OpenGov - Open Government Brainstorm

Why Is This Idea Important?: At the end of December 2009, 20 million Americans will be unemployed and at lease 13 million will only be able to find part time work based on the current monthly rates of increase in these two numbers. The $787 billion Stimulus Act is unlikely to create more than a half of a million jobs this year. It is too long, complicated, and very poorly organized. It has earmarks and many other items that do not contribute to creating jobs or providing assistance . It provides billions of dollars to health insurance companies over one third of which will go to overhead and profits and not to new jobs or actual healthcare. Please take a look at the table of contents. A total of 20 million new jobs must be created as rapidly as possible and no later than the end December 2009. As many jobs as practicable must be saved. If the recession ends before this or if it worsens before the total is reached then these numbers can be readjusted. Ramping up to 20 million new jobs, with average annual wages/salaries of $40,000.00 and 25% for overhead, energy and materials, by the end of the year, would cost about $375 billion, less than half of $787 billion Stimulus Act. Jobs for a year for 20 million people with the same average annual salaries and overhead would cost one trillion dollars which is one twelfth of what has been provided or committed to prop up Wall Street and banks. With decent jobs, people will be able to pay their mortgages (if interest rates are reasonable) and buy more goods. Companies will then be able to hire more people and produce and provide more goods and services. This will leverage the funds put into jobs and avert a depression. These jobs should be in both the private and public sector and scattered throughout the country. A portion of the workers will be providing health care, child care and elderly care for others and manufacturing items that others will be installing. Other workers will be teaching, training, counseling, recycling materials, mining raw materials, generating energy, and food services and doing all the things that a community/country needs to do. As these workers spend, millions of other jobs will be created. Likewise, according to the CIA World Factbook, 30%, well over one billion, of the world’s workforce are unemployed. Accordingly, one billion new jobs must be created as rapidly as possible and no later than the end December 2009. As many jobs as practicable must be saved. If the recession ends before this or if it worsens before the total is reached these numbers can be readjusted. Ramping up to one billion new jobs, with average annual wages/salaries of $20,000.00 and 25% for overhead, energy and material by the end of the year, would cost about $10 trillion. Jobs for a year for 20 billion people with the same average annual salaries and overhead would cost $25 trillion.