On Monday, August 8, Cleveland was the national kick off site for the Congressional Black Caucus’ "For the People" jobs tour. Without a true workable plan of action, it instead appeared to resemble more of an attempt to gather thousands of Clevelanders for a list of “mad as heck” potential 2012 voters. These same jobless signees could be used to blame the GOP and state and national Tea Party members for the lack of jobs.
Reportedly, there were a lot of speeches, a lot of promises and even a note from the president to bring a sense of dramatization to what Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. would have called a “shameful condition.”
Yet, were the anointed leadership of the congressional black caucus truly interested in creating jobs, or was it a neat and tidy way of showcasing their need to be seen by Cleveland area job deprived voters as caring and compassionate? This feigned compassion of course had no connection to their own congressional inaction, of holding Obama’s white house job creation paralysis policies responsible for unemployed Clevelander’s plight. Where was the Congressional Black Caucus’ anger and moral outrage for the tens of thousands in Cleveland and vicinity as job after job was stripped away, while they focused instead on failed Obamacare policies instead of jobs creation policies?
This type of Cleveland event is straight out of the time-worn playbook of the 1960’s and 70’s, where there is protest and marches for jobs, but there is no plan, and no job creation policy and a token representation of employers. Where were the business council and chamber of commerce leaders of Cleveland, Akron, Toledo and Columbus? Perhaps their absence had more to do with not feeling a need for more pats on the back and warmed over speeches. They need tax cut incentives that are more than just a politically correct nod from the president.
In addition, Cleveland residents, Akron residents, Toledo residents, Ohio residents need more than a workshop or a town hall meeting as a workable mechnism to decrease unemployment.
How about the Congressional Black Caucus become a little bit innovative and come back to Cleveland after Labor Day with a three to five point plan that includes the local, state and national business councils, a tax reduction plan that makes sense for job creation, and jobs training program that ties into new and creative job creators and industries that do not need unions to pull their salary strings.
While the Congressional Black Caucus has a laudable goal to attain the hiring of 10,000 people in five cities, while attempting to make a dent in their reported findings of 16.2 percent in the African American community, Cleveland attendees will need more than, “ Today is your day...claim it...you have to follow through,” according to Cleveland Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge (The Plain Dealer, Marcia Pledger, August 08, 2011).
Congressional Black Caucus members have the obligation, instead,to follow through and deliver on their 10,000 hiring goal with a real plan and a real timetable for implementing the plan. Otherwise, this five-day trip across urban America was just a politically fine tuning GOP and Tea Party Blamathon campaign event for the 2012 general election.
Kevin Fobbs, Cleveland Conservative Examiner
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