The joke that no one is laughing at
Last week The State of the Union was given. In that speech the nation was given a hodge-podge of pledges and ideas that would ensure our saftey, reduce our need on foreign oil, improve the economy, and stop the massive debt of the nation from growing. In less than a week we can see that part of these statements werea joke that none would declare funny.
President Obama made a big deal about the economy. He spent some 75% of the speech discussing the deficit and the unemployment rate. He outlined his plans to improve both and renew the vigor of the nation. To do so President Obama praised the work of the Obama Stimulus, laid the ground for an Obama Stimulus 2, and then proclaimed the benefits of a $250 billion spending freeze.
Today, the Obama Administration is laying out the budget for 2010 and 2011. The net is a spending increase to $3.7 trillion dollars. That’s up from 2009. It will also increase the deficit by $1.6 trillion dollars, also an increase from 2009. In 2011 there will be an even further increase to both the budget and debt, respectively to $3.8 trillion and $1.3 trillion. Just as a point of reference, the deficit increase of the last year of the Bush Administration was $454 billion.
Thus we see that the claims of Presisdent Obama to slow or moderate spending is a mockery. It is a jest made solely for the televisions cameras, a polispeak spin meant to give those with short memories a positove outlook on the Democrat Party as mid-term elections approach. It flies in the face of logic, and is as akin to balancing a budget as a hitting your thumb with a mammer to relieve the pain of a toothache.
But it does not stop there. The most important issue in America is jobs. It is the vowed focus of the Obama Administration. Last year when it was then the focus of America the Obama Stimulus was passed, costing $787 billion. By the end of 2010 roughly $450 billion will have been spent on creating or “saving” jobs. The net effect of this is the projection that at the end of 2010 there will be an unemployment rate of between 9.8 to 10%, or exactly where we are right now and 2% higher than the promise of 2009.
Therefore, President Obama believes, the logical next step is to double down on the spending of the Stimulus. To add even more money to areas like infrastructure, Government jobs, and “green” jobs that have provided so much relief to America so far. This way we can see a combined spending in the range of $200 billion per year in 2011 and 2012 from the Obama Stimuli. The net result of that is an unemployment rate of 9% in 2011, and 8% in 2012.
The total, if it only stays at the current projections which is unlikely, is roughly $1+ trillion dollars. Which will net some 4 million Americans WITHOUT jobs according to Government stats (the real unemployment rate is some 4%+ higher as the Government does not count people they do not give unemployment checks to – including small business owners or people that have used up Government aid) after 3 more years.
IF you were to divide $1,000,000,000,000 by the working population of America (those over 18 and under 65 – about 200 million people) that’s $5,000 per person. IF you were to make it just about those that pay taxes (thus including the small business owners that pay more taxes than just employees) it would be roughly $3,500 per person. Somehow it seems that directly giving the public the money would go farther to stopping unemployment and improving the economy than the Stimulus Bills of President Obama. It certainly couldn’t do worse.
But there is the joke. This isn’t about doing good for the nation; it’s about LOOKING good in front of the nation. Like Billy Crystal’s famous character Fernando
“It’s better to look good than feel good.”
Very funny the way Crystal did it, far less so as President Obama and Democrats do so while devestating the national deficit and failing to improve unemployment (or reducing the growing and historically high mortgage crisis that magically stopped being reported the day President Obama took office). But it might be just enough to keep the masses at bay, through the mid-term elections. There will even be another bonus to voters, there will be another round of increased checks (the extra $25 per week for 8-12 weeks people got in 2009, IF they received a paycheck. Business owners don’t count), hopefully with less problems to those on food stamps and other Government aide.
Thus we all can see the joke if we want to. It’s as obvious as the noses on our faces. But laughing at the joke? That I don’t see anyone doing. Of course I also can’t get into the White House, so who knows.
