Links to Unemployment

If you have enjoyed reading my blog on unemployment in America, then I highly recommend visiting the links below as they will certainly quench your thirst for more knowledge on unemployment. Some of them I have used in previous posts and others I have not. They are intended to broaden your awareness and understanding of this complex topic that has caused so much grief for so many Americans.

usconservatives.about.com (unemployment)

This link is perfect for anyone looking into 2010 midterm election issues. The link provided lists numerous topics being debated in the upcoming election, and if you look through the list you will eventually come across "unemployment." Click this link and you will be a directed to a page that explains almost every plan the Conservatives have discussed to combat unemployment. I am aware that it is slightly biased toward their plans, but nevertheless it mostly just outlines their plans. This is perfect for anyone wanting to look at unemployment solutions from a broad spectrum.

usliberals.about.com

Well obviously I was not just going to throw only the conservative plans at you. Here you can see the outline of Liberal approach to fighting unemployment. It lists policies they have made and also ones they plan to make. Please visit both these sites on about.com so you can fully grasp the main ideas of unemployment before you analyze more specific ideas.  Also I encourage visitors to these sites to look at both sets of plans in an unbiased fashion and then try and formulate your own ideas based on everything you have read.

realclearpolitics.com

If anyone ever asked me where they could go to find unbiased information on unemployment, I would send them straight here. The article I linked to is one that discusses how unemployment will shape the upcoming elections. However, I encourage anyone who visits this site to explore it and look for other unemployment articles. Most of the searches bring up two articles that deal with the same topic, one that provides a Democratic viewpoint and another that will provide a more Conservative viewpoint. This is very helpful in analyzing specific unemployment issues.

washingtontimes.com

This article is one that is both informative and thought provoking. In the article it mentions proposed policies by both Democratic and Republican politicians, as well as economic data from the past (especially around the Great Depression). The main focus of the article is solutions designed to improve employment in America. It doesn't really favor one side over another, so the reader is left to form their own opinions.

bls.gov

The Bureau of Labor Statistics site is very useful for learning the cold hard facts about unemployment in America. This site is the employment summary taken for the month of September (the October summary will be out this coming week). It basically provides the true unemployment numbers and even breaks the numbers down into age groups, genders, race, etc.  You want the statistical data on unemployment then come here.

The links above are mostly recommended for increasing your knowledge on unemployment and its solutions as a whole. Below are links that deal with a specific aspect of the issue.

businessweek.com

What caused unemployment rates to skyrocket? This article has just the answer. It focuses on how the companies stopped hiring and expanding once the recession hit. Obviously this is not the only reason unemployment increased, but it is a main one.

money.cnn.com

One of the biggest aspects of unemployment I repeatedly mentioned over and over again was the Bush Tax Cuts. This article provides an in depth analysis with almost every piece of information possible about the tax cuts. It explores what would happen if they aren't extended, the pros and cons of extending them, who should receive the tax breaks, party views, and more. Also, I strongly urge anyone who visits this site to read the comments at the bottom. There were many that linked to other sites on the issue and most had very interesting things to say about the tax cuts.

usatoday.com and infotipguide.com

Unemployment benefits were another huge part of the unemployment solution debate. These two sites both discuss the pros and cons of continuing to provide idle American workers with benefits. This is a very difficult issue to take a true stance on as there are many concerns with both extending the benefits and cutting them off. Reading both articles will improve your understanding of unemployment benefits and will hopefully help you form your own opinion.

The links I provided will definitely increase your awareness and understanding of unemployment. It is a very complex topic, but hopefully the links will help you form your own ideas and possible solutions for fighting unemployment. Throughout my research these sites have been the most helpful and have really allowed me to dive deeper into the issue and its numerous aspects. For those looking to learn more about unemployment in America, I advise you to start with these sites.

Three Blogs You Must Visit

Over the course of my research I have come across many blogs here on Blogspot. These blogs were very interesting to read and I was even able to relate some of them to my topic. I hope you do take the time to visit these blogs as they are well constructed and spark an intense reflection with each post. (They are in no particular order).

