Under-Employment, Oil, Autos & Handouts

Dr. Errington Thompson

My editors must pull their hair out almost every month. I have promised, (not one of those cross-your-heart kind of promises, but one of those I have my fingers crossed kind of promises), that I would have my articles in way ahead of the deadline. That really hasn’t happened. This month I just didn’t like the topics that were popping into my head.
On Thursday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released November’s unemployment numbers. Now I have something to talk about.

533,000! That’s not job loss in a year. Those are jobs lost in November alone!

The American economy has lost over 1.9 million jobs since January 2008. This is the worst monthly job loss since the 1970s. The under-employment rate rose to 12.5%. Only one year ago it sat around 8%. Under-employment is a better measure of job market weakness than the un-employment rate. These are people who have part-time jobs, but want full-time work — and their numbers are staggering.

Remember way back in October, before the election, when John McCain
told us that the “fundamentals of our economy are strong?” Now don’t
think just because the election is over that many Congressmen are
thinking our economy is okay, and it will turn around at any minute. If
so, I have some sorry news for those economic optimists. In the words
of the formerly omnipresent Donald Rumsfeld, “It is going to be a long
hard slog.”

General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford are coming to the American people
asking for $25 billion. (I’m sorry…that number has been revised
upward. They are now asking for $34 billion). AIG got an infusion of
cash somewhere around $75 billion, and only six weeks later came back
and got another $25 billion. I suspect other industries will be asking
the American taxpayer for still more handouts. Therefore, it is
imperative that our lawmakers think long and hard about the
ramifications of handing out money.

Here are my thoughts on the auto industry bailout: The American economy
cannot stand to lose three million auto-related jobs! If this statement
is true, then we need to do something to help the auto industry.

First, we need to tax the oil companies for $20 billion. They have made
record profits, and it is past time for them to help out the country.
Second, we need to freeze oil prices so that the oil companies don’t
try to get their money back all at once. Third, the auto industry needs
to make some concessions. I’m not talking about concessions from the
auto workers, but from the auto industry itself.

No more making cars under three different names, especially when the
model of the car is basically identical. This is redundant and
wasteful. If we are going to risk this kind of taxpayer money on them,
then there need to be no more factory closures and no more layoffs for
five years.

What is needed is retooling factories to make hybrids, electric cars,
hydrogen cars, and more efficient gasoline cars — at affordable prices!
Also, we need to make cars that last more than two or three years.
Americans cannot afford to buy a new car every couple of years. The
technology exists and needs to be employed. Let’s just do it.

Once the auto industry has agreed to these concessions, the American
taxpayer should pony up the rest of the money that they are requesting.

President-elect Barack Obama is putting together an incredibly talented
economic team. Unfortunately, he doesn’t take office until the 20th of
January. In order to get out of this mess, we’re all going to have to
tighten our belts. Once the economy begins turning around, we will then
need to restrict spending and balance the federal budget.

With the unemployment rate at 6.7%, our economy needs help, and it
needs help now. Barack Obama and his team cannot take control of this
situation soon enough.