Aug 8 – SBJ EDITORIAL: “All Spending Isn’t BAD Spending, Even Now”

Written by From Staff Reports Sunday, 07 August 2011 17:06

Aug 8 – SBJ EDITORIAL: “All Spending Isn’t BAD Spending, Even Now”

The latest polls show that average American’s understand…the Federal government needs to spend money to create jobs…that all spending is not bad spending even in light of the U.S. debt crisis.

The concern is that the debate and solutions chosen to cut the U.S. debt is lost in political gamesmanship and will only exacerbate the crisis in Georgia and Savannah-area employment realities.

Much of new spending by the Federal government over the past two years – beyond funds for wars and debt service - has been spent for federal stimulus programs that saved 1 million jobs or more. And, those funds certainly brought jobs to the Savannah area.

It is just fallacious to say that President Obama did not create jobs – they were net jobs as employment figures were falling off a cliff. No one, in either political party, can tell us how many more jobs would have been lost without the Federal stimulus programs. And those who had jobs around here for construction projects such as jails, new schools and bridges, were not on the unemployment rolls, had health insurance and didn’t show up to collect food stamps.

There is no short-term solution to unemployment without spending - and employing - people to work on Federal infrastructure projects focused on repairing this country. We are living in a country with an aging infrastructure, from the electric grid, to the public water system, to highways and bridges that are all deemed questionable.

Anyone read the latest on deferred maintenance projects at Georgia’s colleges and universities? The Savannah Business Journal ran a story last year on a UGA report that that university’s Athens campus buildings had more than $200 million in deferred maintenance they could not fund – and that was last year’s figures.

We fully believe that people should be required to show up to work to learn to dig ditches, learn to mix concrete, lay brick, as well as to perform all of the other white collar jobs that come with managing all those types of federal infrastructure projects, from banking to accounting to the human resources departments.

Only U.S. vendors should be used for the projects unless the needed materials or intellectual property is absolutely unavailable. And if a needed product is not manufactured or available in the U.S., we need to figure out how to develop here -- whether it's a type of steel girder or a computer chips to program an electric grid system.

The money from Federal infrastructure expenditures stays in the U.S, and is 'circular.' It's not like buying foreign oil to power our cars, where dollars flow out.

By purchasing raw materials from U.S. vendors, we create more jobs, whether it's at a steel company, a concrete firm or the trucking company that moves the sand to the cement company. And, local companies such as Great Dane can manufacture and sell them the truck trailer beds needed to haul the girders and pipes. Their new employees will get off of unemployment and pay income taxes – providing both an expense cut and new revenues....a double benefit for both State and the Federal government coffers.

The vendor companies will pay corporate income taxes, increasing State and Federal revenues.

Those employed to work on 1930-style 'WPA' projects will off of unemployment, pay income taxes, buy health insurance, shop and stimulate retail sales taxes…and learn new skills. Certainly, the U.S. needs a new generation of middle class workers with marketable skills such as those now being learned at our growing system of technical colleges. The U.S. does not have a qualified workforce in many arenas compared to much of the developed world.

We agree with those who believe that a tough stance needs to be taken with those whose educational ability makes they unqualified for infrastructure projects. They need to be trained to work in agriculture, for example, a sector in Georgia with a significant lack of workers due to strengthened immigration enforcement. Agriculture is also an ‘employable skill,’ a skill the U.S. needs. Farming was a critical part of the U.S employment picture through the 1970's, and needs both respect and revitalization.

The approach adopted last week by the Congress to only cut Federal spending, without funding new jobs creation programs, will just compound the issues we face. People will still be unemployed, homeless, hungry and showing up at our hospital emergency rooms with no health insurance. It will only cost us more.

As we cut the expense of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and bring home 130,000 troops, we are bringing home 130,000 workers that will need jobs. On Friday, President Obama announced a program to provide financial incentives to companies that hire vets. It’s laudable that they go to the head of the line, but Savannah has thousands of people facing an end to their unemployment benefits.

All spending is not bad spending.

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