the jensen jobs plan · the jensen jobs plan p a g e | 1 getting the kentucky economy moving,...

The Jensen Jobs Plan

Getting the Kentucky Economy Moving,

Creating Good Jobs, and Improving Wages

The Jensen Jobs Plan P a g e | 1

Getting the Kentucky Economy Moving,

Creating Good Jobs, and Improving Wages

One of the biggest challenges facing our economy is most people do not have enough money to

spend. Elisabeth has a bold but common sense plan to get the Kentucky economy moving – get

more money in the hands of hard-working Kentucky families, so they have money to spend

which will create the demand that allows businesses to hire more employees.

The Jensen Jobs Plan does not seek just to create more jobs; it is also focused on creating better

jobs with higher wages.

Create More Jobs and Improve Wages at All Income Levels: Phase in $10.10 per hour minimum wage.

Work to attract more technology, manufacturing and service sector jobs.

Give students and workers the education and skills training to meet the

requirements of better paying jobs.

Support Working Women: Pay women the same as men for the same work.

End job discrimination against women who get pregnant.

Expand access to affordable childcare.

Improve Education, College Readiness, Job-skills and Career-skills Training: Increase access to Head Start and Early Head Start that improve graduation rates.

Support students with afterschool reading and math skills support, mentoring

opportunities, and college readiness programs.

Increase emphasis on job skills training to prepare students for the work world.

Invest in education, modernizing schools and improving science, math and

technology facilities.

Make college affordable with needs based and merit based scholarships and

reduce interest rates to help families that are burdened with student loan debt.

Reinvest in transportation, education, information, and energy infrastructure.

Rebuild and repair aging bridges, roads, and highways and invest in new

roadways that will contribute to local and regional economic growth.

Invest in expanding access to high speed digital data, so students can learn and

businesses can grow.

Keep energy prices low and invest in energy sources for the future.

Expand access to Commercial and Consumer Credit.

Rein in predatory lending and regulate payday lenders to limit high interest rates

and imbalanced lending terms that create dependency and ruin families.

Strengthen community banks and lending institutions that offer small businesses

access to credit on reasonable terms.


Address Long-term Deficits and Debt but Preserve Needed Programs

The best way to address the deficit and debt is to grow the economy, increasing

income, and reducing the need for support programs.

We must reform the tax system to close loopholes that allow billionaires and

corporations to avoid paying their fair share.

Critical programs like Social Security, Medicare, unemployment benefits and

SNAP nutrition programs must be preserved and strengthened.

To Fix the Economy in Kentucky, We need to Fix a Broken Congress in Washington:

Our economy has been stuck because Washington is dysfunctional, there are not enough good

jobs, families are burdened by student loan debt,

mortgages and credit card debt and wages are not

keeping up with the cost of living. Families are losing

confidence that the next generation will have as many or

more opportunities than their parents faced. These are

not insolvable problems. America has faced and

overcome greater economic challenges in the past and

we know what to do now. We need to restore the

balance in the economy that we had before when the

middle class was growing, the poor were able to work

their way up, and the wealthy were part of the American

fabric rather than separate from it. In short, to get

America working again, we need to get America

working together again.

We need to get more money in the hands of hardworking families so they have the money to

spend to get the economy moving. When hardworking families earn a good wage and are able to

“If we are going to grow the middle class, the American worker deserves a voice at the table and the ability to earn a living wage and not rely on government subsidies if they are working full time.”

Elisabeth Jensen


get control of their debt, they are able to spend more money in places like restaurants, shopping

malls, and car lots. When consumer demand improves, businesses have the confidence to hire

more workers and improve wages. This is the virtuous cycle that drives our economy forward.

Elisabeth Jensen approaches all issues from the point of view of a business woman, non-profit

entrepreneur, and Kentucky mom. This leads her to this straight-forward approach: you do what

needs to be done. Many of our economic problems seem to be particularly difficult and

frustrating these days but Elisabeth believes today’s economic challenges are not so different

from those we have faced and solved in the past. We have seen sluggish economies get back on

track. We have produced manufacturing miracles that helped build a thriving middle class. We

have made education available to more and more students without sending families into crippling

debt. We have found the funds necessary to build and maintain a first class highway system.