1.  Algae: Powering the Future?

I bet you were unaware that modern scientists have started researching algae as a possible alternative energy source. Crazy huh?  This is a very informative and fascinating topic to read about.  This blog provides the reader with a complete overview of the algal research process and its benefits when compared to oil and other current energy sources.  While reading, time and time again, I would be able to relate this topic to unemployment. The government is looking into creating more public service jobs to increase employment, well look no further than algae. Spending money to research algae as an energy source would not only create jobs, but it would also develop the process of using algal energy.  This blog will not disappoint as this is such an original and interesting topic.

2. Who Would Give YOU a Job?

Of course I was going to direct you to this blog... it deals with unemployment as well. Honestly, what topic is more important than the unemployment crisis in America? This blog is always worth a visit as it provides a non bias look into such a broad topic that is filled with numerous debates. Solutions to unemployment are mostly bias, but in this blog, the bias is removed and the reader is left with just the cold hard facts on unemployment. What is also great about this blog is that it mentions college students and their troubles with the job market. This appeals a great deal to me because in a few years, I will most likely be in the same situation they are in. This blog is perfect for college students or anyone who is interested in unemployment because it provides non biased data and opinions and clearly illustrates the current unemployment crisis in America.

3. Gulf Oil Spill

One of the most well known and devastating environmental catastrophes during this year was the Gulf Oil Spill.  I am major supporter of national parks, so any environmental disaster quickly grabs my attention. This blog is well researched and provides the reader with a complete overview of the horrible effects that spill has had on local wildlife and habitats. It also incorporates detailed background information about the spill as well as, plans on cleaning up the oil and restoring the local environments. This was one of the most destructive environmental disasters of all time, and this blog really increased my understanding and knowledge on the multitude of problems caused by spill.

Unemployment by the Numbers

It has been brought to my attention that I have not provided enough statistical data to illustrate the severity of unemployment in America.  Well that changes right now. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a household survey indicated that the current number of unemployed Americans stands at 14.8 million. The unemployment rate itself has held steady at 9.6% over the past two months. Another startling piece of data is the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) which is currently 6.1 million. These are obviously some very startling numbers, but what does the government say about the current situation?  In August, President Obama announced 67,000 private sector jobs were created, but the unemployment rate rose because not enough jobs were created to absorb the growing number of Americans looking for work. More jobs must be created if the unemployment rate is to be lowered, and Obama says he plans to meet with his advisers to formulate more ways to create jobs.  However, mass layoffs have become a major concern for most U.S. citizens. The BLS syas that 133,379 workers were seperated from their jobs during the month of September. However, on a positive note, "this number is 60 less than the number from last month, making this the thrid consecutive over-the-month decrease." These figures truly illustrate the severity of unemployment in America. Our government must act quickly if it is to successfully lower the number of unemployed U.S. citizens.

Mental Breather

Time for a break. Enjoy

Unemployment Implications

Obviously if nothing is done to help reduce unemployment in America, it will continue to increase until the economy collapses from not being able to support such a dangerously high unemployment rate.  This is clearly an extreme and worst case scenario, but it could happen if nothing is done at all.  Because Unemployment is such a huge topic, I think the best way to show its implications is to illustrate piece by piece what will happen if certain ideas are not implemented.  Unemployment benefits must continue to be made available to idle workers or else an estimated 3.2 million Americans would lose their benefits resulting in "financial, social, and psychological distress for millions of households."  Without benefits these workers will be unable to focus on finding a suitable job and go into a state of panic about how to support their family.  Not extending the Bush Tax Cuts would be a tremendous blow to the U.S. economy.  The current debate is over whether or not to include wealthier Americans and corporations into the new extension. I say include everyone. Not doing so would limit the expansion of larger corporations who would have the ability to hire more workers if they were given tax breaks.  Smaller corporations will be able to grow thanks to the tax cuts, but they will be unable to absorb as many unemployed workers as larger corporations would. Thus, by being selective on the tax cuts less jobs would be created and less money would be pumped back into the economy. Not extending the Bush Tax Cuts will hinder economic growth in America.  There are many other plans designed to fight unemployment, but these are the main two I have come across during my research. If nothing is done to help reduce unemployment in America, I am confident that we will witness increased job loss along with a quickly collapsing economy. 

