Guest post (from Next New Deal) Richard Kirsch, Senior Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute
What is the single biggest economic problem facing people early in this century? It is not the budget deficit or national debt. It is the eroding and disappearing of good jobs. People with good jobs – jobs that provide decent pay and benefits and the flexibility to be able to take care of one’s family – are the fuel of the economy and the basis for broadly shared prosperity. Good jobs, and the things that go with them – a good education, affordable health care, and a secure retirement – are the very definition of a successful economy.
Four years after the official end of the Great Recession, the real economy – not corporate profits or the stock market – remains stalled. The proportion of Americans working is the lowest in 30 years, or basically since women started entering the work force in large numbers. Most of the jobs that have been created since the recession pay low wages. Long-term unemployment also is at levels well above anything since the Great Depression. And income for all but the richest has gone down.
So why does Washington and elite discussion remain focused on the debt and deficit? And what will it take to move the politics of the nation to take on what the public correctly understands is the central economic issue?
The fundamental reason that good jobs is not the defining issue is that an economy in which some people have a lot while more and more scrape buy is working just fine for the wealthy and huge corporations that control our politics and media. Personally, the rich are doing better than ever, as their inflated pay and corporate profits are supported by the financialization of the U.S. economy, low-wage service sector jobs here. and low-wage manufacturing and importable services abroad. The middle class in the U.S. may be getting squeezed and shrinking, but it’s still broad and big enough to fuel demand for U.S. goods and services. The disasters to come from the lack of retirement savings, high student loan debt, and long-term wage stagnation are not stopping the rich from getting richer today.
The interest of the ruling elites has been powerfully popularized by the right’s highly disciplined, focused narrative on the national debt and budget deficits. While the motivation here is ideological – to shrink those government services and activities that improve social welfare or regulate the markets – the weapon has been convincing Americans that the national debt is an unconscionable burden on our children, that government deficits are as unsustainable as household deficits, and that taxes are paid to a wasteful, corrupt government. Instead, the right insists that businesses are the “job creators” and that any effort to interfere with what business thinks is best will put people out of work.
As a result, the great public concern about the lack of good jobs doesn’t translate into support for government action – or any action, other than to do your personal best and pray that things get better. People don’t believe that there are solutions for good jobs in a global economy. They certainly don’t see that government has a role in creating jobs or that tax dollars could be spent on effective job creation. And while they support regulations to improve job quality, they are very susceptible to pro-business arguments.
What do we do about it? Here’s an overview of a strategy. One, we need to make good jobs the central, driving focus of progressive discourse, just as the right has put deficits/debt/limited government at the center of their policy, politics, and communication. That requires clearly linking every issue to the need to create good jobs that will enable working- and middle-class families to have opportunity and security. In doing that, we need to be talking about good jobs in a multi-dimensional way. Good jobs are about having enough pay to support your family, flexibility to allow you to care for your family – from children to elders – and access to good, affordable education, affordable health care, and a secure retirement.
Two, we need to center our discourse on good jobs in a powerful, values-based story about how we create an America that works for all of us. This story starts with a vision of an America that provides liberty, justice, and prosperity for all. It reinforces the notion that people believe but rarely hear: working families and the middle class are the real engines of the economy. It provides examples from American history of how decisions we have made together built the great American middle class. And it follows those with a vision and example of how we can make decisions together in the 21st century to create good jobs for everyone in America. It clearly identifies who is responsible for the mess we’re in – the super-rich and corporations who game the system at our expense and buy off our government. And finally, the story empowers people as the heroes who can take action for change.
Third, we need to champion a program of policies that will work to create good jobs. We have policies and innovative ideas that will work today, many of which will be discussed on June 4th in Washington when the Roosevelt Institute holds a daylong conference on A Bold Approach to the Jobs Emergency. Certainly, we will need to continue to develop policy solutions that address major challenges like globalization and technology. But we should be clear that it is in our power now to redirect economic policy to dramatically improve the quality of the jobs Americans now hold and to create millions of new good jobs for people who are out of work.
