Good Jobs First

How to win the argument about the big economic challenges facing the American people

NUMBER 2 | SEPTEMBER 24, 2012

Good Jobs First

Making the Case

The middle class is sinking. Jobs are scarce; wages aren’t keeping up; basic benefits like pensions are disappearing, as the richest few clean up. Conservatives want more tax breaks for the corporations and wealthy, paid for by cuts in Medicare and education. That’s the poisonous brew that got us in this mess.

We need a bold strategy to revive the middle class, not short-term schemes that waste money and ignore the challenges we face. We’ve got to take on the special interests that rig the rules in Washington, curb big money in politics, and shut the revolving door between legislators and lobbies. Then focus on good jobs first.

Let’s see “made in America” back in our stores. Repeal the obscene tax breaks that multinationals pocket for shipping our jobs abroad; reward companies that produce here at home. Invest in areas vital to our economy – innovation, education, rebuilding our decrepit roads and sewers, and pay for it by insuring the wealthy and the big corporations pay their fair share. And working people must be paid for the work that they do: Raise the minimum wage; stop rewarding CEOs for cooking the books; empower workers to bargain for a fair share of the profits they help to produce. This economy won’t work unless we rebuild the middle class.

The Dilemma

Jobs and the economy are by far the leading concerns of voters. Mass unemployment is a human tragedy and an economic calamity. And now a faltering recovery is in trouble. Europe is sinking back into recession; China is slowing. In the U.S., wages are falling and jobs growth is slowing. Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, a cautious Republican economist, is so alarmed that he’s announced extraordinary measures to sustain record low interest rates in the hope of fending off recession.

Yet in the presidential campaign, there is remarkably little sign of urgency. President Obama argues that the economy is on the mend, and his policies need more time. Republican challenger Mitt Romney offers the same trickle-down nostrums that Republicans have peddled in good times and bad. Many Democrats are tongue-tied about spending and deficits. And in Washington, elite opinion has turned to the debate about how to get our books in order—not about how to get the economy going. Austerity is on the agenda, not expansion, even as Great Britain, Ireland and much of Europe show that austerity inflicted on a bad economy leads only to higher unemployment, greater misery, and a worse fiscal situation.

In this context, progressives have to boldly make the case for good jobs first.

Elements
Of the Case

Opinion research by CAF with Democracy Corps and Lake Research, and by the Roosevelt Institute with Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research suggest guidelines for making the case:

1. Stand with the middle class, the working people who are under siege. This focus should encompass everyone from the poor who would enter the middle class to those struggling to stay in it.

2. Go after the entrenched interests and big money that rig the rules. Americans are skeptical of government partly because they sensibly think it is corrupted, serving the insiders, not the citizenry.

3. Go strong, sustained and strategic, not temporary, timid and targeted. Americans understand things are badly awry; they don’t believe a dash of stimulus or a dose of austerity can “jump-start” the economy. They are looking for a bold strategy for a way out.

4. Don't let concerns about deficits trump support for investments vital to the economy. People understand the need for public spending on education, on first responders and teachers, on roads and sewers, on renewable energy. They want the public pillars of family security–Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid—protected. Broad majorities support raising taxes on the rich, the big banks and the multinationals to help pay for what is needed.

5. Offer more than just spending more money. We must also change our corporate trade policies; curb executive pay excesses and help workers gain a fair share of profits; reward patriotic corporations that keep jobs in the U.S.; and help homeowners renegotiate underwater mortgages. People are looking for a strategy that makes sense, not more spending on what we’ve been doing.

The Public Pulse

An August 2012 online survey for the Campaign for America’s Future and Lake Research tested the following contrasting conservative vs. populist messages, using party identifiers. In each case, the progressive message was preferred over the conservative message—even though at the time of the test, Democrats trailed Republicans by 40 percent to 49 percent on which party was better able to handle the economy.

Conservative Message Frame
Republicans say Obama has failed. 23 million people are in need of work because he’s burdening the economy with wasted spending, big deficits, more regulations, and higher taxes. No wonder business isn’t creating jobs. We say it’s time for new leadership. We need more freedom, not more regulation. Lower deficits, not more spending. More jobs, not more taxes. We need to roll back the regulations blocking production of oil, coal, gas, and other energy right here in the U.S. Repeal Obamacare, lower taxes, and free up businesses to create jobs. Cut spending and move to a balanced budget. It’s small business, not government, that will get America going again.
Progressive Message Frames
Populism and Jobs Democrats say that to fix our economy, we need to rebuild the middle class. Republicans want more tax cuts for the rich and companies that ship jobs overseas. That doesn’t work. Instead, create good jobs by making things in America again. Put multinational corporations on notice – you want to sell here, you’ve got to produce here. End the unfair trade deals and crack down on offshore tax dodges. Invest in areas vital to our economy–innovation and research, education, rebuilding our decaying infrastructure–and pay for it by getting millionaires and big corporations to pay their fair share. Rebuild the middle class and revive the economy.	Populism and Fairness Democrats say the middle class is disappearing, while the richest clean up. Republicans want billions more in tax breaks for the wealthy, paid for by cuts in Medicare and education. That’s wrong. We need to take on the special interests that are rigging the rules. Raise the minimum wage. Stop rewarding CEOs for cooking the books. Empower workers to bargain for a fair share of the profits they help produce. Invest in areas vital to our economy–innovation, education, rebuilding our decaying infrastructure–and pay for it by getting millionaires and big corporations to pay their fair share. This economy needs to work for Americans who work hard and play by the rules.
Favored by 47% (33% strong) vs. 42% (31% strong) for the conservative message	Favored by 47% (32% strong) to 41% (27% strong) for the conservative frame