The main issue in the 2012 elections is jobs. The main way to get the economy out of the current recession is job creation. The only way for real job is for a massive reconstruction of the country's infrastructure now.

There are no meaningful fundamental jobs bills coming out of Congress because the republicans don't want them; because Wall Street doesn't want them. They are fighting to maintain an artificially high unemployment figure so they can use it to blame it on the Obama administration in the 2012 elections. It is they who have blocked every jobs bill and minimized job creation stimulus. They campaigned on "jobs, jobs, jobs" in 2010 but have done nothing since – nothing. Worse than that, republican governors like Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Mitch Daniels of Indiana and Rick Scott of Florida have refused federal high speed rail construction money which would have created thousands of immediate and long-term jobs. A special case is Chris Christie of New Jersey who shut down the construction of a sorely needed tunnel between New Jersey and New York. There was a loss of 6,000 jobs and the long-term benefit of a new tunnel. Additionally, Christie lost $400 million in federal education funds because of gross incompetence. This pattern is prevalent in states with republican governors. 50 million people are affected by unemployment. Republicans think that is a hot issue for them in 2012.



The only way to get out of this decrepit recession and to bring about longer term job and economic stability is for massive federal government intrusion into the economy with massive amounts of capital infusion. Government must become the first resort for reconstruction of the economy, separate from the so-called "market economy". The "market economy" has failed and/or refused to rebuild and maintain the country's infrastructure.



Nowhere in the constitution does it say what the country's economy should be. The responsibility of government is to guarantee a full measure of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness;" that includes a decent job, a decent home and a healthy and happy life for all its inhabitants. As President Franklin Roosevelt said in 1944 in his Economic Bill of Rights, that Americans have "the right to a useful and remunerative job in the industries or shops or farms or mines of the nation, and the right to earn enough to provide adequate food and clothing and recreation." That is a damn sight closer to the meaning and intent of the constitution than the pursuit of profits and happiness for the 400 wealthiest Americans who have more wealth than the bottom 150 million people in our country.



Massive government involvement in the economy should be in competition with the "free market" not necessarily aimed at ending it. The "free market" could play a useful role in this development if it understands that maximum profits cannot be its goal. It must make itself useful to the common good.



There are several sectors of the economy which require direct massive government intervention. President Barack Obama said, "the government shouldn't be in the automobile production business." The successful loan intervention in GM and Chrysler proves how wrong he was. Government can and does do it right. Ask anyone if they want to give up their medicare and social security. Ask GM workers how they feel about government loans. GM posted a profit of $3.2 billion in the first quarter of 2011. It is expected that they will hire 4,200 additional workers and hope to reach employment levels of 2008 soon according to Rep. Gary Peters, D-Mich. Peters also said that the parts and feeder plants are also hiring. So government does work when it is allowed to work without deliberate obstacles.



Here's how we can put government to work.



In 2009, the American Society of Civil Engineers made a study of the nation's infrastructure. They gave an overall rating of "D" to the national infrastructure. They estimated that it would cost $2.2 trillion over the next 5 years to rebuild the infrastructure. Just imagine how many jobs these projects would create. The last time such a massive overhaul of the country's bridges, tunnels, rivers, lakes, forests, ports, dams, etc was during Roosevelt's WPA jobs creation program.



Some of the main areas of the economy which require government action to produce massive job growth for immediate and long-term health of our country and its people are:



· Energy: The government can purchase petroleum on the open market, refine it in its own refineries and retail it at honest prices in its own network of gasoline stations. This would create tens of thousands of jobs and stop the price gouging at the pump by Exxon-Mobil and the other oil monopolies.



· Electricity: Twenty five percent of the nation's electricity is publicly owned and their consumer rates are substantially lower than private utilities. The government is providing billions of dollars for wind, solar and other renewable energy sources. This should not continue to be a give-away. The public should own a substantial share of these enterprises and share in the profits.



· Transportation: The government should build Amtrak into a uniform interstate and intrastate transportation system. This should be part of an integrated transportation plan of rail, high speed rail, bus, ferry, light rail, air and shipping. Without such a program, our country cannot keep abreast of other industrialized countries.



· Housing: A long-term federal housing program is fundamental for the revitalization of the construction industry. The program should take into account all aspects of life that impact on housing such as demographics, climate, urban, suburban and rural needs, fair and equitable housing loans and/or rent. Such a construction program, would permanently end unemployment in the building trades and will require additional tens of thousands of construction workers. This program would also revitalize related industries.



· Schools: It is to our country's shame that public school buildings throughout the country have become decrepit, dangerous and useless. They are a menace to the health, safety and education of our children. A national school reconstruction program is needed.



· Banking: The government should establish a national bank to finance all these projects and to engage in all phases of banking so as to provide fair loans at reasonable rates for consumers, small businesses and others who need banking services. Such a banking system would operate along side and in competition with the present private banking system. Credit unions, Savings and Loan associations and small Main Street banks which did not get caught up in the mortgage swindle, already could provide a 50 state network on which to build. This type of public service banking came out of the 1930's New Deal. A good example is the public bank established in North Dakota that still operates profitably today.



All of these projects would produce profits which can be used to pay for providing services such as health care and education. The hundreds of billions of dollars in wages and salaries and the purchase and sale of commodities for the reconstruction would create an on-going bonanza of tax income which could help in reducing the national debt.



Where will all the money come from for the job creation reconstruction program? First, Wall Street should start paying back the trillions in bailout money, just like GM is doing. Next, tax loopholes, such as the one GE uses to avoid paying taxes should be eliminated. Tax subsidies to the oil monopolies, GE, corporate farms and other corporations should be eliminated. A national transfer tax should be levied on all stock and bond transactions. Restore the Reagan, Bush I and Bush II tax cuts. The discriminatory cap on Social Security taxes should be eliminated. Workers pay social security taxes on every dollar earned; the rich pay no taxes on income over $106,000. The military budget should be cut by 50 percent. Finally, if still needed, the government should float project bonds for reconstruction.

Photo by Takver/cc by 2.0/Flickr