STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 28 June 2012

[Demeter]

7. One Million Jobs or Two Million Layoffs? It's Decision Day on Transportation Bill

http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/10019-1-million-jobs-or-2-million-layoffs-its-decision-day-on-transportation-bill

There are reports that Congress is at last about to reach a deal on a transportation bill, exactly 1,001 days after the expiration of the last transportation reauthorization bill that Congress passed. What's still unclear is what kind of deal this will be.

The right deal would create 1 million jobs desperately needed by the construction and other blue-collar workers disproportionately hit by our long-running jobs crisis. But if House Republicans continue to play their role as economic and political saboteur, the country could instead be hit with the layoffs of 2 million workers.

That's why this morning you should send a message to your member of Congress and tell them to get behind the Senate transportation jobs bill: http://action.ourfuture.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=172



That bill, which gets a thumbs up from TheMiddleClass.org, would provide funding for transportation projects for the next two years, giving states the certainty they need to take on the road and mass transit projects that will not only put people to work but enable a growing economy to move people and goods more efficiently.

It also maintains or improves policies that have worked for communities for decades but are under siege by congressional conservatives, such as procedures that allow transportation projects to be properly vetted for their environmental impact before construction begins or allowances for states to use federal funding for pedestrian or bicycle safety.

Congress only has until Sunday to act....MORE