For two-and a-half years now, Barack Obama and the Democrats have been saying that getting people back to work is their number one priority. During this time, they have consistently understated the extent of the problem; the fact is that far more than 9.1% of this country is unemployed. With the people forced into early retirement, those whose unemployment compensation has run out, and the basic 4.5% or so who are chronically unemployed anyway, the figure is much closer to 18%.
A figure they do not give you is how many people have taken a pay cut, a cut on hours, or two jobs to replace the income they formerly had. I think the figure is close to 8%, making a total of 26% of the work force that has taken a hit.
When confronted with the facts, we hear everything from, “Yes, we’re aware of it and from now on we’re going to make it our number one priority,” to “Well, you can’t cure a fundamental problem like this overnight.” Nothing gets done. “Oh, but we created 400,000 new jobs last month” they’ll claim; but they don’t talk about the 500,000 jobs they lost or the 100,000 net loss.
Once, there was the real fuzzy math that came out of the White House about the new jobs created as a result of the American Recovery Act, (ARA). According to Obama, statistics showed that several hundred thousand new jobs were created, but when the more astute populace looked into the claims, they discovered that almost half of the new jobs created were in Congressional Districts that do not exist. That outright and blatant lie and misrepresentation is symptomatic of the truth about how many Americans are really on the skids and how the Obama Administration sees itself in dealing with the issue.
In Nixon's day, it was called "stonewalling" to avoid the facts.
Underlying what I have been saying here is something even scarier. It’s the lives we are talking about. There are people losing the roofs over their heads, the clothes off their backs and the food in their bellies. These are honest and hard working people who are losing their dignity and their hope, while Washington talks about what they are going to do and does nothing.
There are two reasons jobs are leaving the country: the cost of labor and benefits, and the economy. Yet, we have done nothing to tackle either problem. Right now, all politicians are so busy trying to duck out on the deficit issue and to stay away from Weiner that nothing is being done about jobs. Obama is quick to say, as he campaigns for reelection, that he’s going to make jobs his number one issue if he is reelected, and that is a self-admission that he has not made it his number one issue before. In fact, I think he’s said every month since he took office that he was going to make jobs his number one issue. Then, he gets on a plane and flies off to some other world.
The current strategy of talking big and carrying a small stick is not working. One would almost think that the consistent failure to step up to the plate and take steps to resolve the problem is intentional. Why are there no hiring incentives? Why do you go out and provide incentives for people to buy cars and houses they cannot afford instead of providing incentives for companies to hire people?
That’s just one simple step that could be taken to move this country off the dime. I’m sure you can think of some more and so could Congress if they were sincere in solving the crisis. But Congress is actually in the shuck and duck mode. How can you come up with proactive and positive legislation when you are shucking and ducking?
It’s sad to say it, but we need another taxpayer revolution in November of 2012. We need to get rid of the “do nothings,” including Obama, and we need to get our brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers back to work.
That’s MY AMERICAN OPINION, respectfully submitted.
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