Robert Reich says what NOT to spend stimulus money on
Robert Reich says what NOT to spend stimulus money on
Date: Friday, January 23, 2009 2:15 AM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1962 -- 1/23/2009 >>>>>
Robert Reich, who served as labor secretary under President Clinton and now is
one of President Obama's economic advisors. offered advice to President Obama
on how NOT to spend the stimulus money.
Reich recently said that the stimulus money should not go to "skilled
professionals to do the jobs involving new technologies" because the money
"will just increase the wages of the professionals who already have the right
skills rather than generate many new jobs in these fields." Reich also doesn't
think that white male construction workers should get contracts with stimulus
money because they "already dominate the construction trades."
Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) expressed his sincere approval that Reich agreed
with him. Rangel followed up by saying that "you don't have to worry about
what the middle class is going to do" because they are so busy struggling to
survive they don't have time to think about politics. Rangel didn't explain
who "you" is but he was looking at Reich when he said it and had a chummy
smile as if he was talking to a co-conspirator.
Rangel also said that the stimulus spending should only go to "low income
neighborhoods" but didn't specify what he meant by that. He didn't give the
impression that poor white neighborhoods would be included but instead made a
not-so-subtle comment that Harlem and Newark shouldn't have to compete for the
money. Hmmmm, Harlem and Newark -- what mental image do you get when you think
of those two areas?
The Communications Workers of America (CWA) should probably include Reich on
their mailing list for their petition to use stimulus funds to provide high
speed internet service for every single American. Unless something has changed
dramatically with the technology, it takes "skilled professionals"
to install these networks -- the same professionals that in Reich's opinion
earn too much money.
As a participant in the Communications Workers of America's Speed
Matters campaign, I strongly support action by Congress and
President Obama to include significant funding for improving
broadband infrastructure and adoption in the economic stimulus
package.
-- CWA union website for petition
Robert Reich's advocacy of race based class warfare wasn't just a few
ramblings on his blog -- he testified before Congress just two weeks before
Obama's inauguration and repeated the same things almost verbatim. Be sure to
see the Youtube and Hannity videos linked below. Elitist statements of this
type are not out of character for Reich and Rangel, but what is somewhat
surprising is that they said these things before Congress while being
videotaped on CSPAN, yet the mainstream media ignored it. Despite all of this
being on TV not one single reporter asked Obama if either of these two
boneheads represented the policies of the new administration. What gives?
REFERENCES:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opxuUj6vFa4
Youtube video of Reich testimony with Rangel
http://www.foxnews.com/video/index.html?playlistId=949437d0db05ed5f5b9954dc049d70b0c12f2749
Hannity's America 1/22, 2 Minutes into the report has a short Reich video clip
http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/economicstimulus_broadband
Keep broadband investment in the economic stimulus package
http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2009/01/stimulus-how-to-create-jobs-without.html
Reich's blog
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=86827
Obama adviser: White males need not apply
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1411081/robert_reich_excludes_white_male_construction.html
Robert Reich Excludes White Male Construction Workers from Obama Stimulus Plan
Jim Crow Laws for Stimulus Help?
http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/THaxebbmHz4/Obama+Meets+Economic+Advisors+Washington/BRD2xkF5Q-r/Robert+Reich
Picture: Obama Meets With His Economic Advisors In Washington
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/01/22/robert-reich-keep-stimulus-money-away-from-skilled-workers-and-white-male-contractors/
Robert Reich: Keep stimulus money away from skilled workers and "white male
contractors...
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2009/01/stimulus-how-to-create-jobs-without.html
Thursday, January 08, 2009
The Stimulus: How to Create Jobs Without Them All Going to Skilled
Professionals and White Male Construction Workers
The stimulus plan will create jobs repairing and upgrading the nation's roads,
bridges, ports, levees, water and sewage system, public-transit systems,
electricity grid, and schools. And it will kick-start alternative, non-fossil
based sources of energy (wind, solar, geothermal, and so on); new health-care
information systems; and universal broadband Internet access.
It's a two-fer: lots of new jobs, and investments in the nation's future
productivity.
But if there aren't enough skilled professionals to do the jobs involving new
technologies, the stimulus will just increase the wages of the professionals
who already have the right skills rather than generate many new jobs in these
fields. And if construction jobs go mainly to white males who already dominate
the construction trades, many people who need jobs the most -- women,
minorities, and the poor and long-term unemployed -- will be shut out.
What to do? There's no easy solution to either dilemma. But there's no reason
to think about "green jobs" as simply high-tech. Many low-income and low-
skilled workers -- women as well as men -- could be put directly to work
providing homes and businesses with more efficient and renewable heating,
lighting, cooling, and refrigeration systems; installing solar panels and
efficient photovoltaic systems; rehabilitating and renovating old properties,
and improving recycling systems. "Green Jobs Corps" teams could be trained to
evaluate and advise homeowners and businesses on these and other means of
conserving energy.
People can be trained relatively quickly for these sorts of jobs, as well as
many infrastructure j0bs generated by the stimulus -- installing new pipes for
water and sewage systems, repairing and upgrading equipment, basic
construction -- but contractors have to be nudged both to provide the training
and to do the hiring.
