As Economy Changes, Congressman Seeks Worker Solutions
“Massive disruptive economic change” and its effects are what keep congressman Derek Kilmer awake at night, he told the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce on Monday. He spoke about ways he is trying to alleviate the effects of this change for the average person so they have the tools to navigate it and will not instead be victims.
Kilmer visited the county on Monday and spoke to the chamber at its December luncheon at the Elks Lodge as well as to the county commissioners at their regular meeting at the Jefferson County Courthouse.
Kilmer told the chamber that the economic changes we have seen in our lifetime are evidenced alone by the places that we shop. He said his first job was at a video store in Port Angeles that no longer exists. When he was young, his father would take him to a camera store in Port Angeles that also no longer exists. That is not necessarily a bad thing, he said, unless you were the owner of the video or camera store.
This change, he said, has not been felt equally across the country. Places which were already better off to begin with have continued to see more economic growth during recovery from the Great Recession, while places like Jefferson County have seen the least economic improvement.
In Washington D.C., he has been trying to find ways to ensure young people don’t become the main export from places like Jefferson County, he said.
The first effort he mentioned was the continued improvement of public education through career training and opportunities for lifelong learning. Kilmer said this will help because people open businesses where there are trained workers.
He added he wants to promote skilled trades to young people as a viable career path. College is not for everyone, he said, and the trades have been unfairly taken out of the conversation.
Kilmer mentioned a bipartisan bill he is working on to create a fund, much like a 401k, that employees and employers can optionally pay into so that if a person is ever laid off, or the nature of their job changes, they can use the money to be retrained.
Another way to help improve local economies, he said, is through infrastructure investments. He mentioned roads, bridges, wastewater improvements like the ones needed in Port Hadlock, broadband internet and the protection of natural resources including the Olympic National Park.
“There is no silver bullet,” said Kilmer. ‘It’s more like a silver buck-shot.”
Something else that has been keeping him up at night, that is also connected to economic growth, is the political polarization of the country and what he called a broken political system.
“I can barely watch cable TV anymore, let alone within an hour of eating.” Kilmer said.
Despite this, he said there is still progress being made in the House of Representatives, which has passed nearly 400 bills this year not including resolutions. About 80 percent of those bills however have not made it to a vote on the Senate floor, including bills with bipartisan support.
Kilmer said he is working on ways to improve the relationship between Democrats and Republicans so that they can bring back a sense of partnership to the process of legislating.
“Good democracy is a little like a good marriage,” he said. “Sometimes you have to agree to disagree, compromise and understand where the other person is coming from in order to work together.”
By: Carmen Jaramillo
Source: The Leader