From "Build things" to "Butt out," conflicting opinions are expected to be heard today at the White House jobs summit.
On the eve of what is likely to be another 10 percent-plus monthly unemployment report, President Barack Obama has invited business, labor, financial, academic and nonprofit leaders to Washington to discuss job creation. His stated goal for the listening session: "To talk about how we can work together to create jobs and get this economy moving again."
The economy has started moving again, but unemployment remains the biggest unsolved problem, causing great economic pain for millions of families and threatening to stall or even reverse the recovery.
In the short term, summit organizers — including Obama — have no illusions that the day will end with a specific recommendation, much less consensus about whether another federal job stimulus is necessary.
The ideas the 130 or so invited participants offer eventually could provide the framework if the nation embarks on a third job-stimulus plan in three years.
Underpinning the table talk will be two poles of thought — whether federal spending or tax cuts will best spark job creation. Both have supporters in the Kansas City area.
Carl Schramm, who leads the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, will be among the guests who believe job creation will prosper through tax incentives for new companies. He will share a handout headlined "Entrepreneurs are key to job creation," and call for a payroll tax "holiday" for start-up firms.
"Washington needs to create an environment where entrepreneurs and new companies can thrive and create the jobs that our country desperately needs," Schramm said.
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