Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 18 November 1993 — Page 8

The Muncie Times, Thursday, 18 November, 1993, Page 8

Economic revival needed for job creation

by John E Jacob T| emember when the Bill Clinton camn paign headquarters last fall was hung ■Em with hand-lettered signs proclaiming: “It’s the economy, stupid.” That simple slogan was there to remind everyone in the campaign that the top priority had to be reviving the economy. We need that kind of focused national attention on job creation today, because the economy will continue to stagnate, unless there’s an all-out drive to create more and better jobs. Sure, health security is a must. So is controlling a runaway budget. So is welfare reform. And a dozen other urgent policy mandates have a rightful claim to be among the top three or four national priorities. But unless we create more and better jobs, we’ll just see poverty and hardship continue to grow, urban decline will accelerate and there won’t be enough tax revenues generated to fund health security and other reforms. One place to begin educating the public about the job crisis is to stop peddling misleading statistics. The official unemployment rate is just under 7 percent-high enough to stimulate concern, but not high enough to spark immediate action on the necessary scale. But the true jobless rate is closer to double the official rate, since the government counts as employed anyone who worked at all in the

previous month, even if that "‘work” amounted to a couple of hours baby-sitting. And that 7 percent rate doesn’t include discouraged workers who have given up the fruitless search for jobs. Nor does it count part-timers who really want full-time work. And don’t buy the myth about nearly 2 million jobs a year being created--the vast majority are part-time or temporary, lowwage, no-benefit positions. Meanwhile, layoffs continue. Virtually every day brings news that another large corporation will trim its payroll and lay off thousands, often tens of thousands, of workers. According to a Fortune magazine story, every business day since the start of the year, an average of 2,389 American workers learned they would be losing their jobs. Young people, especially African American and minority youngsters, are especially vulnerable. A smaller percentage of young people work

today than before the onset of the last recession. That’s not supposed to happen-this far into an economic recovery period there should be more, not fewer, working young people. In this context, it is ridiculous to talk about an economic recovery or even about the many new jobs being generated. Young people seeking entry-level positions and adults seeking full-time jobs that pay a living wage are not finding work, while people are losing decent jobs at recession-level rates. Continued high unemployment and the social problems it breeds are the price we pay for government’s refusal to create the jhob and training programs required to get people working again. When Congress passed the federal budget it ditched the administration’s economic stimulus parkape which at least promised some mild job ci e m effects. Failing that, and with the job outlook worsening, Congress and the administration should be turning to the Urban League’s Marshall Plan for America as a blueprint for revitalizing the economy. The plan would create jobs through infrastructure programs which would include hiring and training the long-term jobless. And its training and education programs would prepare people for the more demanding skills required of today’s economy. We’ve got a real jobs problem here in America. Fixing it has to be our top priority.

Medicare covers home X-ray services

My 65-year-old wife ff'l needs X-rays but ■■■she is very ill and unable to travel. I’ve been told that there are portable X-ray machines that can be brought to our home and used. Will my wife’s Medicare insurance pay for X-ray services performed in our home?

raxes r □

□

Yes. Medicare will help pay for portable diagnostic X-

ray services in your home if the services are ordered by a physician and provided by a Medicare-cer-

tified supplier.

■■■ A woman comes in f^lonce a week to ■■■clean my house. She works for a local janitorial service. Do I have to pay Social Security

taxes for her?

No. Her employer must pay her taxes because she is their employee, not yours.

■■| If my Social Secu-

Irity doesn’t arrive

■■■ on check day, should I report this right away to my Social Security

office?

No, If the scheduled day for the check is the third of

□

the month, it cannot be considered late until the 6th, piSl was in an auto accident several ■■■years ago and began receiving Social Security disability benefits. Although my medical condition hasn’t changed significantly since the accident, I’m looking for a job because I need extra income. Will my disability benefits stop immediately if I’m able to get a job? ■■ No. If you return to work before there is ■Ala significant improvement in your me-

dical condition, you may be eligible for a ‘trial work period.’ The trial work period, which may last up to nine months, allows you to test your ability to

work.

If you show you are able to work, you will be paid benefits for an additional three months after the end of the trial work period. For more information, call Social Security’s toll-free number, i-800-772-1213, business days between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Recently I took a second job. Both my employers are

deducting Social Security taxes from my wages. It seems that by year’s end I will have paid more in Social Security taxes than necessary. What can I do?

■■ You don’t have to pay Social Security ■M taxes on earnings over $57,600. When you file your Federal income tax, there is section on your Form 1040 that allows you to apply for a refund of any overpayment! in your Social Security tax. You continue to pay Me-, dicare taxes on earnings up io 135,000.