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Governor Ted Kulongoski announced an emergency jobs program at The Portland City Club on Friday, the same day the state economist released the latest revenue forecast (pdf) showing a budget deficit of almost $4 billion. Pending legislative approval, his plan would create thousands of new, temporary jobs almost immediately. Many of the jobs, he explained, are for the summer months. They'll pay between $8.40 and $10.00 an hour and last between one and six months. If you do some quick math that averages about $7,500 per job.
According to Worksource Oregon, 81,000 Oregonians are currently unemployed and looking for entry level positions, but only 700 postions are currently available in the state. This plan would increase that to 12,000. New jobs would be provided at the Oregon Food Bank, The Oregon Youth Conservation Corps, The Oregon Department of Forestry and Agriculture, and at cities and towns across the state. All the funding would come from the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund and the program would be managed by Worksource Oregon.
Critics argue that this plan basically just makes people work for the unemployment benefits they are currently receiving. Kulongoski says this will provide needed jobs for unemployed people and services to our local communities.
Are you unemployed? Will you apply for one of these jobs? Are you someone who will potentially employ people in one of these positions? What do you think of this plan?
Tagged as: hunger · jobs · unemployment
Photo credit: Tanakawho / Flickr / Creative Commons
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We are looking at the possibility of a $500 million tax increase, half of which is earmarked for a 30% pay increases for the Governor's already well-paid, top-tier state directors and friends.
With state employees looking at furloughs, layoffs, pay cuts and broken contracts, and with Oregon's unemploymemt rate at over 12%, this taxpayer-paid gift to the Governor's highest-paid cronies stinks on ice.
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What Kulongoski and Legislators must focus on is raising revenue to reduce the impact of the economic crisis. Then there would be less need to lay off or cut the pay of the state employees who work on the front lines to keep the state operating and providing necessary services. Here are a few ways:
--corporations with high profit margins MUST pay their fair share of taxes
--individuals earning more than $250,000 per year, should pay higher taxes
--Luxury tax, YES...for items purchased costing more than $50,000
--There are too many highly paid managers and administrative directors in state agencies whose salaries must be reduced. The sacrifices must be shared!
--Collect more owed taxes. Allow payments over time of overdue taxes. Hire more workers in the Revenue Department who are actually working to increase revenue for the state
--stop wasting state funds on investigating, fining & jailing marijuana users and small-time growers. Divert these dollars to helping provide needed state services, education, and unemployment benefits
More suggestions later...
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Here's a cool Google tool that lets you track and compare unemployment nationally, and by state.
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I am one of those people who has been laid off. And after 2+ months I found myself looking at a part-time 6-month job that paid $11.50 an hour and thinking, "at least it's something." But when I do the math, I can't live on it. If I find another part-time job that can coordinate with this one, and also pays $11.50, then I could, as long as I don't get health insurance, and nothing goes wrong, until my property taxes come due, which is right about when this job ends. And still, I keep thinking, at least it's something." The thing is, I have not yet given up hope of finding a real job.
$8.40 to $10 an hour is the job that helps you LOSE your house and gets you into debt. People who have these jobs don't support the economy because they are only spending on subsistence items. (or drugs, alchohol and gambling to forget their problems) It is not a living wage unless you live with your parents or in your car.
Better to spend the money helping people start small businesses, or go to school, or subsidizing employees who make real wages and might otherwise be laid off. Better to help people keep or create living wage jobs than simply slow the slide into abject poverty.
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While this proposal has merit for school kids, it would be wiser to stimulate 'real' business to create permanent jobs. Any gov program will fall short and cost much more than the private sector could do.
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Too little, too late!
Zero confidence in the Governor or State Government.
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I already took a cut in pay receiving Unemployment and have had to cut back my "quality of life" tremendously. One thing that I no longer have is health insurance. Would there be health insurance benefits included in the wage package?
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If we can spend this money on clearing brush, which frankly seems pulled out of the air, why can't we spend it doing things that add more value? It seems that we are cutting back on state services left and right, but suddenly we can afford to clear brush? This doesn't make sense.
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I'm intrigued that the Governor and Legislature thinks they are forced to take the path they are taking. Why, when the economy goes bad, do they always think of cutting the resources of the poor and middle class, who didn't cause the problem) by lowering salaries and cutting jobs rather than solving the problem with taxes on the rich, who benefit most by the economy and actually caused the problem?
Do we no longer really have a Democratic party in Oregon? Are they not in control of both the legislature and the Governor's office? They did the same stupid think when they were in control in 1981. We had 10 years of a down Oregon economy after that. Didn't they learn anything?
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While it has become conventional wisdom to blame the "rich", whoever they are, it is perhaps helpful to understand that the mortgage meltdown, which triggered this recession, began when middle class folks "decided" to stop paying their mortgages because the values of their homes dropped below their UPB. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't caused by millions of poor ignorant folks duped into 2/24 ARMS by predatory lenders. Yes, that happened, and the media covered those folks extensively, but it wasn't the major cause. Middle class folks advised each other to stop paying their mortgage because it would take them years before they were above water again....so they quit. At that time, there was historically low unemployment, and no other visible cause for the rising foreclosure rate.
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Working for minimum wage would not cover child care costs! Many families have both parents working because of health benefits and cost of living issues. When this happens safe and RELIABLE child care is a must, and the costs of child care have risen dramatically because of the increases in minimum wages.
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Two points:
1. Why not just pump the money into the general unemployment fund and loosen the requirements (so that more people can more easily receive unemployment)? While the 'let's make busywork' concept is laudable, if enacted as described will only modestly help about 1 in 7 officially looking for jobs.
2. What procedures are in place to ensure that only persons authorized to work (in the US) can apply for, and receive, those jobs?
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This writers comment from Katie D bears repeating >
$8.40 to $10 an hour is the job that helps you LOSE your house and gets you into debt. People who have these jobs don't support the economy because they are only spending on subsistence items. (or drugs, alcohol and gambling to forget their problems) It is not a living wage unless you live with your parents or in your car.
Better to spend the money helping people start small businesses, or go to school, or subsidizing employees who make real wages and might otherwise be laid off. Better to help people keep or create living wage jobs than simply slow the slide into abject poverty.
I commend Emily and the TOL staff for another important discussion:
That is exactly how I lost my home last year after designing and building and maintaining it for 20 years, invaluable landscaping not to mention in the tens of thousands, our system is a total mess and shows no regard for people who have contributed to our culture for into our golden years, to be foreclosed and evicted from our homes.
The point made here by the previous commenter is so true. After I worked for 30 years in the high tech computer industry here in my home town of Portland, about 2000 is when things began to fail. We have been going downhill ever since. I worked in a university as adjunct professor a few years ago. That paid $500 per month! When I was forced to take what I could find a year ago, a courier driving job at $10 per hour for 25 hours a week, the Bankruptcy court would now allow me to save my home on that wage. It is not only the jobs losses, it is the entire government system that is terribly insensitive to our needs and survivability.
Mark Seibold, Artist-Astronomer
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Comments are now closed.
After months if saying -- and doing -- almost nothing in the face of our fiscal crisis, the governor goes for a fairly meaningless headline grab that will do nothing to address the underlying issues. This idea would almost be funny if it were not so sad. More of Kulongoski fiddling while Oregon burns. Maybe literally. He wants the state to temporarily hire people to clear brush at $8 an hour while reducing the State Forestry force that responds to forest fires.