Progressives Say It's About Jobs, Not Debt

Left-leaning groups MoveOn.org and Rebuild the Dream have joined with other activists to launch a campaign aimed at jumpstarting the weak U.S. job market.

Their effort, which yielded a plan called the “Contract for the American Dream,” is focused around the idea of preventing steep domestic spending cuts — the type proposed by House Republicans in their ongoing quest to reign in the nation’s massive budget deficit.

Though the country’s debt level sits at roughly $14.5 trillion, progressives are making the case that the government must spend more now in order to create jobs and reduce the 9.1% broad unemployment rate.

Those who are working on the effort say that the contract was drafted with input from 125,000 Americans “who came together online and in their communities, and put forth their ideas to get the economy back on track.” Officials told reporters on Tuesday that the contract was inspired in part by the debt limit deal agreed to by the White House and Congress, which they say “fails to create jobs and make millionaires and billionaires pay their fair share.”

“The majority of Americans in this debt ceiling-default crisis debacle were simply just not heard,” said former Obama White House official Van Jones, who now serves as President of Rebuild the Dream. “Most Americans say that job creation now is more important than the long-term deficit problem…that perspective has been missing from the debate.”

Illinois Democrat Jan Schakowsky agreed, telling reporters that the jobs crisis represents a more pressing issue for lawmakers than the debt.

“We have to grow our way out of this, there is no other choice. And that means putting people back to work so that they become taxpayers.”

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