Good grief…
The left is hoping that radical union organizer Andy Stern can help them turn the economy around.
Here’s a clue, leftists… Taking advice from a committed socialist on job creation will not likely lift the US out of the Obama Depression.
Barack Obama is pictured with close friend and union thug Andy Stern (on right).
Leftist wunderkind Ezra Klein of Journolist fame believes former SEIU President and radical socialist Andy Stern holds the key to job creation.
Sure he does.
Here’s one of Stern’s ideas— Don’t cut jobs, Cut hours:
1) Adopt Job Sharing
This is an idea, supported by Kevin Hassett from the American Enterprise Institute and Dean Baker from the Center for Economic and Policy Research, that could rally broad support from the left and the right.
Both experts testified earlier this year that Congress should consider a plan that enables companies to avoid shedding employees by reducing hours instead of firing workers. If hours and wages are reduced by 10 percent or more, workers would receive a federal subsidy for 60 percent of their lost salary. As the economy truly begins to recover, employers would be able to add new employees rather than increase hours for existing employees until the recovery is on a self-sustaining path.
Reducing the rate of job loss by just 10 percent would have the same effect on employment as if the economy generated an additional 200,000 jobs a month or 2.4 million a year. Germany’s unemployment rate dropped from 9.1 percent to 7.6 percent after implementing such a policy in January.
Congress should immediately take up one of several bills that take this idea to a national scale.
Jobs Created/Saved: 2.4 million
Cost: $54 billion
Pay-for: Loans to Unemployment Insurance (UI) Funds to be repaid with a small UI surtax starting in 2013 on all employers.
Ultimate cost to Taxpayers: Zero
Great idea.
Don’t cut jobs, just cut hours.
And, Klein is supposed to be the smart one in the crowd?
Good luck libs.