Fourth, we need to organize campaigns for good jobs, starting with a focus at the local and state level. Even though municipalities and states don’t have as many resources as the federal government, there are policies that can be taken locally to create a new economic paradigm. The success of those policies will be more immediately visible to people. The lessons learned in building popular support for these policies will be transferable to other places and to the federal level.
Finally, we need to make good jobs a defining issue of the 2016 election. To reach that goal, we will need to do all of the above, with a strategy that brings the work together for the 2016 election. In 2014, we should focus on a few U.S. Senate and congressional elections to experiment with the best approaches. We can take a page from specific strategies used from 2007-2008, which made health care the central issue of the 2008 election. American’s historical optimism is being deeply challenged by the squeezing, and indeed crushing, of the middle class. Our job is to rekindle that optimism and make it a powerful force for change. We can build an America that works for all of us by building a movement to demand good jobs for everyone.
Richard Kirsch is a Senior Fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, a Senior Adviser to USAction, and the author of Fighting for Our Health. He was National Campaign Manager of Health Care for America Now during the legislative battle to pass reform.
On June 4th, the Roosevelt Institute will bring together leading thinkers, activists, and policymakers for A Bold Approach to the Jobs Emergency: Setting the Political Agenda for 2014 and 2016, a daylong conference in Washington, D.C. that will focus on America's desperate need for more and better jobs. Today, Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Richard Kirsch, who will take part in a panel on "Creating Momentum for More Good Jobs," explains why job quality is as important as job quantity.
Former Congressman Dave Obey joined Robert Kraig from Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Jon Peacock from the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, and Jennifer Beason from Families USA. For an audio recording of the media call click here.
Over 28% of Governor Walker’s budget comes from the federal government. Much of this money, including spending on transportation, education, corrections, and many social service programs is subject to the annual appropriations process, and must be approved by Congress each year. Medicaid on the other hand is a mandatory appropriation which continues automatically except in the exceedingly unlikely event that a new law is passed by both houses and signed by the President. The enhanced BadgerCare money constitutes less than 5% of the federal dollars Walker is already taking in his two year budget plan.
Despite the fact that the enhanced dollars for BadgerCare under the health care reform law is much more secure than much of the federal money that comes to Wisconsin, one of the chief arguments offered by Governor Walker and his legislative allies for turning down the money is the alleged uncertainty of the funding.
"I'm amazed that the Governor's budget would result in the state turning down more than $4 billion in federal funds", said Dave Obey, former Wisconsin Congressman and former Chair of the Appropriations Committee. "If Wisconsin does that I never want to hear ever again any politician complain that Wisconsin not getting its fair share of federal dollars. Wisconsin will be short changing itself."
“It is a disgrace that opponents of taking new federal dollars for BadgerCare are repeating over and over again a claim they must know to be false,” said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “It damages the fiber of our democracy when political leaders deliberately mislead the public rather than stating the real reasons underlying their actions. Propagating the utter falsehood that enhanced BadgerCare funds are in doubt distracts public attention from the critical moral issue of guaranteeing that every Wisconsinite has access to affordable health coverage, no matter what.”
"The federal government is simply not going to walk away from its funding commitment to expanding Medicaid, said Jennifer Beeson, Director of Government Affairs for Families USA. “The Medicaid expansion is a cornerstone of the President's signature legislative achievement, the Affordable Care Act. The President and supporters of the health care law in Congress will not agree to cuts in the federal funding of Medicaid."
“The argument that we shouldn’t count on the enhanced federal Medicaid funding is a red herring,” said Jon Peacock, Research Director of the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families. “More than a fourth of the funding in the Governor’s budget comes from the federal government, and much of that funding is less secure than the federal Medicaid dollars that could fill the current hole in BadgerCare coverage.”
Peacock added that by relying on regular Medicaid funds to cover a smaller number of adults, the state is actually taking a greater risk because the normal federal matching rate for Medicaid can decline as average state income rises. That’s in contrast to the matching rate for the enhanced federal funding for the Medicaid expansion, because that rate is locked in by statute and can’t fall below 90%. The decision whether to accept federal funds for Wisconsin’s BadgerCare program is currently before the Joint Finance Committee before going to the full Legislature next month.
