Mathis' Mind

Archive for the ‘Jobs’ Category

EX-OFFENDER DISCRIMINATION

Friday, May 6th, 2011

When pundits discuss America’s still too high unemployment rate, they usually tell stories of individuals with impressive work histories and college degrees who are having a hard time finding a job after being downsized. Or, they relate tales of former manufacturing employees lost in our new, more tech-driven economy. Rarely does anyone share the plight of the more than 65 million Americans with some sort of criminal past who have a hard time finding work.

We need to talk about this population more often and come up with solutions to help them secure employment. The reality is that more and more people with criminal histories are trying to enter the work force but failed background checks keep thousands of people from getting hired, some for offenses that are decades old and as minor as disorderly conduct, drinking and having too much fun in the street with friends. Some of those being denied work have never been convicted of a crime, only arrested.

Every year, more than 700,000 people are released from state and federal prisons: they all need to find work so that they may support themselves and their families, contribute to their communities and to ensure poverty, frustration and desperation don’t force them to return to a life of crime. There are no federal laws that protect individuals with a criminal past from being discriminated against by employers. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, however, does suggest that employers take in account the severity of the offense, the amount of time that has passed since the crime was committed and how the crime relates to the position being applied for.

We need more than EEOC guidelines. There has to be a conscious effort by the business community to weed out practices that discriminate against ex-offenders. Most accept that some with a criminal past will not be able to work in certain sectors; for example, a child predator cannot work with children. But there are countless other positions this individual can hold that won’t present a danger to society. Employers also need to understand that, just because someone committed a crime once does not mean they’ll do it again. In fact, research shows that the farther back the crime occurred, the less likely the offender will be to repeat that mistake.

Current hiring practices are locking millions out of the work force. This discrimination not only hurts the individuals in question, it damages America’s long-term economic health. We’re losing millions of workers and need to help keep our country moving forward.

Posted in Blog, Discrimination, Jobs | 27 Comments »

JOBS RETURNING TO CITIES

Friday, April 8th, 2011

President Obama has taken a lot of flack from Republicans for his “failure” to create jobs and get millions of unemployed Americans back to work. To hear his critics tell it, the President has done little to nothing in the way of job creation. However, recent statistics from the Department of Labor paint a different picture, one that shows the President has kept his word and that, slowly but surely, Americans are finding jobs.

More than 200,000 jobs were created in February and March 2011 – the most jobs created over a two-month period since 2006. Big cities, which need jobs the most, are fairing very well. According to the Department of Labor, more than 75-percent of America’s 372 cities reported lower unemployment rates in February 2011. Among those cities that saw a drop in unemployment claims are Los Angeles, New York and Miami.

This is good news for African Americans, who primarily live in large cities and struggle to find work more than other ethnic groups during economic recessions, and for the nation as a whole. Continued job growth – no matter how slowly it happens – is a sign that our economy is, indeed, rebounding.

President Obama recently launched his bid for re-election. With Republicans, and even some Democrats, constantly taking shots at his presidency, Obama is in for what will arguably be one of the hardest fought campaigns of his political career. One of his key messages on the campaign trail should be that his approach to job creation is working. Republicans, with all their spin and fear mongering, will try to convince the voting public that there are no jobs and that America is worse off than it was in 2008. President Obama has the data to prove that he delivered on one of his biggest campaign promises. He has to make sure that his messaging rises above the conservative noise and that, despite push back from political opponents, he is working in the best interest of the average American.

At the same time, elected officials at both the national and state levels must continue to ramp up job creation efforts. Re-election or no, getting Americans back to work is one of this country’s top priorities. Those in power should make sure they are doing everything possible to ensure that the unemployment rate continues to fall.

Posted in Blog, Jobs | 6 Comments »

IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE, CREATE JOBS

Friday, February 18th, 2011

You have no doubt heard a lot about President Obama’s proposed federal budget in the news lately. With an eye toward reducing the nation’s trillion plus dollar deficit, the President suggests some difficult to swallow budget cuts while still investing in America’s future. It’s not much different from what a struggling corporation would do, or a family. One of those proposed investments would not only modernize our nation’s highways and railways, it will also create millions of jobs.

Over the last several years, bridges across the U.S. have collapsed, gas lines have exploded and streets have deteriorated to unsafe levels. The President proposes that we shore up our infrastructure and put Americans to work at the same time. How? By spending just over $50 billion to build a high-speed rail system and by investing slightly more than $330 billion in our nation’s highways. Obama’s advisors estimate the plan would create more than five million construction jobs and 10 million additional jobs in related industries.

