Open Left

We need a progressive industrial policy

Green jobs seems too easy. Many perhaps most jobs will always be mundane work like plumbing, electrician, librarian, and so on. We have an industrial policy but it's not geared towards workers who make up the majority of Americans. It's geared exclusively to corporations and investors. We need to balance the interests of workers (who need jobs) and their employers (who need consumers here in the US).

I'd like to see quotas for specific industries with corporate tax rates set to zero for companies that hire exclusively within the US. When the quota is hit, then the corporate tax rate equalizes. That'll be the day but this sort of approach would reward companies for keeping jobs here yet allow them some flexibility. Most important, it would ensure a minimum number of jobs are available when recessions and depressions hit.

One big reason for this jobless recovery is that many of the jobs people would get are overseas. Good luck getting those back without a government policy reversal.

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by: TSlavin @ Fri Jun 26, 2009 at 10:30:10 AM CDT