SIGN our PETITION urging state legislators to accept federal BadgerCare money.
The decision whether to accept federal funds for Wisconsin’s BadgerCare program is currently before the Joint Finance Committee before going to the full Legislature next month. We will have more on this issue tomorrow.
Pressure is mounting on State Senators to reverse Walker’s plan to reject billions in federal dollars for BadgerCare. Last week featured major media events in Eau Claire and Green Bay urging Senators Terry Moulton, Frank Lasee and Robert Cowles to join other GOP Senators to take the federal money, which also received substantial local media coverage. (Eau Claire coverage) (Green Bay coverage)
Rep. Dana Wachs speaks at Eau Claire media conference and Sen. Dave Hansen at Green Bay event last week
Since the Governor’s decision, over 230 Wisconsin organizations from across the political spectrum have called on the legislature to reverse this plan and accept enhanced federal funds for BadgerCare, including 17 hospitals, 44 medical organizations, 47 businesses and 10 newspaper editorial boards. On top of this, County Boards across Wisconsin, including Winnebago county, are considering a resolution calling on the Wisconsin Legislature to accept these federal funds.
As of last week, there are now enough public declarations of opposition to Walker’s plan by GOP Senators to block it in the Senate.
At the Neenah event on Tuesday , leaders called on Senator Ellis to join these bipartisan voices to say “Yes” to BadgerCare, to not reject these federal funds. “Accepting the federal Medicaid funds means thousands in Wisconsin will have access to basic health care - estimated over 4,900 people in Winnebago County alone,” said Susan Locke, Winnebago County Supervisor. “Which is why the Winnebago County board will soon be considering a resolution, as has 14 other counties, calling on the legislature to accept these federal dollars for Badgercare.”
“Governor Walker’s dangerous scheme to throw tens of thousands of people off BadgerCare and reject billions of dollars in federal funds to expand health care access is losing support every day,” said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “If enough legislators have the moral courage to stand up for the health care freedom of their own constituents, Walker’s misguided plan will be rejected.”
Zoe Drella suffers from Wilson's disease and BadgerCare helped her get a new liver. She spoke at Neenah Public Library today
The decision to accept federal funds for BadgerCare is currently before the Joint Finance Committee, and may be voted on within the next couple of weeks. Over 230 Organizations who have publicly take a stance on accepting federal funds for BadgerCare.
The decision to reject federal funds for BadgerCare will be decided in this state budget, and has been one of the most controversial elements of Walker’s budget plan. Walker’s decision to reject billions of federal Medicaid dollars will cost the state more in this budget and force thousands of residents off BadgerCare.
At the media event leaders will release a list of Wisconsin organizations that are calling on Senator Ellis to stand with those bipartisan senators who oppose this plan, and local County Supervisors will discuss local efforts at the county level to address this issue.
What: Media conference to call on Senator Mike Ellis to accept federal money for BadgerCare.
When: Tuesday May 14th, 10:15 AM
Where: Neenah Public Library, 240 E Wisconsin Ave
Who: Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Outagamie County Supervisor Kathy Groat, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin, Organizing for Action Fox Cities and local citizens with experience with BadgerCare.
SIGN our petition urging state legislators, including Sen. Mike Ellis, to accept federal money for BadgerCare in state budget.
At a January 2011 news conference, Citizen Action of Wisconsin and our allies warned that similar quasi-private jobs initiatives in 7 states led to misuse of public funds, excessive salaries and bonuses, questionable subsidy awards, conflicts of interests in subsidy awards, and exaggerated jobs creation claims. The fundamental problem is not mismanagement, but the whole concept that public jobs money should be spent by a privatized organization which deliberately lacks rigorous public accountability and oversight.
“Yesterday’s decision by Republicans to throw another $59 million dollars of the public’s money at Governor Walker’s discredited jobs agency is an outrageous betrayal of the tens of thousands of Wisconsinites struggling to find work,” said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “Scolding and minor tinkering will not fix the problems at WEDC. The entire concept is fundamentally flawed. The issues at WEDC are deeply connected to its structure as a private agency, expressly designed to dole out taxpayer money without rigorous accountability and transparency.”
