Jones: Philadelphia should prepare for a Washington jobs program

A Philadelphia City Councilman says the city should be a part of President Obama’s proposed jobs program.

Councilman Curtis Jones says Philadelphia needs to plan for when and if a new federal jobs program proposed by President Obama is approved by Congress.

“It should include the Philadelphia School District, it should include multitasking with ex-offenders to try and tackle the issue of 300,000 Philadelphians out of work,” said Jones. “It has gotten so bad that people are hitting there 99th week and considering drastic options.”

The councilman says Philadelphia needs to be prepared unlike when the stimulus money became available. Jones says the city was caught flat-footed.

He votes for reviving a decades old program where people have a trial period for city jobs funded by federal money.