Urban Indian Rally & Job Surge Needed

by Melinda Gopher

This winter in Montana has been one of the hardest I can recall. Today I showed up to support a Jobs Rally that took place on the streets of Missoula, in front of Montana Congressional Offices. I felt a great sense of sadness as I later reflected that those picketing their congressional delegation were older white people, many are experiencing job loss from the closing of the Smurfit Stone linerboard plant. It is very clear by now that job loss cuts across all segments of Montana society, and no one is unaffected by this economic downturn. Visit our facebook page for video of this very empowering rally.

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There has been some discussion of the need for conversion of the Smurfit Stone plant to a bio-fuel facility. There has been much interest expressed in the need for retrofitting the facility to keep the jobs going. Time will tell if the proposed efforts succeed.Congressional approach to job creation has been underwhelming, there is discussion of a jobs bill, but like much of what Congress does these days, it seems uninspired and unfocused. Minority leaders seem to only have nominal and token involvment in these proposals, even though minority communities are hard hit by the downturn. President Obama discussed the need for tax cuts, this would apply to existing and start up small business. Stay updated here.....