jobs crisis.”

Villaraigosa made sense when he called for greater government investment in projects such as road and bridge construction and for continued support of community development block grants. That makes sense because sustainable economic recovery will not be possible until this country replaces the jobs lost during the Great Recession.

Many corporations are sitting pretty because they’ve accumulated bundles of cash. As reported by The New York Times in a story that appeared Monday in the Sun, companies have become more willing to spend money on equipment. Not only are equipment prices dropping, but companies are also taking advantage of tax breaks that Congress provided for capital investment. That sounds like a good thing that can help companies grow.

The downside, according to the Times, is that those businesses aren’t hiring more workers. Company executives reason that the machines, many of which are made overseas, are less expensive than people.

That may help save companies money in the short run, but if unemployment remains high, who is going to be able to afford their products in the years to come? Conventional wisdom is that U.S. consumer spending accounts for roughly two-thirds of the nation’s economy. If fewer individuals are employed, it stands to reason that less money will flow through the economy.

That’s why Congress should spend more time finding ways to create jobs. Surely every member of Congress can point to an example of a crumbling highway or school in his or her district or state that is in dire need of replacement. They can certainly find ways to reward businesses with more tax incentives to create jobs while also encouraging greater investment in job training programs.

Instead, there is still too much partisan politicking in Washington that prevents jobs bills from moving forward. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat, pointed out the latest example Monday. The Republicans have filibustered proposed reauthorization of the Economic Development Administration, which has created 300,000 jobs over the past five years. The filibuster includes a long list of amendments that have nothing to do with getting more Americans back to work.

What Americans need is for Republicans in Congress to get on board. The public is tired of Senate Republicans who filibuster legislation aimed at job growth and House Republican leaders who have no plans to lower unemployment. The solution to ongoing crises such as battered housing markets and swelling welfare rolls is to turn the unemployed into taxpaying citizens who can afford not only their home mortgages, but also the new products that companies are making with their modern equipment.