We could do all of this again.

What is different today is the broken Congress in

Washington. Politicians walk away from the

bargaining table and shut down the government

rather than getting the job done that we elect our

Representatives to do. This has to change to get

America and Kentucky back on track. When

Washington isn’t working Kentucky isn’t working.

We can do better and we must do better.

Kentucky Workers Needs a Raise: One of the best ways to get more money in people’s hands

is to improve wages, starting with the minimum wage but extending upward through the middle

class. A single parent working a full time job for a major corporation should not need public

benefits to feed their family, and society should not have to subsidize the low wages paid by

large corporations to keep that company’s full time

workers above the poverty level. Our vital programs like

SNAP benefits and housing assistance that provide a

safety net for families struggling to rise out of poverty

are already stretched too thin. Full time employees

should earn enough money to keep their families out of

poverty without needing to rely on these benefits.

Some people argue that raising the minimum wage would be a “job killer” but this view is

incorrect and out of date. The 13 states that have raised their minimum wages since January 1,

2014 have seen higher employment growth than the states that did not raise wages. Of course a

minimum wage of $50 or $100 per hour would

decrease employment, but when wages are so low

that a full time job still leaves a family below the

poverty line, some minimum wage jobs go unfilled.

The current minimum wage of $7.25 has lost 5.8% of

its purchasing power since it was last raised in 2009, and purchasing power adjusted for inflation

it is well below the $1.60 per hour minimum wage paid in 1968 during a period of rapid

economic expansion.

“A rising wage lifts all boats.”

Elisabeth Jensen

“To get America working again, we need to get America working together again.”

Elisabeth Jensen


An increase in the minimum wage now, phasing in annual increases over three years to $10.10

per hour and then indexing the wage to keep up with inflation, would increase family incomes,

boost economic activity, shrink the gap between rich and poor, and decrease government

spending on anti-poverty programs. The benefits would extend to workers at higher pay levels

and throughout society as a whole. A rising wage lifts all boats.

In addition to increasing the minimum wage other elements in the Jensen Jobs Plan are designed

to improve wages at all income levels. The education and job skills training elements are

designed to help prepare students and workers with the knowledge and skills they will need for

better paying high tech, manufacturing, and service sector jobs Kentucky needs to attract. The

proposed investments in modernization of transportation and the high speed data networks are

needed to attract those businesses. This is the integrated approach to economic growth and better

jobs.

Support Working Women with Equal Pay for Equal Work: Another way to get more money

into the hands of hardworking Kentucky families is to

make sure women are not getting paid less than men for

doing the same job. As someone who has experienced

wage discrimination first hand, Elisabeth knows that

women face discrimination every day at every level of

the workforce.

Early in her career while working as an executive for

one of America’s largest corporations Elisabeth learned

from co-workers that she was being paid less than her

male colleagues who were managing smaller divisions

than her own, and was told point-blank it was because

they were men with families and mortgages and she was

a women. She regrets that she did not fight back against

it then, but has vowed to fight for other women facing

the same workplace discrimination in today’s economy.

In Congress, Elisabeth will support the Paycheck

“Because I have personal, first hand, experienced of wage discrimination working for one of the top corporations in America, I know it happens every day at every level of the workforce. I will support the Paycheck Fairness Act, fight for full women's equality and a higher minimum wage.”

Elisabeth Jensen


Fairness Act and any other legislation that may be necessary to right this wrong. Today, so

many women are the sole breadwinners, or contribute to making ends meet. Elisabeth knows

fair pay is a family issue, not just a women’s issue.

