I guess this will be a second stimulus by another name.

The first stimulus wasn't big enough and wasted too much money on non-stimulative tax cuts. If that money had gone to hiring people instead, the jobs picture would be better by now.

Better late than never, I suppose.

first glimmers of hope that more sanity is coming on afghanistan, and now real word about creating jobs...

...jeez, i think the democrats are starting to take over the gov.

what happened?

Jobs are created when business needs people to make stuff/sell stuff/service stuff.

Until there are people who want stuff-AND HAVE THE MONEY TO BUY IT- there will be no new jobs.

"Given the magnitude of the economic turmoil we've experienced, employers are reluctant to hire. Next month's summit is apparently intended to explore new ideas about boosting the job market."

Please.

No more failed supply-side tax cuts.

We are a DEMAND economy.

I remember when President Bush held a jobs summit in 2003. It was a scripted play really. Billionaire Charles Schwab raised his hand and suggested that taxes on dividends should be eliminated. Bush, wanting to demonstrate that the summit was productive, pretended that he had never considered such a novel idea and then went home and got himself and his buddies a dividend tax cut -- increasing the deficit and the tax burden for the rest of us.

If this jobs summit lends itself to more regressive tax system than we already have, then I'm going to puke.

Why do I have the sinking feeling that the result of the jobs summit will be a proposal to give billions of dollars in federal subsidies to large corporations in exchange for nothing but vague promises?

Maybe because I've been paying attention?

2 things:
1) Obama is paying the price, as indicated by slips in approval ratings, for the perception that he has aligned himself with Wall Street over main street. It does not matter that the crisis was caused by republican economic philosophy or that the TARP bailout started under Bu$h. Unfortunately we Americans have very short attention spans and he should not expect people to remember the details. Also, Summers and Geitner have proven to be tools of Wall Street. Getting them to 'fix' Wall Street is literally putting the fox in charge of the hen house. The fact that it is basically business as usual on wall Street is what is enraging Americans.
2) Force the banks that got TARP funds to give capital so smaller, local backs and credit unions across the country, as they will be the ones that can loan directly to business that will hire.

One final observation: What is it about Washington that turns even the most idealistic and populist person into a typical beltway villager with the typical beltway mentality?

This is either a great move or a horrible move, depending on who is invited to the forum and who Obama listens to.

For example:

Business Leader: "End capital gains taxes, no more govt stimulus"

Labor: "Direct green jobs, no tax cuts"

Obama: "But I love you both"

Well ending the trough for corporations and firing Geithner and Summers would probably help with that. I can't really imagine things becoming worse with those two corporate robots removed.

So, exactly how many times does Krugman need to be right before anyone starts listening to him? Damn this pisses me off. The habitually wrong are deferred to, and the preternaturally prescient are consistently ignored.

The nutters have his nuts in a nutcracker

They will call him a socialist if he creates jobs And damn him for the joblessness if he doesn't.

So what's the best way out of the vice?
Watch the video.

Touche Mr. President...

Why not use some of the unspent stimulus $$ to encourage banks to start lending to small businesses again? Those funds could go directly to the local banks that lend to small businesses, without the need to placate the big big banks by funding huge bonuses with taxpayer money.