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[The United States needs] a Stimulus 2 to invest from the bottom up. We're bailing out the leaves and not bailing out the roots. We must have a renewed focus and commitment to put America back to work.
Here in Chicago, Jackson called for an "urban stimulus" and wants the city to provide job training for the parents of school-aged children in various trades and to put them to work on city projects. Jackson also asked for Chicago unions to back the idea. Sure, there are probably flaws and impracticalities in the idea, but it beats just talking about it. And as it's been pointed out by people such as Steve Rhodes, the problem isn't "black-on-black" violence, it's "poor-on-poor" violence. So any sort of action to help break the tragic cycle of poverty in many Chicago neighborhoods certainly can't be a bad thing.
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Chicagoist, please don't give any praise to Mr. Jackson, a professional race-hustler, or his pie-in-the-sky ideas.
Job training programs like the ones requested by Mr. Jackson have never been proven to actually work. They spend a ton of taxpayers money and yield few results. And there is always some pocketing of the money by officers of shady non-profits.
Please look with a skeptical eye at Jackson. Don't enhance the credibility of this phony opportunist.
My thoughts exactly, Ward Up.
Unfortunately, the only effective jobs program in this country is the military. I say this as the son of a poor kid from Englewood who went on to retire from the Navy as a 4-star admiral. Over the years my dad served, I met lots of young enlisted people. Some stayed in the Navy and others got out ... most were better off regardless. This, of course, was all before Dubya.
Programs like job training can work, if there are actual jobs for people when they complete the training. It is pointless in the absence of the next step. If given a real opportunity, the vast majority of folks in Altgeld and around would likely prefer to earn a living wage.
Plus, as previous posters have pointed out, the Jackson record on programs and set-asides tends toward self-enrichment. Operation PUSH worked for a cadre of core leaders, but for the greater number in the neighborhoods, they were about as effective as Ceasefire.
To dtkindler, great Ceasefire analogy. Don't get me started about that money pit.
Actually, two of the suspects HAD jobs, and in fact one had TWO jobs. So while more jobs are necessary, there's obviously something else going on than unemployment.
How difficult is it to "call" for something? If you are a liberal, all you have to do is "call" for something like world peace or equality, and you are heaped with praise.
That's the last thing we need is a Stimulus 2 since the first stimulus being such a flop. However, as is the case with everything else in government, follow the money. JJ is salivating at the thought of all that cash. I'm sure his organization would get a few bucks to "distribute" how they see fit.