Yes, this is a lot of money. However, investing in America and its infrastructure is the smart thing – the right thing – to do. Americans will be able to travel from place to place, knowing that bridges and roads are sound. High-speed rail will connect towns and cities and, over the long term, improve our environment since there will be fewer cars on the road. Lastly, the new jobs this investment will help create will bring the unemployment rate down from its record high levels.

Of course, the proposal has its critics. They say there’s no way the government can pay for it. The President thought of that, too. Currently, the gasoline tax raises about $35 billion a year. That money is used to pay for highway projects. The President wants to use that fund to offset the infrastructure projects and raise additional revenue through various other taxes and tolls.

There is no doubt that the President’s plan is a strong one, with past success to back it up. The 2009 stimulus package included over $130 billion in infrastructure spending; this spending created 8 million jobs. So we know this is the right way to go. Money spent now, would improve the economy – and our bridges and roads – and position the country for a more prosperous future.

Write your Congress men and women; tell them to support the President’s plan to create jobs by improving our nation’s infrastructure. Visit www.usa.gov if you need help locating your elected official’s contact information.

Posted in Blog, Economy, Jobs | 4 Comments »

STAFF STIMULUS PROGRAM

Friday, September 10th, 2010

When Congress passed legislation that would pump nearly $900 billion into the American economy, many of us felt that, finally, Main Street and not Wall Street was going to catch a much needed break. Then reality set in. Red tape and government mis-steps prevented so much of what the money was intended to fund from happening. And now, to make matters worse, staffing shortages are slowing down distribution of the stimulus funds.

It’s been announced that the government has nearly 25,000 job openings…these open positions are those responsible for monitoring government grants and contracts and to make sure money isn’t used fraudulently. Without the required staff in place, distribution of funds slows down and mistakes – expensive ones – are bound to happen.

Government spending on personnel to fill these positions increased more than 140 percent from 2001 to 2008 while the staff only increased 12 percent. These numbers don’t add up: for the amount of money spent, one would expect more personnel. Additionally, government officials say there is a lack of qualified workers who can fill the jobs. If this is true, perhaps a government sponsored training program for those who display certain technical and critical thinking skills is needed. There are more than enough educated Americans, currently unemployed, to fill the open positions.

There are some who say the shortage isn’t a problem. In fact, officials say that the stimulus funding is right on track. If that’s the case, why has The Energy Department blamed the fact that it has only spent less than 10 percent of the $3 billion at its disposal on the staffing shortage? Officials in that department say the lack of staff has caused a backlog of administrative work.

Thankfully, the President does recognize that the staffing shortage is an issue. As such, his budget for next year includes more than $150 million that will be used to grow the contracting staffers by 5 percent. With adequate staff in place, the stimulus program can proceed as planned, the economy can begin to recover and Americans can begin to feel secure again.

There should be no excuses for why the intended funds didn’t trickle down to the American people; after all, when Wall Street needed its bail out, the money was distributed quickly. That should not change now that the average person is in need.

Posted in Blog, Economy, Jobs | 3 Comments »

JOBS JOBS JOBS

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

Economist are telling us that we are turning the corner on this recession. They say stocks – particularly bank stocks – are rebounding. Too bad the 15.1 million unemployed Americans aren’t feeling any relief.

The unemployment rate for September is well over 9-percent but should be higher.  Over 570,000 people dropped out of the work force last month, probably because they gave up hope thinking they’d find a job. If they were still looking, they would have been counted as among the unemployed.   The unemployment rate is the highest it has been in decades. Men, traditionally responsible for caring for their families are hit the hardest. Black men, who often have trouble finding sustainable work, even in good economic times, are struggling the most.

America needs to focus on creating jobs for its workers. The much-debated healthcare reform could create new jobs. With government funding, hospitals and clinics would need to hire additional medical support staff, creating a growing workforce. Pending energy legislation will also create new jobs. As companies, with the support of federal dollars, work to ‘green’ their operations and environments, American workers would have a new career opportunities available to them.

But more must be done. The government should mandate that companies who receive any federal funding should not be allowed to outsource jobs to other countries. Outsourcing has cost America hundreds of thousands of jobs over the last several years. Additionally, legislators should create a job program specifically geared to hiring and putting Americans into jobs.

These jobs should not be dependent on federal funding. Rather, the program should investigate new job creation strategies and work to implement them. Lastly, the funds distributed via the stimulus package, intended to repair the nation’s infrastructure, creating new jobs in the process, should be monitored more closely. Reports indicate funds are not being used as intended. Cities not using the funds as planned should be sanctioned.

The economy may indeed be improving. But it will be some time before the average American sees that change. People need jobs now. And American must work to create them.

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Posted in Blog, Economy, Jobs | 6 Comments »