It seems like every politician has a plan for putting people back to work. But we and the Planet Money team couldn’t help but wonder…how do you create a job? Can politicians truly create many jobs? Is it possible the whole thing is just well-intentioned hot air?
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Act One
Can the Government Move My Cheese?
Chana Joffe-Walt visits a governor who first became famous for promising his
state he'd create jobs: Scott Walker of Wisconsin. (Yes, he's famous for
some other things since.) Walker promised 250,000 new jobs and 10,000 new
business in his state by the end of his first term. Chana tries to figure
out how he's doing. And whether he can really take credit for the new jobs
that've been created in Wisconsin. (19 minutes)
Act Two
This Story Might Be Recorded for Training and Quality Assurance
In this terrible economy, we wanted to hear the sound of someone actually getting a job, and producer Lisa Pollak recorded it in the Holland Michigan office of Novo 1. On Tuesday of this week, Deborah Ozga was interviewing applicants for 15 new call center jobs. (7 minutes)
Act Three
Job Fairies
For a look at the nuts and bolts of government job creation, This American Life Senior Producer Julie Snyder and Planet Money correspondent Adam Davidson attend a meeting of the International Economic Developers Council in San Diego. (15 minutes)
Act Four
Be Cool, Stay in School
Unemployment is 9 percent, but it's worst among high school dropouts and
people with only a high school education. Adam went to a place that's
trying to help them find jobs: an organization called Pathstone, in
Rochester, NY. (8 minutes)
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Act Four: Every Unhappy Family Cleaning Supplies Business Is Unhappy In Its Own Way
Hillary Frank explains how an invitation to a business meeting, sent through the mail in 1963, kept two sides of a family from speaking to each other for most of the second half of the 20th Century.
Act Three: Disbarred
Wendy Whelan was a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet until 2014.
Act Four: Throwing Money At The Problem
A few years back Alex Kotlowitz wrote a book called There Are No Children Here, about two boys growing up in Chicago's Henry Horner public housing projects.
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