Robert Reich: America's Biggest Jobs Program -- the U.S. Military

[unhappycamper]

America's Biggest Jobs Program -- the U.S. Military
Robert Reich
Former Secretary of Labor, Professor at Berkeley
Posted: August 11, 2010 09:33 PM

America's biggest -- and only major -- jobs program is the U.S. military.

Over 1,400,000 Americans are now on active duty; another 833,000 are in the reserves, many full time. Another 1,600,000 Americans work in companies that supply the military with everything from weapons to utensils. (I'm not even including all the foreign contractors employing non-US citizens.)

If we didn't have this giant military jobs program, the U.S. unemployment rate would be over 11.5 percent today instead of 9.5 percent.

And without our military jobs program personal incomes would be dropping faster. The Commerce Department reported Monday the only major metro areas where both net earnings and personal incomes rose last year were San Antonio, Texas, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. -- because all three have high concentrations of military and federal jobs.

This isn't an argument for more military spending. Just the opposite. Having a giant undercover military jobs program is an insane way to keep Americans employed. It creates jobs we don't need but we keep anyway because there's no honest alternative. We don't have an overt jobs program based on what's really needed.

[mediaman007]

1. Palin will put them to work in Iran!

[latebloomer]

2. Always money for death

none for life!

Let's stop these useless wars, pare down the military and use that money for human needs.

[liberal N proud]

3. Were in the Army now

We'll never get rich you son of a bitch, were in the army now.


It may only cost you an arm or a leg or maybe both, but hell it's a job. Killing for a living.

We'll never get rich you son of a bitch, were in the army now.

Your protecting your country, doing your duty, while the rich guy rakes in the cash back home.

We'll never get rich you son of a bitch, were in the army now.

Your family wonders where you are every day, were you among the latest casualties mentioned at the end of the news. Fearing every knock on the door for it might be a military man with the news.

We'll never get rich you son of a bitch, were in the army now.

Off to fight the oligarchs wars, protecting their precious treasures. Oil that is, the black gold you fight for. But don't let on that it is anything less than for God and Country.

We'll never get rich you son of a bitch, were in the army now.


_______________________________________________

Disclaimer, as much as I hate war, I do fully respect the service of those who have given their time. I just don't believe that we need to be at war constantly and the war we are fighting today are doing nothing to protect this country.

[BootinUp]

4. Lets abolish the Pentagon! nt

[KharmaTrain]

5. MIC = Corporate Welfare...

And Mr. Reich doesn't mention all ancillary jobs that the military creates...as well as the wealth all those billions of dollars put in the pocket of large corporations. There's a damn good reason we are tied up in two wars and have troops stationed all over the place...it perpetuates a lot of money that never leaves the states and goes into the pockets of the large donors and does create and maintain jobs in many districts around the country. There's no bigger lottery ticket these days than being granted a government contract.

Problem is this country has a difficult time turning those swords into ploughshares. We had a great opportunity in the 90s to do that...the end of the "Cold War" yet Clinton was under pressure to spend more on the military...then when boooosh took power the floodgates were opened. Now we have a Military Industrial complex that peddles death and fear and it gets fed all the money it wants while our schools, transportation and now police are going bust. Shows how screwed up this country's priorities have become.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

6. Mr. Reich always hits the nail dead on...

...I wonder if the Republican love of high unemployment and the insensitivity with which they view the problem is just "incentive" to get people to join the military (at least those who qualify)?

I only ask because I know of a young woman, 23, who can't find work and is homeless and running out of options. One "alternative" that has been presented to her is that she join the Navy. :-\

[WinkyDink]

7. No offense, but hello, Captain Obvious! It is the reason nobody is being brought back home, also.

NO JOBS.

[Bonhomme Richard]

8. I think he is grossly understating the number of military........

dependent jobs out there. For every prime contractor there are thousands of sub-contractors or sub-sub contractors. That small machine shop on the edge of town probably does DOD work and keeps people employed doing it. There are entire towns that wouldn't exist without military spending.