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Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Republicans Openly Advocate Killing Jobs

The ups and downs of election cycles can be emotional, but I am not so naive as to think every year or every race will go the way I'd like them to go. Right now, I am still more optimistic than many about Democrats' chances this year, but obviously this is a cycle where we are trying to manage our losses, not increase our victories.

But there is one argument I keep hearing which leaves me frustrated and confused about the state of discourse today: Obama's policies are killing jobs.

That link goes to a PolitiFact debunking of Rick Scott making such an argument, but what bother me goes beyond the specifics. This is a corruption of conservative philosophy, and a distortion of the truth. If you disagree with Obama's policies, fine. Don't like how Democrats govern, fine. Throw the bums out. But the lies are creating a confusion within the electorate, and distorting people's basic understanding of government hurts the nation in the long haul.

The most frustrating thing to me is saying the stimulus destroys jobs. It does not. It does exactly the opposite. Americans for Tax Reform disguises this lie with a fancy study here for anyone who thinks politicians are more careful with their words than that. But the billions being pumped into the economy by the stimulus are intended to do one thing: create work. Yes, it is questionable sometimes whether those jobs are needed, but the spending sure doesn't take any jobs away.

Ideally, this is creating roadwork jobs on highways that have been neglected for years, or construction jobs building libraries in places that have been under-served. This is why Democrats voted for the stimulus when Bush's best idea was giving money away to banks.

(Reminder: Bush did the bank bailouts. But that didn't kill jobs either. It saved them. Just for the wrong people.)

But, you say, what about the taxes to pay for this? Well, taking a page from Ronald Reagan, Obama and the Democrats decided to just spend without taxing. Is there folly to that? Perhaps. But is there folly in waging two wars while cutting taxes? At least those cuts are set to expire. Obama didn't do that either, by the way. It was by Bush's design.

What would kill jobs? Cutting government spending. We are seeing that now in the many local governments around the country, governments who cannot spend more than they have in tax coffers the way the federal government can do. We lose teachers, postal workers, park rangers and more when Republicans tout their version of fiscal conservatism.

Deficits? Never before have Republicans had a problem with running up a deficit during times of war, much less two wars both created from the bloodlust of neoconservatives hell-bent on world domination.

Obama hasn't raised taxes. Obama hasn't killed jobs. If anything is it Republicans, under the guise of shrinking wicked socialist government, who are promising to kill jobs should take control of Washington. That is what "cutting bureaucracy" means, firing bureaucrats so that tax rebates can be given to people who are already gainfully employed.

Is this hyperbole? Call it that if you will, but it is no more so than when Republicans lie and say the stimulus is killing jobs, or that Obama's policies have stopped anything. I personally believe he hasn't done near enough to create more jobs. If that makes me a socialist, because what says socialism more than encouraging job creation and empowering people to participate in the free market system, then I take that label freely.

4 comments:

  1. Another garbage headline

    Obama most certainly has killed long-term jobs, while creating some short-term jobs.

    I was an economics major in college and Keynesian economics had been largely discredited but I guess like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, Keynes keeps hopping along. The New Deal created many temporary government jobs while scaring private industry from creating meaningful permanent jobs. We are seeing some of the same today

    Both parties sincerely wish to create more jobs - the difference is in who the parties think should be creating the jobs. I would trust private enterprise over government any day of the week and twice on days that end in a "y".

    We really need a meaningful third party in this country, a truly centrist party

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  2. New topic-
    Any comments on the various propositions on this years ballot? I have heard less about them than in past years and am a lot more confident about WHO to vote for than WHAT to vote for.

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  3. The wife and I mailed in absentee ballots - we both likely will be out of town on election day

    On the constitutional amendments, I voted "Yes" on all of them.

    I don't think #4 will pass but it is a useful threat to keep the politicos in check and if it doesn't pass they should get it back on the ballot for next time.

    Amendments 5&6 will likely help the bad guys in the short-run (the ones with the jackass as their party symbol), but still gerrymandering is not legimate in representative government

    Amendment 8 will correct the excesses of some prior amendments pushed by some groups that really don't care about our children's education, however much they protest to the contrary

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  4. I will do a post on my thoughts, but I strongly oppose Hometown Democracy and the new Class-size amendment, and I support the districting amendments.

    PWD, you make my point. Obama is creating short-term jobs, but that in no way is killing any jobs. You and I have policy disagreements, but suggesting the stimulus kills jobs is simply not true. It creates them. You acknowledge as much by saying you prefer private sector job creation over what Obama is doing. That's fair enough, but this isn't a job killer. I just want some honesty to the debate. I don't thin giving tax cuts to the rich on the hopes they might create some jobs once they make all the payments on their yacht is nearly as important as those "short-term" government jobs, some of which lead to careers for people.

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