President Obama’s jobs bill has been in the news a great deal since he first presented it to the nation nearly a month ago. The Democrats have been touting it as the latest miracle to jump-start our sagging economy. It is the government's latest attempt to reduce the unemployment rate which has been stuck at 9.1 percent for three consecutive months and has not been below 8.8 percent since April of 2009. Most Americans – at least conservative ones – are looking at the plan with a great deal of skepticism, especially after having seen nearly a trillion of our hard-earned tax dollars (or, more accurately, borrowed Chinese dollars) being squandered on a seemingly-endless assortment of insane pet projects benefiting a ridiculously small percentage of Americans (think: Solyndra). Yet the president is still traipsing around the country demanding that Congress, “…pass this bill right now.”
Consider, if you will, Zicam Cold Remedy. Zicam is a product that has been marketed for some years now as being a cure for the common cold. The company claims that their product will stop a cold in its tracks – or, at least, lessen its severity and duration. The manufacturer recommends that you take Zicam at the first sign of a cold and continue taking it until the symptoms are gone.
I tried it once at the onset of a cold thinking that it couldn’t hurt. I forked over ten bucks and got sick as hell anyway. In fairness to Zicam, the company refunded my ten dollars when I complained. But the problem with this product is that there is no way to prove that it works. In other words, was it the Zicam that made you feel better or did you merely have a mild strain of the virus? With Zicam, you can only state with certainty that it does NOT work if it doesn’t.
And in my case, Zicam didn’t.
Which leads us to the 2011 version of the Obama economic stimulus plan. Our infinitely wise leaders thrust the last stimulus plan upon our nation two-and-one-half years ago. Politicians (Democrats) tried to sell the nation on the notion that, by pumping $787 BILLION into various public works projects, Americans would be put back to work immediately and our economy would flourish once again.
When this massive boondoggle bill passed, we were told of all of the “shovel-ready” projects just waiting to be started. We were assured that, by passing the monumental legislation, unemployment would be kept in check at no more than eight percent. The pork-laden bill passed Congress and was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009.
The government even started a web site to tout the benefits of the stimulus as Congress spent our yet-to-be-earned money and, in the process, further mortgaged the fortunes of future generations. The administration took great pleasure telling the masses that the stimulus plan had helped to “create or save” umpteen million jobs.
The problem is that no one was ever able to actually prove how many jobs were created and the notion of a “saved” job is as fictitious as Snow White. Notice, if you will, that once the administration was called on the definition of “jobs saved”, that phrase magically disappeared from the White House lexicon.
Had the economy gained its feet and started chugging again, the administration would have been pounding its chest by saying, “Look what the stimulus has done!” Well, they did that anyway. Does anyone remember the summer of 2010? It was being hailed by the administration as the “Summer of Recovery”. It has been well over a year now since the phrase “Recovery Summer” first hit the airwaves. And where are we now?
Since President Obama took office, the nation’s unemployment rate has averaged 9.35 percent and economists predict little, if any, significant improvement in the employment situation through 2012. Congress has already extended unemployment benefits beyond the two years already paid – the intent apparently being to allow the unemployed to receive payments indefinitely.
The fact remains that the unemployment situation has not improved in the past thirty months; it has gotten worse. As with my experience with Zicam, the stimulus has failed. And now the Democrats want to do it again with another half-trillion dollars.
So, as you can see, the economic stimuli really ARE like Zicam. Even if the 2009 stimulus had worked, there would have been no way to prove with 100 percent certainty that the stimulus was the reason. As with Zicam, you can only prove if and when it fails.
And, in America’s case, it did. Miserably.
James Sharp is a middle-aged, middle-class, middle-management salesman who believes in secure borders and fighting our enemies with a strong military. He also believes in limited government, free markets, and unlimited opportunity and personal liberties for all citizens of the U.S.
