Recently, our President unveiled a jobs package which has met considerable resistance in the Senate in particular. The gist of the jobs package, as I understand it, focuses on teachers and construction workers. While both of these skill sets are needed, they will not stem the tide of unemployment. Here is where we need common sense. Here's how I would do it:

Firstly, institute the $.01 National Sales Tax (NST). The revenue generated from this (see previous post) would be roughly $36 billion. We now have the starting "kitty" for the jobs package.  A few things need to happen during the first year aside from collecting the revenue from the NST. Firstly, the Federal government needs to interface with the state governments. This means the President HAS to talk to the governors, all 50 of them. It would also be beneficial to recruit the House of Reps and the Senate to talk with their districts. In talking to the governors as well as the Congress, the President would be looking for specific information, primarily unemployment numbers for each state/district. Once this information is collected and sorted, the unemployed need to be categorized. By categorized I don't mean by race, age, etc. By categorize, I refer to identifying those who are able to work, those who are willing to undergo intensive job training, etc. Each state would be responsible for identifying prosepctive candidates within their own state. This first stage creates temporary jobs for the screening process (so far we are off to a better start than our current administration). Next, it would be incumbent upon each state to identify employment shortfalls within the state (i.e. shortages in education, nursing, construction, etc.) By identifying where employees are needed, states can eliminate the "over qualified" or "under qualified" prospective employees that get turned down in hard economic times. Fast forward one year, the NST has been in effect and the revenue is ready for use.

As a side note to the NST revenue, it is incumbent upon the administration to ensure that this money is NOT allocated to other pet projects. This was an issue that arose as banks and auto companies began repaying the TARP funds. Rather than returning the loan payments back to the Treasury as intended and as the Obama administration told the American people they would be, the funds have disappeared. I, as of yet, have not been able to find out where these funds have gone. So, it is of the utmost importance that the NST revenue be held for the Jobs Plan.

Year two of the "Common Sense Administration" and Jobs Plan is in effect. The states have identified potential candidates and employment shortages in their individual states. Harken back to the Great Depression and the Roosevelt era, and you have an idea of what I'm talking leaning towards. Each state establishes/funds job training centers specifically geared towards the employment shortage skill sets. (Wait, did we just create more jobs for teachers?) The programs of study would HAVE to be accelerated in order to produce viable employees in a reasonable amount of time. This does NOT mean the course of study should be "shortened", but applicants/employees should be prepared to work a little harder. Here is an example:

Let's say the state of Kentucky is short on nurses (RNs, LPNs, and CNAs) and has a shortage of 1,500 positions (for the sake of easy math, say 500 positions of each of the above medical specialties). The governor has identified 1,500 applicants who are willing to undergo intensive job training for these positions. The 500 prospective CNA applicants begin training and graduate in roughly 16 weeks (less if the training is held five days a week for several hours a day rather than a night course at a local school). LPNs are usually studying for approximately two years, however, longer and more frequent classes could shorten this time frame, without sacrificing the quality of study. RNs also require around two years of study, but again, could be licensed in a shorter amount of time with intensive study. This intensive course would require the applicants to focus solely on their respective course of study. Here is where Uncle Sam steps in to help. In addition to establishing the training centers (utilizing existing facilities), the NST revenue would be used to help subsidize the students living expenses (to a certain degree) during their enrollment in the Federal training program. Food vouchers for families, federal housing assistance, etc. (we already pay for this for thousands of people who either cannot work or choose not to work, so why not pay for those who are going to be employed at the end of a set period of time).  Fast forward to the end of the training for CNAs. As a condition of the Federal job training program, graduates are given assistance in resume' writing and job placement assistance in the identified shortages. Once employed, the newly minted employees are given a maximum of 3-6 months additional Federal assistance. Now employed and receiving a steady paycheck, the employees are removed from Federal assistance. The process is repeated for other skill-sets that are identified by the states. The revenue from the NST is sure to be exhausted, but will continue to be collected as time marches forward.

Many details of this plan have not been listed here, but this is the general gist of the plan. This puts the onus of employing citizens on the state and local governments rather than the Federal government. State governments are in a better position to cater to the needs of their citizens than the Federal government is. Practical job creation using nothing more than common sense and motivated citizens. The lynch-pin in the equation is the willingness of the citizens to work and the willingness of the states to improve the quality of life for those citizens. Think we can do it? As an American, I KNOW we can. Let's just hope we can get someone in office who can implent the Common Sense Stimulus.

I hope to get some feedback/questions on this plan...so, let's get those fingers moving. Spread the word, share the common sense.