Stimulus money for training the employed?

For quite some time I've wondered why the world has to be divided into protectionists and non-protectionists. Seems to me it would be smarter to apply a bit of well-placed protectionism under a particular set of circumstances and to remove it when those circumstances have changed for the better. I suppose that comes under your "logical course of action," Kerry.

Usually, when jobs get scarce in one area during a recession, people move. Friends and family have scattered across the continent over the course of my adult life. Twenty-five years ago it was Houston; now it's Bismarck, ND or, if you have the means, Ireland. What's changed is that a couple dozen years of wage erosion and the current housing market have conspired to keep people stuck. Where they're stuck, they may start paying attention to the policies that have gotten us into this mess. It could be a game-changer; then again, old habits die hard so it might still take awhile.

Some years back, I found out that to partake of government program training, one had to submit all sorts of personal information…SSN, income, job history, education, etc. Essentially, contractors managing government retraining funds create a profile on the "student" and retain this information for their benefit (and the government's, I suppose). So not only are employers requesting government training assistance often tied up regarding compliance with federal or state program rules that might not otherwise apply, but also the students implicitly agree to certain risks in order to participate. (How would you like a future employer to have all your personal info, even before you get the job?) These training programs are all too typical of government run "benefit" programs. Always a two edged sword.

Strange to me that we happily teach/train the population of the world (and then hire many of them not even yet citizens to be our doctors, professors, etc.), only to later have our now multinational corporations outsource our best jobs to other countries, whereupon we eventually have to retrain our workforce for placement into lower grade jobs. I'm not entirely a protectionist, but certainly the playing field is not level when many other countries have no EPA, OSHA, COMMERCE, and a boatload of other regulations that must be complied with by businesses sited in the USA. Then there is the complete lack of enforcement with regard to patents, trademarks, and other forms of intellectual property. It amazes me the USA worker/company can be competitive at all!

So "training" seems to be locking the barn doors long after the horses have fled! Why not first level the playing field? Instead, we propose Cap and Trade and other regulations that will further hinder US business and burden our people and government with sanctions the rest of the developing world will not pay any attention to. If only people would think before they vote! If only they would vote! If only politicians would follow a logical course of action rather than what will guarantee reelection and make them look good.

I'm afraid that sometimes when a company gets involved with a government agency for funding and money, rules change real quick on what you can do pay wise and hiring wise. Handcuffs like this sometimes makes it more difficult to move a business forward. I would like to see job retraining for those out of work now and looking for jobs that are being advertised right now but are requiring certain new training with regards to computers and current software systems used within these jobs NOW hiring.

Sounds like this is intended to help area companies retrain or improve their existing workforce. It would be worth reading an abstract of what the interested companies propose as "needed training". Would also be interesting to hear why some companies choose not to pursue this program. I wonder if a similar program will be offered to the unemployed?

TIF money can, and so can CDBG if I'm not mistaken.

I think TIF money can be used for job training??? I think it is in the Illinois Constitution for Legislators book.

I hope they will check with Hope Haven, which has a program to sponsor people to take CNA training, which often just about doubles their earnings potential. They could match funds with what HH donors give to the program.