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Congress: Where are the jobs? (video)

by on Aug. 10, 2011, under Arizona, economy, Free Speech, jobs, John McCain, Jon Kyl, organizing, Politics, Tucson
CREDIT: onipsi
CAPTION: I'm Mad as Hell

At yesterday’s northwest Tucson town hall Arizona Senator John McCain got an earful from progressives, conservatives, and other Southern Arizonans who are “mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.”

McCain tried to use the forum to push right-wing talking points– focusing on blaming President Obama for everything and pushing the idea of more corporate tax cuts, while freezing federal jobs. Unfortunately, the crowd wanted to know how Congress will create jobs– not cut jobs. Under the weak recovery, an estimated 1.5 million jobs have been created; with last week’s the debt ceiling/deficit reduction deal (which McCain voted for) an estimated 1.8 million jobs will be lost.

If you missed your chance to express yourself at the town hall yesterday, you have another chance today, August 10. MoveOn.org is organizing nationwide protests to Demand Congress Focus On Jobs Not Cuts.

Bring your signs, your sunscreen, and your floppy hats to Speedway and Campbell today. Here’s the information from MoveOn…

Tucsonans To Rally for Jobs and the American Dream
Rally Wednesday [August 10] at 4:30pm
NW Corner of Speedway & Campbell Tucson, AZ

In the wake of a final debt deal that raises the nation’s debt ceiling but fails to protect the middle class, local residents will gather Wednesday [August 10], at 4:30 at Speedway & Campbell to demand that our Arizona members of Congress stand up for the American Dream and focus on job creation rather than cuts to vital programs that many Americans depend on.

The debt deal, which will do nothing to create jobs, forces deep cuts to important programs that protect the middle class while asks nothing of big corporations and millionaires. And though it does not require cuts to Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid benefits, it opens the door for these down the road via an unaccountable Congressional committee.

“We have a simple message: we need jobs, not budget cuts, said Ben Bosley a local MoveOn member. “We’re here today to say ‘enough is enough’ and demand that Republicans like John McCain and Jon Kyl stop their assault on the American Dream. It is far past time that Washington end the tax giveaways to corporations and the wealthy and use that money to revitalize our community and create good jobs that we so desperately need.”

The protest will take place on Wednesday at 4:30pm at the NW corner of Speedway Blvd & Campbell Avenue in Tucson.

Participants will also unveil a new Contract for the American Dream: a plan, written by over 125,000 Americans, to create jobs rather than destroy them. Local MoveOn on members will be delivering this document to Arizona members of Congress. The Contract was released Monday and can be seen here: http://contract.rebuildthedream.com.

Wednesday’s rally is one of over 250 such events nationwide, organized by the new American Dream Movement. In July, over 800 rallies were held across the country to protest the final debt deal that fails to protect the middle class. The American Dream Movement is a growing movement inspired by protests in Wisconsin and fueled by the brutal right-wing attacks on the middle class and the poor. MoveOn.org, along with countless organizations, have joined the American Dream Movement to fight to ensure that Americans have the opportunity to find a decent job, afford to go to college, and secure a future for our children and our communities.

Send this to every unemployed person you know.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 10th, 2011 at 9:29 am and is filed under Arizona, economy, Free Speech, jobs, John McCain, Jon Kyl, organizing, Politics, Tucson. Tags for this post: , , , , , , , . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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  • usmctrucker

    If congress could create jobs, Bush 1 wouldn’t have lost his re-election and Kennedy would never have pushed lower taxes in 1960.  How’s that Hope and Change workin’ for ya now, Tucson?

    • James

      Exactly, you reap what you sow. It is almost impossible to open a business in Tucson because the leadership has made it so ridiculously hard, so nobody with a brain ever will. The people that live here are not intelligent enough to care, so Tucson will remain a million people who cant drive and live on minimum wage. Eventually Tucson will turn into Mexico, and all the smart people will move somewhere else…I am already planning on leaving by next year…this state is ran by idiots.

      • chuck123

        I agree with the difficulty in opening a business not only in Tucson but just about anywhere in this state. We have been languishing on a facility in a small town on the road to Yuma for almost two years. The town council approved the lease for 40 years but we have been held up by one bureaucratic mafia after another so it looks like we will abandon the project, Now we face a lawsuit for trying to break the lease despite the amount of earnest money put down and the barriers that remain in place to open a revenue, tax generating proven business.

  • chuck123

    We used to hire people from the temp agencies all the time but could never keep them. The job? Sweeping the floor & general asst in a 2 1/2 welder welding shop and water well repair facility {we go out and repair wells on ranches & farms}. To a man, they were bums yet still we offered this position, and still do. With all the people out of work you think you could find someone reliable willing to do a little physical labor. No, it doesn’t pay much nor does it offer benefits {the company is too small to qualify for business insurance} but the work is honest, physical and healthy.
    And where have all the manufacturing jobs gone? Check the labels at some of the “big box” stores. And the money you spend on those foreign manufactured labels just helped launch an aircraft carrier in Asia. Just think, if we chose to spend a little more on American labels then we would not be facing the “extra revenue” that will be expected of all of us, not just the wealthy.
    And take a look at what will constitute the new “wealthy”; $250,000/yr vs the current $350K. So that redistribution of wealth will actually be a continued revising of the term “wealthy” and not any real gain of wealth along with a corresponding expectation of 35% “extra revenue” vs the current 20% they already take from my PENSION.
    If you’re going to rant, rant about what really matters, the deficit because the jobs are already there if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty & calloused.

  • ralfie

    We have allowed the government to destroy our country.

  • Proud to be a friend of Pam’s

    Chuck, am I understanding that what you’re offering is a starter job where someone could be a welder’s assistant and a laborer? And people don’t want to learn how to weld? Yeesh!
    As for the sweeping the floor part, hey, guess what. You need to keep the floor super-clean in place where welding’s going on. Because you get one stray spark in the debris, then poof, you’ve got a fire on your hands.
    If the guys from the temp agencies don’t understand these things, then I’ll have to agree with you. They’re bums.

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The Tucson Progressive

Pamela Powers Hannley writes the Tucson Progressive blog on the TucsonCitizen.com and contributes articles to the Huffington Post and Salon.com. She has had more than 30 years of experience in written, visual, and electronic communication—including freelance writing, photography, graphic design, and consulting. In addition to blogging for the Citizen, she is the Managing Editor of an international medical research journal.

Hannley has authored medical research articles, print magazine and newspaper stories, and numerous cancer prevention and self-help publications.

She has been a blogger since 2006, joined the ranks of Tucson Citizen bloggers in October 2010, and started contributing to the Huffington Post in 2011 and to Salon.com in 2012.

Hannley holds a masters’ degree in public health from The University of Arizona and a bachelors’ degree in journalism from The Ohio State University. She is a native of Amherst, Ohio but has lived in Tucson since 1981.