Sending American Jobs Away

Outsourcing has become a heated issue in relation to the unemployment crisis. Basically American corporations are sending jobs overseas (especially manufacturing jobs) to countries that offer cheap labor, such as China, India, Panama, and many more.  This is has caused major problems for blue collar American workers, who have struggled to find work. Many of these workers received higher specialized education because they were told doing so would assure their job security, but apparently corporate America lied. While this practice continues to ship American jobs away, little is being done to stop it. However, President Obama has declared that he plans to introduce new legislation that will limit outsourcing and offer tax breaks to corporations that stay away from the practice.  This plan did upset some foreign nations, especially India, whose economy relies a great deal on American outsourcing.  When it comes to unemployment in the U.S. though, I have to side with President Obama because protecting American jobs should be our highest priority right now.  Having foreign outsourcing fuel your economy, is not steady or reliable thing to have. Sweatshops are often the result of outsourcing, and some even argue that they help boost a nation’s economy and decrease poverty. But having sweatshops or a poor economy are both horrible, so outsourcing is really not making these foreign nations better off.  Our main goal right now should be bringing jobs back to America and then we can worry about how to help struggling foreign nations boost their economy.  Outsourcing is a dangerous practice, and it is sad to see the government stand by and do nothing as it watched corporations send American jobs away. Something must be done quickly to limit outsourcing if we are serious about fixing unemployment in America.

Unemployment Theory

One of the key problems associated with unemployment is the disagreement between the Republicans and the Democrats. Neither can seem to come to an agreement on the issue. While this is a very complex issue and it is very unlikely that the two sides will ever agree on anything, I have come up with a plan to unite the two fronts and ultimately deal with the problem of unemployment. From my research I have concluded that extending the Bush Tax Cuts would be an enormous help to repairing the collapsed job market. Giving tax breaks to businesses (both big and small) would allow more capital to be allocated towards expansion and hiring more workers. Providing tax relief to all Americans would also be of tremendous help as it would allow citizens to save more, but also to spend more, thus pumping money back into the economy.  Increasing the monetary flow in the economy is a necessary start to fight unemployment.  However, reducing taxes alone is not enough.  Even though the Republicans are concerned about the national deficit and too much government spending, extending the unemployment benefits to idle American workers was money well spent.  These benefits not only help unemployed workers support themselves and their families, it also allows them to look for a job. Instead of worrying about how to support their families and quickly taking a job which they are over-qualified for, these idle workers can focus on getting a "real job." Another plan I came across during my research was the development of more public service jobs, much like FDR did during the Great Depression. Although, it does not significantly reduce unemployment, it provides jobs, "modernizes" our infrastructures, and helps prepare for the future. One blog I have been visiting quite often is on Algae and how it can be used as an alternative energy source for oil. While reading some of the posts, it occurred to me, that if the government put more effort into the development and research of algae as an energy source, then it would not only help us create a cleaner, more efficient energy source, but also provide jobs for Americans.  While there are so many ideas to fight unemployment, I think one of the most important is stopping outsourcing.   Our government has stood by and watched numerous American companies send jobs over seas. While the companies are provided with cheap labor, American workers are provided with no work.  Al least the government has made recent strides to limiting outsourcing, I think it needs to take a firmer stance and get rid of it altogether.
I know many of my proposed solutions are loved by one party and hated by the other, but that is just how it has to be. Both parties must realize that you cant always get what you want, and that sometimes you have to pick and chose what you want the most.  Compromise is my advice to the Republicans and the Democrats.  All of the proposed ideas are designed to fight unemployment, so why not give them a try even if you don't think some will work.  I have researched most of the plans each side has to other, and as far as I can tell, a combination of both is the best solution to lower unemployment in America.