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How The Democrats Can Reclaim The Youth Vote

If the Democrats don't get the youth vote, they're toast. That happened in Virginia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, where young Obama voters stayed home in droves. It's an ugly conceivable future portended by a new Harvard poll that shows forty-one percent of young Republicans planning on voting in November, compared to 35 percent of young Democrats and 13 percent of independents. A recent Pew poll showed a similarly disturbing pattern: Young voters still prefer the Democrats, but their margin is slipping and their enthusiasm level is worse. More....

Job worries persist as Georgia’s overall unemployment rate hovers around 10%

By Patrick Davis

The job market, real estate market and overall economic uncertainty have contributed to an unemployment rate that has hit all Americans, but statistics show, the unemployment rate has hit African-Americans the hardest.

Georgia’s overall unemployment rate is currently at 9.7 percent. However, if one delves deeper at the breakdown of race, the statistics show that Georgia’s black unemployment rate is 16.5 percent, while whites are below the overall rate at 8.7 percent.

Many may remember Senator Jim Bunning from Kentucky who defiantly obstructed an extension of unemployment benefits. However, it was at the expense of aid to the poor and jobless.

After much pressure from the public and increased media scrutiny, he relented and a temporary 30-day extension was passed.

Finding a job is tougher now and even people with college degrees are taking jobs at the local McDonald’s or 7-11 at minimum wage here in Macon and across Central Georgia.

The new dynamics of the crushing job market is having an effect on teenagers who are trying to enter the job market as well—especially this summer. The black teenage rate has between 40 to 50 percent for an extended period of time.

On March 9th, Senate Republicans -- along with some conservative Democrats – voted against a measure to provide $1.3 billion for summer jobs for young people this year and a $1.3 billion extension of enhanced subsidies for poor families with children.

This amendment would have provided $1.3 billion to help create up to 500,000 temporary jobs this coming summer. In an effort to help alleviate the strain of today’s tough job market it would have helped not only these young people but the businesses who hire these young people.

Washington’s U.S. Senator Patty Murray, co-author of the amendment along with Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, unsuccessfully argued that the amendment was paid for over a 10-year period. But Democrats could muster only 55 votes against New Hampshire’s U.S. senator Judd Gregg's budgetary point of order. The Democratic measure was five short of the supermajority needed to overcome a filibuster.

In my opinion, reconciliation is needed to push this very important legislation through Congress.

The Kerry-Murray amendment would extend stimulus bill provisions creating a summer jobs program and subsidies for vulnerable families with children via the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. The stimulus bill created the TANF Emergency Fund, which provided $5 billion to reimburse states for 80 percent of increased state spending on cash assistance, subsidized jobs and other short-term benefits for families. The amendment provides $1.3 billion to extend the program, which expires in September, until March 2011.

At the Georgia World Congress Center back in December, the 27th annual economic forecast luncheon was hosted by the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business. Speakers included Standard & Poor's Chief Economist David A. Wyss and dean of the UGA business school, Robert T. Sumichrast.

As summer approaches, Sumichrast commented about his prediction of the unemployment rate.

"Georgia's unemployment rate will continue to rise, topping out at more than 11 percent in mid-2010," said Sumichrast.

During the month of March the Congressional Black Caucus will attempt to introduce measures to help make Congress and community members more aware of Americans who are classified as chronically unemployed.

The CBC believes it is critical that policy solutions include not only small business relief but the creation of direct public jobs, worker training, the use of existing federal programs and targeted job creation to those communities with the highest rates and longest history of unemployment.

Our approach to job creation includes targeted funding and program distribution by incorporating Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMA’s) and other authorized approaches to identify and target areas with poverty rates of 15 percent or higher or unemployment of greater than 10 percent.

California Democrat Barbara Lee (D-CA) released the following statement on passage of H.R. 2847, the HIRE Act:

“As I said last week when this legislation passed the Senate, ‘this is not the jobs bill’ and we shouldn’t confuse the millions of Americans who are struggling to find work. We should stop calling it a jobs bill, and instead acknowledge this is about business tax cuts.

“While tax cuts for some businesses may be needed, our priority must be to pass legislation that directly creates jobs. The Congressional Black Caucus is committed to finding a path forward that meets the dire needs of unemployed Americans, especially the chronically unemployed.

“For some time members of the Congressional Black Caucus have been working to address the intersecting issues of unemployment, poverty and the need to strengthen America’s workforce in a weakened economy. As the White House and Congress address and implement a ‘jobs agenda,’ the CBC remains committed to prioritizing the needs of the ‘chronically unemployed.’

“Data suggest that the chronically unemployed include African Americans and other communities of color with unemployment rates significantly higher than the national average; youth and adult workers in need of enhanced education and training; and those who have lost their jobs as a result of the weakened economy and/or have been unemployed for at least six months.