Excerpts from the Facebook feed during the President’s LinkedIn Discussion about the Jobs Act

Photo on Flicker by Jose' Lui's Agapito

I recently watched President Obama’s LinkedIn townhall meeting on Facebook.  Talk about a double dose of social networking media! 

 I haven’t really blogged about the tax proposals because quite frankly, I prefer to wait until something is actually the law before I  post about it.  But I found the comments that people were making about the economy and their concerns were pretty relevant and important.  If you’d like to read the comprehensive fact sheet, here’s a link to that right here:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/09/08/fact-sheet-and-overview

This certainly isn’t every Facebook post from the meeting, I couldn’t keep up with all of them and I did omit items that were off topic.  But I found that these posts reflected issues that are certainly facing people today.  And I felt they were worth sharing.

• Charles B
I agree that best way to keep Social Security is raise the salary cap. I would recommend a tax rebate, and reinstating the consumer loan interest tax deduction. This would be more effective than deducting the amount going into Social Security using the payroll tax cut.

• Morrie E
How about coming up with an export program that supports already successful small to medium US manufacturers ship their products to the international markets? This takes companies that are already having success and expands their market so they will have to hire more people to meet the increased demand.

• Daisy H
When we have 14 – 26 million Americans unemployed and only 3.5 million jobs available; as Jeff of LinkedIn previous stated, it is obvious, that we need to put lots and lots of resources into helping Americans to create small businesses and hire each other.

• Wendy D
Mr. President: I have been looking for a permanent job fo 15 months. I have found that employers are reluctant to hire the long term unemployed. Can an incentive be given to employers for hiring someone who has been searching for a long time as opposed to hiring someone who alreayd has a job? Thank you.

• Morrie E
Why can’t growing small businesses like mine access the SBA for small working capital loans. Without a good FICO score, the banks will not underwrite the loan. Of course, many small businesses are just recovering from 2008 and now the business owners personal FICO score is now being used instead of the D&B for just the business even if your business is a C corp.

• W Reynolds W
It is a known fact that employers discriminate the unemployed. Even if legislation is passed trying to ban discrimination, the legislation won’t be worth the paper it is written just as it has been ineffective to control discrimination based on race. We need a universal employment policy that is based on economic reality.

• Norman Wade P
When the times are tough, you take care of home first. America is our home, take care of schools, manufacturing, construction, medical invsestment, transportation, environment.

• W Reynolds W
The President has been pushing infrastructure repair as part of his American Jobs Act bill. He would be wise to focus on repairing employment legislative infrastructure to stimulate true jobs growth.

• Shashank M
The guy who has obviously made tons of money in Silicon Valley business stands up and wants his taxes to be raised. Fine – do that. Why wrap the rest of us in it. Not all of us have minted money so we can afford to be “unemployed out of choice”! And no – you did not invest in my education. I paid every dollar out of my earnings.

• Susan S
What is the point of all this discussion when we all know the rep are never going to allow your reforms. I have been out of work for 2 yrs due to medical issues and am still waiting for a hearing with SSD I will lose my home before I even get to Hearing after owning my home for 25+ yrs. whats fair about that after paying into SS all these years They are dragging their heels long enough to lose it after all these years

• Vickie T
Mr. President, I have been laid off for almost two years. Working in the IT world. I need the immediate training and now!!! Not next week! Now!

• Ben K
In the current economy, a lot of people, myself included are working as contract workers, and not employees and receive limited or in some cases no benefits, and are part of what has come to be called the Permanent Temporary Workforce and have been for a year or longer, as I have been. What is your plan to help companies hire contractors and other temporary workers as employees?

• Wendy D
Retraining will work for most. But there are many like me, 60 yrs +, who don’t have time to retrain. We need jobs now, in our areas of expertise, or we are domed to living in poverty as we age.

•Connie L
Mr. President , take the debt off the backs of the American not the big corporations and banks, have a good day!

•Joseph G Jr.
I don’t have problems finding work even though for the past 10 years it has come in the form of contract work but finding a permanent job or starting my own business is my motive though I can’t seem to make enough money to make my business grow and getting a small business loan is out of the question in this economy. I’m a contractor in the Information Technology field who badly wants to start my own business and I’m full of ideals and have a deep passion for technology and a desire to lead and help others, how can I get the funds I need to grow, hire employees and compete in today IT industry without going into financial ruins getting business loans? 

•Peggy H
Education is important but at this point and time it is secondary until we manage to keep jobs in the US. Also we can’t all be in management. We need the blue collar worker too.

Back to me again.   Here’s a link to the White House Press Release about the event.  http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/09/26/president-obamas-town-hall-linkedin-we-are-thing-together?utm_source=092711&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=daily   It has the video and the written transcript if you’re interested.  Thanks for reading.