Editorial:
Conventions:
Don't look to Bush or Kerry for jobs

Aug 2, 2004

The Democratic Convention is over, the Republican is still a few weeks away. But without waiting for it, we can easily predict that the Republicans, like the Democrats, will talk about how devoted they are to our best interests.

Devoted? Devoted to screwing us maybe.

There are almost 11 million people without a job, and three million more forced to work at jobs that are part-time. Not to mention all the temporary workers. But Bush will get on that Republican Convention podium and tell us all we have to do is wait – his INCENTIVES, SUBSIDIES and TAX BREAKS will start producing jobs any day now. You'd think he'd be ashamed to tell that old lie again.

The corporations already got their incentives, subsidies and tax breaks. They didn't create jobs. They got rid of jobs. Point. End of story.

So what did John Kerry propose to do about jobs when got up at the Democratic Convention podium? First, give INCENTIVES to corporations to create jobs; second, give SUBSIDIES to corporate research and investment to create jobs; third, give TAX BREAKS to corporations to create jobs. Didn't his mother ever tell him not to lie?

Money to corporations doesn't create jobs – it increases profits. Twelve per cent of the total gross domestic product – all the goods and services created in this country by the labor of working people – went to corporate profits in this last quarter, an all-time record.

But no new jobs were created. And most of the lost jobs are still lost.

To create jobs, you pay money to put people to work to do the things that need to be done.

And there are tons of things just waiting to be done, if only government would use tax money to hire people to do them – new schools that should be built, children to be taught; playgrounds, parks and sports areas established and run; roads and bridges repaired; lighting, water and sewage systems rebuilt; dams and reservoirs repaired: public transportation resurrected, etc. etc. etc. Everyone of us can come up with a list of all the things government is responsible to provide – but less and less does it.

Put those millions of people to work, pay them decent money, provide them medical care and payments into a real pension – and see what happens to the economy, as they go out week after week, paycheck in hand to buy the things they need.

As we are surrounded by all the hullabaloo of these conventions, Democratic then Republican, we shouldn't let the balloons and confetti and scripted cheers make us forget what we know about these two parties. Neither one of them represent us.

Don't wait on Bush or Kerry to put people to work.

For that to happen we'll have to create some hullabaloo of our own.