Women face many workplace challenges in today’s economy and political environment. The

recent Supreme Court decision in the Hobby Lobby case was wrongly decided and places many

hard won gains for women in the workforce at risk in privately own companies. Elisabeth will

work to enact the legislative remedies to ensure that all women have equal access to health

services, including mammograms and family planning services. Elisabeth will fight to

strengthen protections against employers who discriminate against pregnant employees or fail to

provide temporary reasonable accommodations for pregnant women.

Expand Access to Affordable Childcare: The rising cost of childcare is driving many women

away from working to support their families. Wages and support programs are not keeping up.

Elisabeth supports efforts to help women succeed in the workplace including making child care

less expensive for working parents by expanding and

restructuring the Child and Dependent Care Credit

(CDCC). We could modify the program to make it

more like the successful Earned Income Tax Credit

(EITC) so they would complement each other and

provide incentives for lower income mothers to continue

their working careers. By incentivizing use of certified,

licensed care facilities, we could give children the best

chance to develop the social and emotional skills that

will help them when they enter elementary school.

We can help more children reach school prepared for

success by expanding access to Head Start and Early

Head Start programs that have been clearly proven to

help students start education with a better chance to

succeed throughout their educational careers. These

programs have struggled to stay open during the budget

battles in Washington. Instead of targeting waste and

unneeded programs, Washington has given us across-the-board cuts that take away needed

programs that put poor children on the right path.

Ziliak, James P. 2014. “Supporting Low-Income Workers Through Refundable Child-Care Credits.” In

Policies to Address Poverty in America, M. Kearney and B. Harris, editors, The Hamilton Project,

Brookings Institution, pp. 109-117.

“Mothers are deterred from working in the labor market because of costly child-care options. … A restructured Child and Dependent Care Credit could encourage greater economic self-sufficiency and improve the economic well-being of low-income families.”

James P. Ziliak, PhD. UK Economics Professor


Invest in Education and Jobs Skills Training: As a mother of an elementary school student

with special needs and co-founder of two educational non-profits, Elisabeth Jensen knows the

importance of education in helping our children grow and in building a sustainable future for our

economy and our country. Our commitment to high quality

public schools is how our nation makes sure the next

generation is ready for the jobs of today and tomorrow, and

prepared to contribute to the economy.

This is why we need to invest in improving our schools’

infrastructure, especially right now when interest rates are

low and people need jobs. Investing in educational

infrastructure helps create jobs today, and helps prepare our

students for the good jobs of tomorrow.

We need to get our workforce prepared for better higher

paying jobs in technology, manufacturing, and service

sectors. This is why Elisabeth is so proud of the work she

has done in founding two educational non-profit

organizations; the Race For Education and the Starting Gate

which provide scholarships, tutoring, internships, mentoring

opportunities, after school academic development

programs, nutritional support and financial literacy training for Central Kentucky middle-school

students.


Elisabeth believes strongly that every child that wants to go to college should have all the

support we can offer so they reach college ready to succeed, graduate and find a good job

without taking on crushing debt. But Elisabeth also wants to be certain our education system is

providing opportunities for everyone, including those who do not choose the college path to

success. We need to return to investing in vocational education and career readiness programs –

so that we are not only preparing those who will head to college, but those we vitally need to

enter into high paying advanced manufacturing as well as those who will be our

tradesmen, healthcare providers, and service industry workers.

This also means strengthening job skills training for students and experienced workers who want

to gain skills that are needed for jobs that are available today. College is not the choice for every

student and there are many jobs today that require specialized training. There are many federal

programs to train workers in needed skill areas that must be consolidated and strengthened and

Kentucky public schools, community colleges, and worker training centers need greater support

from government and private sector employers in public private partnerships designed to give

businesses the trained workforce they need to thrive.

Making College Affordable and Student Debt Manageable: We have a student loan crisis in

the United States. Young people are graduating from college with tens of thousands of dollars in

debt, and so are moving back in with their parents and delaying their contributions to community

and economic life – marriage, buying a car, buying a home, starting a business, or taking the next

step toward a successful career.

