The president, and probably the vice-president, too, need to take a page from the Congressional Black Caucus’s playbook and start doing combination townhall meetings/job fairs in some of the most economically distressed areas of the country. The CBC is doing these job fairs throughout August. So far, they’ve scheduled job fairs in Cleveland (today), Detroit (8/16), Atlanta (8/18), Miami (8/22-23), and Los Angeles (8/30-31).
This August, thousands will gather for town hall meetings, job fairs, job readiness workshops, and seminars as a part of the Congressional Black Caucus For the People Jobs Initiative. Last week we were happy to announce almost one hundred employers registered to participate with several job vacancies available to improve the dismal unemployment situation in our communities. This week, we are pleased to announce that number has grown to over 120 companies. The CBC looks forward to working with more partners as we work diligently to decrease the numbers of unemployed.
With congressional Republicans refusing to do anything to help create jobs, the administration needs to partner up with the business community (large and small) to reduce unemployment. They shouldn’t focus only on our inner cities. They should go wherever unemployment is highest, and they should match people up with companies that are hiring.
This would help the unemployment problem only marginally, but it would be important symbolically. It would highlight two things that need highlighting. First, it would show the administration is doing something about joblessness. Second, it would show that effective governmental action on joblessness is impossible with the Republicans in control of the House of Representatives.
I love this idea.
I do have one modification, though. If raw political symbolism is what you’re going for, they shouldn’t “go wherever unemployment is highest.”
They should go to regions and states with a lot of…you know…the type of people that the media like to talk about, and that swing voters consider to be “people like me.”
You know what I’m talking about. The places where unemployment is highest aren’t where they’re going to get the biggest political bang for the buck.
Yes, I understand what you are saying. No need to talk in code. There are plenty of places to choose from. Nevada and Florida, for starters. But they shouldn’t avoid communities of color, either. They just need to cover a lot of ground.
Maybe the President should throw an annual conference to raise money for minority scholarships and political action on behalf of poor black folks and spend the vast majority of it on a $4MM mortgage for a townhouse in area you’re more likely to see twin baby pandas than black folks east of the Anacostia. At the end of the day, these corporate sponsors will put more money into the re-election campaigns of CBC members than hiring unemployed Black folks. White liberals are easily impressed with the CBC’s poverty pimppin’–and anything else they think will undermine the President with Black folks–but the Black folks who are as poor today as they were when the likes John Conyers were elected 4 damn decades ago, know their game all too well. Symbolism is ALL Black folks have ever gotten from the CBC.
Hey, I’m not defending the CBC’s historical record, but this is a good idea.
“but the Black folks who are as poor today as they were when the likes John Conyers were elected 4 damn decades ago, know their game all too well.”
Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure they do. They’re just lining right up to vote for the candidates you want them to vote for, aren’t they?
I guess you know better than they do what’s good for them.
Why? The CBC are Democrats. Let them just represent the Democratic party. The party that’s in the WH. A better suggestion is to have ALL Congressional Dems do this. The administration could provide them with all the tools they need and every liberal to blue dog Dem can hold these all over the country.
I agree. This looks like a fabulous idea and helps building the groundwork for the future too.