UCubed Asks: Is Ohio the New ‘Heart of Darkness?’

April 1, 2011

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WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Citing the recent attack on Ohio’s middle class, UCubed asks if we are entering a Joseph Conrad-like “Heart of Darkness,” a place where crazy ideas take hold, and punishing the jobless is the most insane – and morally bankrupt – idea yet.

The UCubed site launched a new Facebook ad campaign today calling on our nation’s leaders to drop the nationwide attacks on the unemployed and middle-class families and, instead, focus on putting Americans back to work.

“Gov. Kasich’s decision to close his $8 billion budget deficit on the backs of working families and the jobless is the wrong answer to this crisis,” said UCubed Executive Director Rick Sloan. “Ohio has 567,000 ‘official’ unemployed. That translates into $23 billion in lost income and an estimated $3.3 billion in lost revenue from sales and income taxes. It also means higher expenses for unemployment benefits and Medicaid.

“The right solution is to put Americans back to work. ONE Ohio job means an average $40,000 in wages, $3,300 in sales and income taxes, and a savings of over $21,000 in unemployment benefits and Medicaid costs. Multiply that by the state’s 567,000 jobless… well, to each of them, EVERY job is priceless!”

How can we put Americans back to work? UCubed is calling for a 25 percent surtax on high-income Americans that would generate $248 billion - more than enough for a 21st century Works Progress Administration (WPA) jobs program that would put millions of jobless Americans back to work immediately.

See UCubed's ad campaign on Facebook.

UCubed is a community service project of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) designed to assist the millions of unemployed and underemployed Americans, and to provide them with a structure that allows them to take advantage of their growing numbers. For more information, visit Ur Union of Unemployed.