Friday, January 30, 2009

Draft Submission to the White House Task Force on Working Families

by the Sandwichman

White House press release:
President Barack Obama today announced the creation of a White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families to be chaired by Vice President Joe Biden. The Task Force is a major initiative targeted at raising the living standards of middle-class, working families in America. It is comprised of top-level administration policy makers, and in addition to regular meetings, it will conduct outreach sessions with representatives of labor, business, and the advocacy communities.
In response to the White House announcement, the Sandwichman is posting his Draft Submission to the White House Task Force on Working Families on EconoSpeak. This submission specifically addresses four of the major objectives for the Task Force, as elaborated in statements by President Obama and Vice President Biden, and in the theme for the first meeting of the Task Force on February 27, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:

· ensuring that the benefits of economic growth reach middle-class, working families;
· improving work and family balance;
· restoring labor standards;
· focusing on "green jobs" that "use renewable energy resources, reduce pollution, conserve energy and natural resources and reconstitute waste."

The underlying argument of this submission is that it is time to reconsider and rehabilitate the "surprisingly apposite" founding philosophy of the American labor movement. "Sharing the work and sparing the planet" comprehensively addresses the issues of green jobs, labor standards, work and family balance and fairness in the distribution of the benefits of economic growth.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This proposal is amazing for its depth, style, and breadth. I fully support it, and urge you to forward it to the administration - if you have not done so already.


--Jehu

Anonymous said...

I'd love to forward this to our credit union board of directors, but it just doesn't seem possible, having tried a number of options.
This is a rather frustrating medium. I'll try to contact Tom for the original document in order to submit this highly important piece.
lisa b