I'd suggest that all contracts entered into with stimulus funds require
contractors to provide at least 20 percent of jobs to the long-term unemployed
and to people withincomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty
level. And at least 2 percent of project funds should be allocated to such
training. In addition, advantage should be taken of buildings trades
apprenticeships -- wich must be fully available to women and minorities.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=86827
Thursday, January 22, 2009
WorldNetDaily
Obama adviser: White
males need not apply
Robert Reich tells House panel stimulus package should emphasize 'social
return' over worker skill
Posted: January 22, 2009
12:17 pm Eastern
Obama economic adviser Robert Reich
A top economic adviser to President Obama has told a congressional panel the
billions of dollars in the proposed economic stimulus plan should be allocated
with social issues in mind, to make sure the money doesn't go to just "white
male construction workers" or the highly skilled.
Robert Reich, who served as labor secretary under President Clinton, was
speaking to the House Steering and Policy Committee Jan. 7 about funding
infrastructure projects across the nation.
"It seems to me that infrastructure spending is a very important and good way
of stimulating the economy. The challenge will be to do it quickly, to find
projects that can be done that will have a high social return, that also can
be done with the greatest speed possible," Reich said.
"I am concerned, as I'm sure many of you are, that these jobs not simply go to
high skilled people who are already professionals or to white male
construction workers," he said.
(Story continues below)
Reich's statements were highlighted in a video by NakedEmporerNews, which is
embedded here:
The hearing took place two weeks before Obama was inaugurated.
"I have nothing against white male construction workers," Reich said. "I'm
just saying there are a lot of other people who have needs as well.
"There are ways in which the money can be, criteria can be set so the money
does go to others, the long term unemployed, minorities, women," he said.
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., appeared to agree, suggesting federal money be
directed to specific groups of people.
The federal government, he said, must "remove the discretion" about where the
funds go, or what projects would be involved, even to the point of eliminating
any input from governors or state legislatures.
Reich agreed: "Governors ought to be, should be given a choice of signing on
the bottom line or not."
Then Rangel noted the "middle class" would be unlikely to create any
opposition to funds directed to minorities.
"One thing that you can depend on, you don't have to be worried about what the
middle class is going to do. Things are so bad, they have to put food on their
tables, get clothes for their kids, get them in school," he said.
Who is Barack Obama REALLY? Get the book that says his "change" is designed to
uproot American culture and replace it with the failed, secular, socialist
policies of the past.
Commentator Michelle Malkin said Reich's statements expose "the lie that the
Obama administration is actually interested in revitalizing basic
infrastructure for the good of the economy."
"No, what Team Obama really wants is to ensure that the least skilled, least
qualified workers get jobs based on their chromosomes and pigment,"
she said.
Malkin cited Reich's own blog, where the Obama adviser wrote of the economic
stimulus plan: "I'd suggest that all contracts entered into with stimulus
funds require contractors to provide at least 20 percent of jobs to the long-
term unemployed and to people with incomes at or below 200 percent of the
federal poverty level."
This, Malkin wrote, is "spoken like a true-blue wealth redistributor. The
'needs' (read: demands) of politically protected minorities trump the need for
competently build roads and bridges."
Reich's blog headline
On his blog, Reich makes his case for, "The Stimulus: How to Create Jobs
Without Them All Going to Skilled Professionals and White Male Construction
Workers."
"At least 2 percent of project funds should be allocated to such training.
In addition, advantage should be taken of buildings trades apprenticeships
-- which must be fully available to women and minorities," he wrote.
Race already has become an issue several times in the Obama administration.
As WND reported, Democratic Party strategist Donna Brazile admitted she swiped
Obama's complimentary blanket from his inauguration ceremony and then joked it
was not a criminal offense because, "We have a black president ... this was
free."
Outrage also erupted over the inauguration benediction by Rev. Joseph Lowery,
the 87-year-old civil rights pioneer, for asking God to help mankind work for
a day when "white would embrace what is right."
Obama reacted to the benediction with a smile.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1411081/robert_reich_excludes_white_male_construction.html
Robert Reich Excludes White Male Construction Workers from Obama Stimulus Plan
Jim Crow Laws for Stimulus Help?
By Sylvia Cochran
Families of white, male construction workers may want to pay attention:
Robert Reich has opined that the Obama stimulus funds allocated to businesses
in the construction industry should be withheld specifically from white men.
YouTube features a clip of this memorable little tidbit of political lunacy at
work.
On his blog, Robert Reich reasoned "if construction jobs go mainly to white
males who already dominate the construction trades, many people who need jobs
the most -- women, minorities, and the poor and long-term unemployed
-- will be shut out."
While it is comforting that in the audio clip Mr. Reich is quick to disclose
that he has "nothing against while male construction workers," the fact that
he does not want stimulus generated jobs to go to "white male construction
workers" is gravely disconcerting. Even more alarming is the fact that Barack
Obama has remained mum about the opinions expressed by his economic adviser.
