Let's get to work on a jobs stimulus (JESSE JAGMO CALLS FOR GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER OF ECONOMY)

Chicago Sun-times ^ | November 10, 2009 | JESSE JACKSON

[Chi-townChief]

Unemployment has soared above 10 percent, but that figure doesn't count those forced to work part-time, those who have given up in despair, young people who were never able to get hired. There are now 25 million people unemployed.

For African Americans, it is worse. African Americans are experiencing a silent depression. Unemployment is more than 18 percent; underemployment even higher. And among black teens, unemployment is more than 40 percent.

This is combined with a staggering loss of wealth among what was the emerging African-American middle class -- a group devastated by the collapse of the housing bubble. African-Americans were prime targets of mortgage companies peddling misleading mortgages, with low entry rates, hidden fees and exploding interest-rate escalation clauses. Having redlined urban areas for decades, mortgage brokers then targeted them for subprime mortgages. Too many families aspiring to own their own homes assumed that their jobs were secure and that they could always remortgage after their low entry rates expired -- and got caught.

Now foreclosures eradicate the value of neighboring homes, even when the homeowners pay their mortgage. Loss of jobs endangers more homes. As prices go down, homes are worth less than their mortgages, so families can't refinace. And increasingly, young men and women can't find jobs to help their families in the crunch.

"The untold story is that between unemployment, a significant drop in property values, the wave of foreclosures and a lack of credit, there is a whole generation of African-American wealth that is disappearing," said Jean Pogge, executive vice president of ShoreBank, a community bank serving minorities in Chicago.

Economists now project that unemployment will continue to rise next year, probably to more than 11 percent. That will mean unemployment rates of more than 50 percent for black teenagers. Worse, many believe the recovery will be a jobless one, with corporate profits, the stock market, and of course, Wall Street recovering years before the jobs come back.

The federal government must act. What we need now are direct employment projects: an urban corps that will employ young people and provide them with work in everything from cleaning parks to refitting buildings; a green corps that will employ people directly in reforesting America and fixing up national parks. Congress needs to expand the money going to infrastructure projects and put construction workers to work in repairing sewers and roads. States and localities should get aid on the condition that they sustain employment.

But more than that, we need a fundamental commitment to rebuild America -- and to make certain that the jobs are kept in America. The president should lay out a 10-year program to make America energy independent that includes public investment in the green equivalents of projects like the Tennessee Valley Authority and Hoover Dam. This also would include major investments in wind farms and solar energy, the refitting of buildings and modernization of America's electrical distribution infrastructure. These investments should be combined with buy-America provisions, ensuring those taxpayers' dollars are spent on putting people to work here. America needs to help lead the new green industrial revolution -- but we won't succeed without a clear policy to ensure that we make things in America again.

In the short term, we should finance this construction and put people to work. We should commit now to pay for it over time, taxing Wall Street with a securities transaction tax that would slow down speculation and generate more than $100 billion a year.

But these are details. What is needed is commitment and energy. Nothing is more devastating than a long-term depression that crushes hope, squanders skills and leaves men and women in poverty. We need action, experimentation and bold efforts now.

jjackson@rainbowpush.org

[Chi-townChief]

Maybe Brother Jesse can just get us all set up with some beer distributorships.

[VeniVidiVici]

"The untold story is that between unemployment, a significant drop in property values, the wave of foreclosures and a lack of credit, there is a whole generation of African-American wealth that is disappearing," said Jean Pogge, executive vice president of ShoreBank, a community bank serving minorities in Chicago.

That's ok. I'm sure reparations are just around the corner.

[Tax Government]

Maybe the government should deed each willing unemployed person 40 fertile acres of federal land on the condition that he/she farm it. Isn’t that the kind of thing our great, great, great grandparents found themselves doing?

[Red Boots]

In the short term, we should finance this construction and put people to work. We should commit now to pay for it over time, taxing Wall Street with a securities transaction tax that would slow down speculation and generate more than $100 billion a year.

Somehow I just knew a new tax was in there somewhere.

[skeeter]

Jesse’s gonna start having workshops on corporate shakedowns.

[Nervous Tick]

>> For African Americans, it is worse. African Americans are experiencing a silent depression. Unemployment is more than 18 percent; underemployment even higher. And among black teens, unemployment is more than 40 percent.

Hey Jesse. Ya think maybe part of the problem is that any black youngster who wants to stay in school and learn is ostracized by his homies and called an Oreo?

And maybe another part of the problem is the 60 percent out of wedlock birthrate among blacks.

But I guess both of those things, as well as all the other rot in the black community, is whitey’s fault. Especially that worst of all whities, George Bush.

[Tamatoa]

I do not see anywhere under his plan that will directly benefit blacks in a positive way except cleaning roads, parks and other dead end jobs. The blacks are suffering more under a black president. Go figure.