“Walker’s experiment with a privatized jobs agency that lacks any semblance of accountability for the use of public money is an embarrassing failure,” said Jennifer Epps-Addison, Economic Justice Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “Wisconsin families should not have to wait any longer for effective and accountable jobs programs. We call on the legislature to close Gov. Walker's disgraced private jobs agency, and create a publicly accountable and transparent state agency to focus on desperately needed economic development and job creation.”
The event was led by Citizen Action of Wisconsin, State Senator Dave Hansen, County Supervisor Dan Robinson, the local faith-based group JOSHUA, and Wisconsin Jobs Now.
Pressure is mounting on State Senators to reverse Walker’s plan to reject billions in federal dollars for BadgerCare. There was also a major media event in Eau Claire earlier in the week urging Senator Terry Moulton to join other GOP Senators to take the federal money, which also received substantial local media coverage. Since the Governor’s decision, over 230 Wisconsin organizations from across the political spectrum have called on the legislature to reverse this plan and accept enhanced federal funds for BadgerCare, including 17 hospitals, 44 medical organizations, 47 businesses and 10 newspaper editorial boards. On top of this, County Boards across Wisconsin, including Brown County, are considering a resolution calling on the Wisconsin Legislature to accept these federal funds.
As of this week, there are now enough public declarations of opposition to Walker’s plan by GOP Senators to block it in the Senate.
At the Green Bay event on Thursday, leaders called on Senator Cowles and Senator Lasee to join these bipartisan voices to say “Yes” to BadgerCare, to not reject these federal funds.
Sen Dave Hansen speaks on Thursday in Brown County
“Accepting federal funds to strengthen BadgerCare not a partisan issue,” said State Senator Dave Hansen, whose district flanks both Senator’s districts. “It is about making sure that the hard working people of Wisconsin who have suffered so much since the recession can at least count on having the medical care they need and new jobs to go to.”
“Accepting the federal Medicaid funds means the working poor will have access to basic health care - over 7,000 people in Brown County alone. It means lower health care costs for Brown County residents when they visit local hospitals, who won't have so many unreimbursed expenses,” said Dan Robinson, Brown County Supervisor and Vice-Chair of the Human Services Committee. “Having this money available for BadgerCare makes sense for Brown County, which is why the County Board is considering a resolution to support accepting the federal funds.”
Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Executive Director, Robert Kraig addresses media in Green Bay
“Governor Walker’s dangerous scheme to throw tens of thousands of people off BadgerCare and reject billions of dollars in federal funds to expand health care access is losing support every day,” said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “If enough legislators have the moral courage to stand up for the health care freedom of their own constituents, Walker’s misguided plan will be rejected.”
The decision to accept federal funds for BadgerCare is currently before the Joint Finance Committee, and may be voted on within the next couple of weeks.
Over 230 Organizations who have publicly take a stance on accepting federal funds for BadgerCare
Since the Governor’s decision, over 230 Wisconsin organizations from across the political spectrum have called on the legislature to reverse this plan and to accept the federal funds for BadgerCare available to Wisconsin including 17 hospitals, 44 medical organizations, 47 businesses and 10 newspaper editorial boards. On top of this, the Brown County Board is considering a resolution calling on the Wisconsin Legislature to accept these federal funds.
Leaders call on Senator Cowles and Senator Lasee to join these bipartisan voices to say “Yes” to BadgerCare, to not reject these federal funds.
Sen. Dave Hansen speaks to the media today in Green Bay.
“Accepting federal funds to strengthen BadgerCare not a partisan issue,” said State Senator Dave Hansen, whose district flanks both Senator’s districts. “It is about making sure that the hard working people of Wisconsin who have suffered so much since the recession can at least count on having the medical care they need and new jobs to go to.”
Brown County Supervisor Dan Robinson at media conference today.