We have to make college affordable to young people by increasing needs based and merit based

scholarships. Elisabeth Jensen has done this in the non-profit sector by founding two educational

non-profit organizations that have raised and awarded over 5 million dollars in scholarships. We

also have to help families struggling with high student loan debt, as part of a broader plan to get

the economy moving by getting more money in the hands of hard-working families. When

people have less debt, they have more money to spend, creating the demand that leads to

increasing employment.

One way to do this is by offering lower interest rate refinancing to graduates and former students

with crippling loan debt. Interest rates have been

lowered for new student loan debt but this is no help to

students who have already left school with massive

loans at higher interest rates. This puts pressure on

family finances and increases the chance the family will

enter a downward debt spiral and fall victim to

predatory lenders. We can give families relief by

offering graduates and former students with existing

debt at high interest rates a chance to refinance at the

lower rates now available to for current students.

We also must do a better job of educating our young

people about just what taking out loans of these

magnitudes can mean for their credit

“Student loan debt now exceeds credit card debt nationally and this is potentially the next bubble that could burst. This is all the more reason to get creative in ways these young people can give back to society, and also repay their loans.”

Elisabeth Jensen


histories. Elisabeth’s Race for Education offers financial literacy training to help young

students make better financial choices with regard to their education and their future.

Student loan debt now exceeds credit card debt nationally and this is potentially the next bubble

that could burst. This is all the more reason to get creative in ways these young people can give

back to society, and also repay their loans. This could include caps on the percentage of after

graduation salary students must pay. This could include student loan forgiveness for military or

civilian service, or for taking lower paying but vitally important jobs. Any steps we take to keep

student loan payments and interest rates at reasonable levels helps make it possible for young

people to pay back those loans and get their financial lives in order.

Invest in bridges, Schools, Data Networks and other Key Infrastructure: With today’s low

interest rates and underutilization of labor and

machinery in the construction trades, now is the perfect

time to invest in our roads, bridges and other

transportation infrastructure, updating our energy grid,

building and modernizing our schools, providing access

to broadband data networks and other information

infrastructure. Investing in infrastructure creates good

jobs today, and helps pave the way for good jobs

tomorrow.

This is not a “make work” proposal because these are jobs that need to be done. There are many

sub-standard bridges in this district that carry thousands of cars every day. This is a public safety

issue as well as an economic issue. Investments in repairing roads and bridges, and other key

transportation infrastructure will help get the economy moving today by putting people back to

work doing jobs that need to be done.

It has become popular today for politicians to make speeches demonizing all government

spending but there is no more basic purpose for government than building new schools and

modernizing existing ones and building and maintaining roads and bridges. Kentucky businesses

need good roads, rail and other transportation to get supplies in and get products out to the

market. Our economy depends on our investing in the basic infrastructure that makes it go.

Expand access to high speed digital data, so students can learn and businesses can grow:

Kentucky is behind other states in access to high speed data networks, and this impedes our

ability to get high-tech, manufacturing, and service sector jobs that pay higher wages. Lack of

connectivity is frustrating for consumers but it can be detrimental for students and businesses.

Kentucky has a long way to go to catch up. A recent study ranked Kentucky next to last, ahead

of only Alaska, when it comes to average internet speed throughout the state. New call service

centers, technology businesses, legal, financial services, business or professional consultancies,

could all find many good reasons to locate in central Kentucky, but they would all have to think

twice about doing business here unless we can improve our data networks.

Investments in bridges, schools and data networks create good jobs today and pave the way

(literally) for better, higher paying jobs tomorrow. And this is not just about government

“Investing in infrastructure creates good jobs today, and helps pave the way for good jobs tomorrow.”

Elisabeth Jensen


creating jobs – it is also about government and business working together to create better

jobs. Businesses need to invest in things like worker skills training and improving data

speeds. But when things grind to a halt in Congress, government isn’t leading, or even able to be

a partner with business.