Would there have been an outcry has Mr. Reich suggested keeping the stimulus
funds from being spent on "black male construction workers" or "undocumented
alien construction workers?" Maybe it would have made waves had he opined on
"Jewish construction workers" or "female construction workers?" As it stands,
it would appear that Robert Reich has declared open season on white males.
Of course, it is also quite evident that Robert Reich has not walked by a
construction site in California. As the USA Today reported as far back as
2007, the influx of Hispanic workers in Los Angeles and surrounding areas has
led to a shift in construction job allocation, and now "67% of construction
workers are Hispanic."
This brings up a number of disturbing questions. First and foremost, should
affirmative action be instituted when saving American residents who are
suffering economically? Is a Hispanic family who loses a home more in need
than a Caucasian family in the same situation? Is an African American
construction worker without a job more in need of work than an unemployed
Caucasian construction worker with the same skills?
Moreover, if Robert Reich has a house built, does he care about the skin color
of the construction workers or does he worry more about their skill level?
That said, if he were to follow his own suggestion, his home should be built
by unskilled labor derived from a minority population. Is this the "hope" and
"change" we were promised?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://michellemalkin.com/2009/01/22/robert-reich-keep-stimulus-money-away-from-skilled-workers-and-white-male-contractors/
Robert Reich: Keep stimulus money away from skilled workers and "white male
contractors...
By Michelle Malkin January 22, 2009 05:01 AM
I missed Clintonite moldy oldie-turned-Obama economic adviser Robert Reich s
testimony a few weeks ago on how the government should spend federal stimulus
money. The Berkeley professor engaged in academic fantasy land talk about
getting all the cash out to workers as quickly as possible
-- a pipe dream debunked by the CBO report I mentioned in my column yesterday.
Even more noteworthy, however, were the comments Reich made about which
workers deserve the stimulus bucks most. Reich s proposal exposes the lie that
the Obama administration is actually interested in revitalizing basic
infrastructure for the good of the economy. No, what Team Obama really wants
is to ensure that the least skilled, least qualified workers get jobs based on
their chromosomes and pigment.
Reich wrote on his blog:
The stimulus plan will create jobs repairing and upgrading the nation s roads,
bridges, ports, levees, water and sewage system, public-transit systems,
electricity grid, and schools. And it will kick-start alternative, non-fossil
based sources of energy (wind, solar, geothermal, and so on); new health-care
information systems; and universal broadband Internet access.
It s a two-fer: lots of new jobs, and investments in the nation s future
productivity.
But if there aren t enough skilled professionals to do the jobs involving new
technologies, the stimulus will just increase the wages of the professionals
who already have the right skills rather than generate many new jobs in these
fields. And if construction jobs go mainly to white males who already dominate
the construction trades, many people who need jobs the most -- women,
minorities, and the poor and long-term unemployed -- will be shut out.
What to do? There s no easy solution to either dilemma"
People can be trained relatively quickly for these sorts of jobs, as well as
many infrastructure j0bs generated by the stimulus -- installing new pipes for
water and sewage systems, repairing and upgrading equipment, basic
construction -- but contractors have to be nudged both to provide the training
and to do the hiring.
I d suggest that all contracts entered into with stimulus funds require
contractors to provide at least 20 percent of jobs to the long-term unemployed
and to people with incomes at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty
level. And at least 2 percent of project funds should be allocated to such
training. In addition, advantage should be taken of buildings trades
apprenticeships -- wich must be fully available to women and minorities.
Reich made similar comments in his Jan. 7 congressional testimony on economic
recovery. Naked Emperor News uploaded the video:
Partial transcript:
REICH: "...I am concerned, as I m sure many of you are, that these jobs not
simply go to high-skilled people who are already professionals or to white
male construction workers"I have nothing against white male construction
workers, I m just saying there are other people who have needs as well....
Yes, God forbid the jobs go to people with track records and experience.
God forbid we judge stimulus recipients on the content of their resumes as
opposed to the color of their skin.
There are other people who have needs as well.
Spoken like a true-blue wealth redistributor. The "needs... (read: demands) of
politically protected minorities trump the need for competently build roads
and bridges.
Rep. Charlie Rangel then chimes in to kvetch about how governors need to be
"forced... to comply with formulas that earmark the stimulus money based on
color-coded "needs....
I quote Rangel: "Remove the discretion! Identify the need. Do numbers....
Translation: Screw qualifications. Quota-monger America out of its recession.
And here s the kicker: Rangel tells Reich that he doesn t have to worry about
middle-class opposition to their social engineering plans for the stimulus.
Why? Because they re too busy working! It s at the 2:33 mark of the video:
RANGEL: And one thing you can depend on, you don t have to be worried about
what the middle-class is gonna do. Things are so bad. They have to put food on
their tables. Clothes for their kids. Get them in school. I think this is a
tremendous opportunity for a stronger America.
Rangel wraps up by advocating that Reich "force... and "mandate... his social
engineering "criteria... for stimulus spending.
So much for "post-racialism.... So much for "setting aside childish things....
The Age of Obama has resurrected the same old bean-counters.
Plus ga change"
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