Lincoln Blog
February 05, 2010:
As Congress begins debate on the so-called "Stimulus II," known in Orwellian fashion as the "jobs bill," further evidence has emerged that "Stimulus I" was a big bust.
If you haven't noticed, the stock markets have tanked yesterday and today. That is largely due to revised unemployment figures which show the American job market to be in even worse shape than previously reported. In fact, the revised numbers show 600,000 more jobs were lost last year than the government had initially estimated.
Thus, the policies of the Obama Administration have clearly made unemployment worse rather than better, and choked off what had been a rather impressive rally in the markets.
President Obama and his Democratic counterparts in Congress are feeling the heat over the lack of job growth. Having had their plans to nationalize health care killed off by voters in Massachusetts, the "jobs bill" is the new number one priority.
And we are hearing many of the same arguments to justify this planned new round of government deficit spending as we heard last year when the stimulus bill was passed. In fact, Obama and his leftist cohorts argue the unemployment picture remains bleak because the stimulus did not spend enough.
Multiple "stimulus" efforts, including the income tax rebate of 2008, the TARP bill of 2008 and the stimulus bill of 2009, have all failed to revive the economy. That is because higher government spending simply removes money from the private sector, either by sucking up cash that is then not available for loan to businesses, or though higher taxes.
Try as Obama and his socialist friends might, they cannot repeal the laws of simple economics. The fact is government cannot create wealth. It can take it, it can redistribute it, it can even destroy it - but it cannot create it.
During the debate over the stimulus bill the President claimed unemployment would top 10% if the bill were not passed. It was passed, and the 10% unemployment rate is now in the rear view mirror. That of course is because the stimulus never was intended to stimulate the economy, rather it was an omnibus bill designed to shovel federal dollars out the door to every liberal interest group imaginable.
Instead of passing another stimulus bill that will only deepen the federal debt without accomplishing anything of merit, the Congress should take a new path: suspend collection of the personal income tax for three months, or six months, or even a year. Americans empowered by being able to keep more of what they have earned will jump start the economy on their own.
But then again, that would make people less dependent rather than more dependent upon the federal government.
And dependency is the real top goal of this administration and this Congress.