Dysfunction in Washington is costing Kentucky jobs. When Washington isn't working,

Kentucky isn't working. To get Kentucky working we need to get Washington working

together.

Keep energy prices low and invest in energy sources for the future: Central Kentucky has

been experiencing a resurgence of manufacturing for the past several years, due in part to energy

prices that have been low and stable for decades. Elisabeth wants to keep this growth going and

see it accelerate so she supports an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy embracing the broadest

mix of energy sources to meet our needs. Elisabeth issued a statement strongly opposing the

overly tight regulations from the EPA on Kentucky energy generating utilities as soon as they

were announced. She would work to increase flexibility and extend the timeline to keep energy

prices low as our energy utilities transition to a broader energy mix including far greater reliance

on renewable energy sources, like solar power and wind.

But keeping manufacturing jobs in central Kentucky and attracting more good jobs depends on

much more than just low energy prices alone. Manufacturers and other high technology and

service sector businesses that provide the jobs of the future also need skilled workers, good

roads, rail and other transportation infrastructure, high speed broadband internet, and an updated

energy grid that is capable of delivering electricity created by all sources. All of these elements

of the Jensen Jobs Plan are interrelated, and reinforce each other. This is why Elisabeth is so

enthusiastic in her support for the Kentucky SOAR (Shaping Our Appalachian Region) initiative

promoted by Congressman Hal Rogers and Governor Steve Beshear because it addresses so

many aspects of the challenges facing Eastern and Central Kentucky. It is an example of progress

that can be achieved by working across party lines.

Elisabeth is committed to protecting

Kentucky coal jobs and Kentucky coal

miners – many of whom have spent their

careers working in mines and are now

dealing with the health consequences. It

is irresponsible to think one can be a

friend of coal while at the same time

questioning the need for tougher rules to

prevent black lung disease in our coal

mines.

Politicians often pick a single issue to harp on in attacking their opponents with harsh rhetoric

like “job killer” when the reality is far more complex. The reality is, the Kentucky economy

needs major investments in education, job training, transportation infrastructure, schools, and

low and stable energy prices to compete against other states and regions for the jobs of

tomorrow.


The economy is starting to show some signs of improvement but most Kentucky families are not

seeing any increases in their personal take home pay. With the right leaders in Washington who

care more about the people than the powerful special interest groups, we can get the economy

moving for Kentucky families and start to rebuild the struggling middle class.

Expand access to Commercial and Consumer Credit: The financial crisis that started in

2008, the last year of George W. Bush’s presidency, was due to under-regulated and

overextended financial markets. The crisis involved an extended period of time where credit was

difficult to get for consumers and new businesses. Even now, new loans are hard to negotiate.

At the same time many families have mortgage debt, credit card debt, and student loan debt that

continues to be a weight that sometimes becomes unsustainable. When families can’t make ends

meet they turn to predatory payday lenders that charge outrageous interest rates that can make a

bad situation turn far, far worse.

When banking and credit markets are working well, they can offer opportunities for investments

and growth. However, when markets are out of balance the banks and lenders have all the power

and borrowers get ground down as the system grinds to a halt. Good regulations against

predatory lending, with limits on very high interest rates can help credit markets work well for

more people. Why don’t we have better laws and regulations on banks and lenders now? The

answer can be found in the broken pay-to-play Washington we have today, where big banks and

lenders use their money to buy lobbyists and make large campaign contributions designed to

ensure they can block laws that would protect borrowers.

Elisabeth Jensen believes we need people in Congress who are not in the pockets of the large

banks and payday lenders, who can give small businesses, homeowners and other consumer

borrowers a voice when banking policies are written. Elisabeth believes we need to simplify

credit forms, and make financial literacy education a standard course of study for students as

they turn toward college. Young adults need to understand the implications of taking on debt.

