Doing nothing about jobs

Polls show that the American people understand what’s troubling America. They know it’s not so much the budget deficit as it is unemployment, and that the fastest way to get the country out of its slump is to put people back to work.

Why, then, isn’t Washington doing more about jobs? Well, as former Labor Secretary Robert Reich points out in a recent commentary, it’s partly because Republicans want to stick it to the Democrats. “They’re so intent on unseating Obama they’d like the economy to remain in the dumps through Election Day,” he writes.

The Democrats, meanwhile, have their heads in the sand. They “don’t want to admit that the economy has stalled,” Reich writes. “They worry such talk will further undermine consumer confidence or spook the bond market. They don’t want to head into the election year sounding downbeat.”

And what about the millions of people without jobs? They have no clout, Reich says. They lack political connections and aren’t organized. If they had power, they’d be knocking down doors and demanding policies to spur job growth.