Where are the American jobs? Job in the USA?

[WhiskeyGirl]

...Two weeks ago, Geithner had the temerity to say:

    * "Business investment and consumption -- the two keys to private demand -- are getting stronger, better than last year and better than last quarter.

    * "Even the surge in imports, which lowered the rate of increase of GDP, actually reflects healthy and growing American demand.

    * "American families are saving more, paying down their debt and borrowing more responsibly.

    * "The auto industry is coming back, and the Big Three -- Chrysler, Ford and General Motors -- are now leaner, generating profits despite lower annual sales.

    * "The White House and Congress helped save 8.5 million jobs."


This is egregious 'spinning' -- and it's out of control.

Almost every day, Mr. Geithner gilds the economy's lily in inappropriate attempts to delude American workers into believing that: business investment is in fine shape when in fact businesses are sitting on an unprecedented $2 trillion of cash precisely because of 'uncertainty'; the "surge in imports" is "healthy" when in fact it is an ongoing nightmare (i.e., just in June the overall U.S. trade deficit in goods and services surged 19% to a 21-month high of $49.9 billion); income inequality is not so unequal when in fact it is at its highest level since 1928; the "auto industry is coming back" when in fact most of its vigor is coming from cutting domestic employment in favor of offshoring; and "8.5 million" jobs have been saved by the White House when just a few weeks ago Geithner himself used the figure of "3 million" for jobs created and saved.

Here are some additional truths about our economy, over and above the sad income inequality truths that now hang over our nation like a plague:

    * The real unemployment rate is 18.3%, not the 9.5% official rate the administration uses.

    * The number of real unemployed workers in all four categories of unemployment is 29.3 million, not the administration's one-category-only figure of 14.6 million.

    * Since the start of the Obama administration, the number of real unemployed workers has increased by 4.6 million. By contrast, the economy needs to add around 150,000 new jobs each month simply to keep up with population growth.

    * In real terms the all-important "jobs gap" is 21.3 million new jobs.

    * The average number of weeks unemployed is at least 34.2, and the number of workers unemployed a half year or longer is at least 10.1 million.


Mr. Geithner's rhetorical deceptions mask the ineffectiveness of the only two potentially meaningful job-creation initiatives -- aid to the states and the bailout of Detroit -- that he and Summers largely put together, while letting him ignore the several initiatives, including trade reform, which could actually create, relatively quickly, millions of jobs.

Congressman John Dingell of Michigan has written that, "the U.S. automakers benefitted greatly from federal largesse and they should feel morally compelled to retain and create as many domestic jobs as possible." Obviously the automakers don't agree, nor, when it had the opportunity, did Treasury demand that they do so. Here are a few more truths:

    * GM has invested a staggering $4.1 billion in Mexico over just the last four years, and after quickly shedding thousands of American jobs in the 'bailout', it recently announced a further $500 million investment in its Ramos Arizpe, Mexico plant to produce a new vehicle and a new line of engines there.

    * Chrysler announced in February that it will spend $550 million to retool its Toluca, Mexico factory to assemble the subcompact Fiat 500 model.

    * Ford has announced $3 billion in new investments throughout northern Mexico just since 2008.


Driving all of this home is the statement two weeks ago from Ed Whitacre, the Chairman and CEO of General Motors. Whitacre, it is said, is so eager to rid GM of the "stigma" of being government owned that he wants Treasury to sell its entire stake in the company during GM's upcoming initial public offering of stock. "We want the government out, period," he has said.

When Mr. Whitacre speaks of "stigma" I think he means that he doesn't want any scrutiny of his company's ongoing offshoring moves, which should have been largely prohibited by Treasury in return for the massive government aid which saved his company's bacon. He probably also means he doesn't want Congress scrutinizing the company's embarrassing purchase three weeks ago, for $3.5 billion, of AmeriCredit, a subprime lender which, at a time of unprecedented 'financial illiteracy' and continuing financial chicanery, is committed, as the New York Times wrote, to "extending loans and leases to [GM] customers with questionable credit".

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leo-hindery-jr/treasury-secretary-geithn_b_684565.html

Who's going to make good on all those bad loans?  Taxpayers in the USA?  Future generations?

[WhiskeyGirl]

I remember reading about so many American auto startup companies - whole vehicles, battery manufacturers/innovators that lost stimulus/recovery money to foreign nations/workers/companies and GM/Chrysler.

American innovation lost out to patronage jobs and foreign/business/unions interests.

When will those in Washington work for American workers?  Someone has to work and create wealth to support Obama's spending, debt, and growing welfare state.

Where are the jobs?  The innovation?

The only thing growing in America since stimulus, is stagnation and decay.

jmho