Can Anyone Fix This Economy?

Read Mitt’s plan then read Barack’s plan.  If it’s “the economy stupid” then where is the plan to set the nation on a course to recovery?

The number of new employees added to the job payrolls has been less than breathtaking. With 5 million long term unemployed is anything other than low pay service sector jobs going to be created in the coming years?  The number of new June jobs is 80,000.  The unemployment rate remains at 8.2% for a second straight month.  That is less than the number required to keep pace with our growing population according to most economists.  Perhaps the better question to ask is what are the plans of the two candidates for president?

From Mitt Romney’s campaign web site.

Mitt’s Plan

Mitt Romney sees two important objectives that America can pursue immediately to build on the extraordinary traditional strengths of its workforce. The first is to retrain American workers to ensure that they have the education and skills to match the jobs of today’s economy. The second is to attract the best and the brightest from around the world.
   

Retraining Workers

Mitt Romney will approach retraining policy with a conservative mindset that recognizes it as an area where the federal government is particularly ill-equipped to succeed. Retraining efforts must be founded upon a partnership that brings together the states and the private sector. The sprawling federal network of redundant bureaucracies should be dismantled and the funds used for better purposes. One particularly promising approach that Romney supports and believes states should be encouraged to pursue is a system of Personal Reemployment Accounts for unemployed individuals. These accounts would facilitate programs that place individuals directly into companies that provide on-the-job training—as governor of Massachusetts, Romney helped create just such a program.

• Eliminate redundancy in federal retraining programs by consolidating programs and funding streams, centering as much activity as possible in a single agency
• Give states authority to manage retraining programs by block granting federal funds
• Facilitate the creation of Personal Reemployment Accounts
• Encourage greater private sector involvement in retraining programs

Attracting the Best and the Brightest

To ensure that America continues to lead the world in innovation and economic dynamism, a Romney administration would press for an immigration policy designed to maximize America’s economic potential. The United States needs to attract and retain job creators from wherever they come. Foreign-born residents with advanced degrees start companies, create jobs, and drive innovation at an especially high rate. While lawful immigrants comprise about 8 percent of the population, immigrants start 16 percent of our top-performing, high-technology companies, hold the position of CEO or lead engineer in 25 percent of high-tech firms, and produce over 25 percent of all patent applications filed from the United States.

• Raise visa caps for highly skilled workers
• Grant permanent residency to eligible graduates with advanced degrees in math, science, and engineering

Barack Obama jobs plan is not posted on his campaign web site.  Instead his site points to the growth of jobs and offers these successes and plans.

Barack’s Plan

  489,000: Jobs added in the manufacturing sector since January 2010

  233,000: Jobs added in the auto industry since June 2009—the most growth in a decade

  100%: The percent of investment in plants and equipment that businesses could expense under a tax cut extension President Obama proposed, which would spur investment in the United States

  18%: Tax deduction President Obama has proposed for domestic advanced manufacturing technologies—which would double the current 9 percent deduction

  20%: Income tax credit the President has proposed providing to companies on expenses related to moving operations back to the United   States

Neither candidate offers any idea to re-employ those middle class wage earners that have faced a devastatingly long unemployment period.  As matter of fact no one has offered one sensible plan.  If Mitt Romney believes that the independent voters will elect him to office by just saying Obama has failed to re-invigorate the economy he is not likely to gain my support.  He should not gain your support either.  Vague references to re-training programs when the there are no growing industries are not enough.

If my choice is between just another face and no plan then I will vote for Obama.  At least he has the experience that no other job in the world can provide.  Then again why should I vote for a leader who has not been able to change our course?