Elisabeth also supports reining in predatory payday lenders by limiting high interest rates, and

lending terms that create dependency and ruin families. There are no national regulations on the

payday lending, or quick loan industry, and Kentucky is one of the states with the least restrictive

state laws. This allows lenders to charge interest rates that can exceed 390% per year. Families

that take out a loan for a short period of time can find themselves trapped in a downward spiral

of deepening debt. Attempts to limit that interest rate face huge opposition from the payday

lending industry lobbyists.

Elisabeth believes we need to strengthen community banks and lending institutions that offer

consumers and small businesses access to credit on reasonable terms, with balanced regulation to

put borrowers and lenders on more equal terms. Access to credit on fair terms is so important in

giving families opportunities to earn their way into the middle class that Elisabeth is open to

creative solutions including proposals to allow post offices to offer consumer and commercial

lending. Post offices are already trusted institutions throughout our communities. Post offices

have been under pressure to create more income in a declining market and fair lending could

offer a new business opportunity and revenue stream.


Reducing Long Term Deficits and Debt while Strengthening Needed Programs: After

expanding greatly due to the financial crisis that started in the end of 2008, the U.S. federal

budget deficit has been declining for several years in a row, and is forecast to be lower than

average for the next several years. All that being said the country does have a long-term deficit

problem as the Baby Boom Generation moves into and through their retirement years. Elisabeth

Jensen is committed to making sure every hard-earned tax dollar is accounted for and spent

wisely and she will fight against irresponsible tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans who need

them the least.

The best way to reduce deficits and government debt is to grow the economy, increase earnings

and employment, get people off of public assistance by paying them a living wage, and close

loopholes that allow large corporations and millionaires

to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Elisabeth will

work across party lines to support comprehensive

reform of our broken tax laws which are filled with

loopholes and special treatments that allow millionaires

and billionaires to pay a lower tax rate than middle class

Americans.

And in particular, Elisabeth will fight against tax breaks

for individual industries won by expensive lobbyists in

a “Pay-to-Play” system that has become an illness

preventing average Americans from having any

confidence that their Congressional Representatives

really represent the people they serve. Americans deserve the Democracy our Founding Fathers

envisioned and all of us need to fight to keep government that is really by the people, and for the

“The US still faces a long term debt issue, but deficits have been declining rapidly in recent years. Right now the economy needs faster growth, better jobs, and higher wages.”

Alice Rivlin, Economist


people. Closing loopholes that shield industries from paying their fair share of taxes would raise

revenue that can be used to restore aging bridges, build and modernize schools, and invest in data

networks, creating jobs, strengthening the economy, shrinking deficits, and restoring the sense

that all Americans are contributing to a stronger America.

Preserving and Strengthening the Social Security and Medicare Guarantees: Elisabeth will

not allow deficit cutting to be used as an excuse for drastic cuts in Social Security or Medicare.

Elisabeth believes these programs represent a promise made to every generation that has paid

into them and earned them through a lifetime of hard work. She will oppose all efforts to

privatize Social Security – a risky bet that places seniors’ retirement benefits at the mercy of the

ups and downs on Wall Street, and she will fight any scheme to replace the Medicare guarantee

with a voucher system for this generation of retirees or future generations.

Our long term deficit is serious but solvable if Democrats and Republicans could work together

to embrace balanced measures as we have done several times in the past. This long term issue

should never be used as an excuse to make unnecessary and cruel cuts in needed government

programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (AKA “food stamps”), disability

payments and childcare assistance.

Instead of pitting one generation against other generations, the best thing we can do to reduce the

deficit is to get the nation back to work, earning more income, and increasing the tax base. The

best place to start is here in Kentucky and the best time to start is now, with this election where

we have the opportunity to send someone to Congress who will care about real people and the

real problems they face.

Elisabeth has a plan to get more money into the hands of families by improving wages, making

college affordable and helping families with debt, investing in education and the infrastructure

businesses need to grow, and reforming the tax system so the wealthy pay their fair share.

This is the common sense approach to the economy that Kentucky needs today.

the jensen jobs plan · the jensen jobs plan p a g e | 1 getting the kentucky economy moving,...

Documents