As FDR Tinkered with the Economy, the Depression Dragged On for Years
As pointed out in a previous post, the Department of Labor does not and cannot count the number of jobs that have been saved by any action or policy. But that doesn’t stop the svengali of spin Barack Obama:
“Now I know that there are some who {THERE’S THE STRAWMAN – notation mine}, despite all evidence to the contrary, still don’t believe in the necessity and promise of the recovery act,” Mr. Obama said, “and I would suggest to them that they talk to the companies who, because of this plan, scrapped the idea of laying off employees and in fact decided to hire employees. Tell that to the Americans who receive that unexpected call saying, ‘Come back to work.’ “ — NY Times June 9, 2009
He knows he is spending an enormous amount of money, it is having little effect, and people are beginning to notice. Only about 10% of the money has been spent, unemployment continues to rise, interest rates are starting to climb due to the massive borrowing by the federal government, so what’s the President to do? Go back on the campaign trail and once again convince the American people he is someone he is not. An inexperienced executive, who wants government to tighten its grip on our lives and squeeze out the last drops of our liberty.
“The president’s top aides spent the weekend trying to tamp down expectations that the unemployment rate would turn around anytime soon. One adviser, Austan Goolsbee, told Fox News the nation was in for “a rough patch,” a phrase often invoked by Mr. Obama’s predecessor, George W. Bush” — NY Times, June 9, 2009
Tamp down expectations? Wait a minute. Wasn’t this the stimulus package that had to be past immediately? Wasn’t this the plan that no one in Congress had time to read before voting on it? Wasn’t this the plan that Congress had to sign immediately or catastrophe would result, but President Obama could wait four days to sign so that the photo op could be set up and the teleprompters put in place? Now his aides are telling us it’s not going to work as they told us? I’m shocked, shocked!
“The Obama administration is continuing to fabricate job creation numbers related to the stimulus,” Tony Fratto, a deputy press secretary in the Bush administration, said in an e-mail message to reporters. He added, “Their so-called models would not stand the light of day.”
The administration maintains that 150,000 jobs were either created or saved in the first 100 days after Mr. Obama signed the stimulus bill on Feb. 17. The 600,000 figure the president discussed Monday is not new; it was made public by Mr. Biden on May 13. It includes 125,000 part-time summer jobs for teenagers, which the administration counts as 62,500 full-time job equivalents.
Created or Saved?
Well which is it, were jobs created or saved? Created jobs are counted by the Department of Labor. As a small business owner, I know the paperwork that has to be prepared when you add a new employee: W-4, W-9, state filings,etc. However, if I am a business owner and I am thinking about laying people off and I change my mind, where is that reported? If I want to know that, President Obama tells me to go take a private poll of companies and ask them if they changed their minds. ARE WE SUPPOSED TO FALL FOR THIS?
So while the economy sheds hundreds of thousands of jobs, he tells us don’t worry, his plan is adding 125,000 part time summer jobs for teenagers. Have you gotten the hope and change you voted for?