[broken_arrow1]

Slaves never have to worry about food or water.

[rcrngroup]

And yet the dumb ass black community will vote 98% for 0bozo & the demoRATs in a heart beat if the election were held today, and more than likely in 2010 & 2012. The 98% are not Christians or American patriots, they are socialist slime, always trying to get back at the “white man”. They are too stupid to realize that they are plantation slaves to the liberal-socialist-fascist-commie pig 0bozo & the demoRATs & the left-wing media.

[Aria]

I’ve long suspected that our “jobless recovery” (recovery for who - Soros and Goldman?) doesn’t bother zero at all....another crisis that he’ll have to fix by confiscating more from We The People and redistributing it to blacks and muslims - his real constituency.

[DonaldC]

Most people I know no longer differentiate between white America, black america, asian america, etc. Why can’t the government and the few remaining race baiting groups let race go.

[LibFreeUSA]

NOT WITHOUT A REVOLUTION!!!

[Clink]

Jesse is in Cincinnati today protesting that defaulting on your mortgage is a “civil rights” issue.

[BerniesFriend]

The federal government must act.

uh..jesse..that is how we got into this mess in the first place..

[scottdeus12]

“...what was the emerging African-American middle class — a group devastated by the collapse of the housing bubble. African-Americans were prime targets of mortgage companies peddling misleading mortgages, with low entry rates, hidden fees and exploding interest-rate escalation clauses.”

Jesse, you’ve been saying this for years. You are an irrelevant race-baiter. No one cares.

[No_More_Harkin]

What does “Jagmo” stand for?
Also, why does every lib think that we need to create jobs by using the government?

[Towed_Jumper]

“Maybe the government should deed each willing unemployed person 40 fertile acres of federal land on the condition that he/she farm it.”

With Jesse’s 40-acres located in Liberia.

[dforest]

Absolutely nothing which he advocates generates or fuels an economy.

Whats the use for nice parks, clean cities etc. if there is nothing but printed up or Chinese money to pay all the downtrodden?

How much waste and graft Jesse?

[FrankR]

"For African Americans, it is worse. African Americans are experiencing a silent depression. Unemployment is more than 18 percent; underemployment even higher. And among black teens, unemployment is more than 40 percent. "

Seems that is the same song that has been playing for the past 50 years...getting sorta old, isn't it?

Jesse - like many of his brethren - doesn't see that "African Americans" are the ONLY ONES that can help "African Americans".

Even if all of his santa's wish list came true, and every black was given a CEO job and guaranteed a never-ending bank balance of a million bucks, they would not be happy until they stop thinking of themselves and "victims"...and it is the black leaders, i.e. jesse jackson, sharpton, wright, obama, etc., who put those notions in their brain from cradle to grave.

Teaching them "whitey hate" will not realize their dreams for them. Only an idiot, or obama (but I repeat myself), thinks that whites are still oppressing blacks. The media acts like the rest of us depend on seeing eye dogs everyday and can't see what is going on.

They never report on the typical "black attitude", always in anger, always in rage format. It's like they spent so many years trying to "out populate" whites, they didn't take time to teach values and morals.

Rev. Jesse always preaching about not liking blacks because of their color - he's wrong - it's not the color, it's the attitude and the constant worry that something said or done will be construed as racist. We're tired of walking on eggshells in a country founded on free speech.

Even at the grocery store, I find myself getting into the line for the cashier without a permanent POUT on his/her face. These folks have the "attitude" and are RUDE. Oh, the black couple who checked out in front of you get all smiles and giggles...you get a pert silence and rude reaction to anything you say.

Call me a stereotyper, but perception is reality.

These people are so infused with hate, all of the money in existence and the best jobs on the planet will appease them. This is why redistribution of wealth isn't going to work. Take all the money in America, throw it in a pot, and give every man, woman, and child an equal share, and in two years time the previously rich will be rich again, and the poor will be poor again.

Character is the key...not handouts. All these years we've heard the public service announcement proclaiming "We don't want a handout, just a hand.". Well, no...what they want is a handout. Telling them "no" is like refusing to give a dollar a street thug.

So Jesse Jagmo...whoever you are...you don't need to call for a Government Takeover...your man-child obama is already doing that for you. But, I guess America as a whole will wind up like Detroit, Washington DC or Atlanta...when the infrastructure crumbles and houses are selling for $7 apeice, you'll be crying the blues about that too.

[Darth Reardon]

“Having redlined urban areas for decades, mortgage brokers then targeted them for subprime mortgages.”

So much could, should, be said about this single sentence. I’ll just leave it at pointing out his implied lie, that mortgage brokers chose to give them the subprime loans when they could have given them prime loans (yeah, they could have given them loans with the same terms as prime, but the risk would still be the same).