“Accepting the federal Medicaid funds means the working poor will have access to basic health care - over 7,000 people in Brown County alone. It means lower health care costs for Brown County residents when they visit local hospitals, who won't have so many unreimbursed expenses,” said Dan Robinson, Brown County Supervisor and Vice-Chair of the Human Services Committee. “Having this money available for BadgerCare makes sense for Brown County, which is why the County Board is considering a resolution to support accepting the federal funds.”
The decision to accept federal funds for BadgerCare is currently being debated in the Governor’s budget, and will be voted on within a few weeks.
Over 230 Organizations who have publicly take a stance on accepting federal funds for BadgerCare.
Today the legislature's budget writing committee (Joint Finance) will likely approve a $14 million increase for Gov. Walker's failed jobs agency, WEDC. With that additional money WEDC would receive $128 million over the next two years We believe the recent audit and 2 years of repeated failure of the public trust require immediate action to close WEDC and create a publicly accountable and transparent state agency focused on economic development and job creation.
Citizen Action of Wisconsin and Good Jobs First predicted WEDC's failure upon its creation in January 2011. Read our media release below from January 13, 2011.
For Immediate Release--January 13, 2011 Contact: Robert Kraig (414) 322-5324
Walker Commerce Department Privatization Scheme a Risky Venture
Misuse of public funds, conflicts of interest, lack of accountability for public subsidies rampant in other states with this model
Madison: At a news conference on Thursday morning advocates for good jobs detailed serious concerns about Gov. Scott Walker’s plans to privatize the Commerce Department. The news conference included discussion of a new report by Good Jobs First, a national economic policy research center, which details how similar initiatives in 7 states have led to misuse of public funds, excessive salaries and bonuses, questionable subsidy awards, conflicts of interests in subsidy awards, and exaggerated jobs creation claims. “Privatization is not an effective way of improving state economic development and business recruitment performance,” said Philip Mattera, Research Director of Good Jobs First, and lead author of the report. “In fact, it may make things worse. Instead, we urge states to explore ways to make their existing economic development agencies more effective and accountable.”
“This is a return to the old patronage politics where Wisconsin economic development dollars and jobs are doled out based on political and corporate interests,” said Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin. “This privatization scheme makes it much more likely that precious state economic development dollars will be frittered away through cronyism and sweetheart deals. Given the desperate need for family sustaining jobs in Wisconsin, it is it is unconscionable to dole out Wisconsin jobs creation dollars without the highest public standards of accountability, fairness, and public transparency. Anything less is an affront to the Wisconsin tradition of good government.”
“This bill deal an especially regressive blow to ethics in state government,” said Brian Kennedy, President of AFT-Wisconsin, which represents close to 100 civil servants at the Department of Commerce. “The civil service was created in Wisconsin to prevent graft and corruption of public employees. When positions are removed from civil service, it opens the door for employees to be hired and fired as political favors.”
The full Good Jobs First Report can be downloaded at http://www.goodjobsfirst.org/sites/default/files/docs/pdf/powergrab.pdf
SIGN PETITION to State Legislators to accept federal money for BadgerCare
The decision to reject federal funds for BadgerCare will be decided in this state budget and has been one of the most controversial elements of Walker’s budget plan. Walker’s decision to reject billions of federal Medicaid dollars cost the state more money and force thousands of residents off BadgerCare.
At the news event leaders will release a list of Wisconsin organizations that are calling on Senator Cowles & Senator Lasee to accept federal funds for BadgerCare and Brown County Supervisors will discuss a resolution at the county level to address this issue.
What: Press conference to call on Senator Cowles/Lasee to say yes to BadgerCare When: Thursday May 9th, 2:30 PM Where: Brown County Courthouse, 100 s Jefferson, Green Bay Who: State Senator Dave Hansen, Citizen Action of Wisconsin, Brown County Supervisor Dan Robinson, JOSHUA, Wisconsin Jobs Now and local citizens with experience with BadgerCare.
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Zoe Drella suffers from Wilson's disease and BadgerCare helped her get a new liver. She spoke at Neenah Public Library today
