FoxNews.com | John R. Lott, Jr. | Jan. 19, 2009
Barack Obama claims that the House of Representatives’ new stimulus plan is needed to save the economy. Democrats promise to be “creating or saving of four million jobs.” News media report in all seriousness: “The democrats vow no earmarks or special projects will be attached to the bill. The focus is on jobs.” Also “more than 90 percent of the jobs created are likely to be in the private sector.”
Unfortunately, though, the $825 billion “stimulus” package has nothing to do with creating or saving jobs — it has everything to do with moving jobs from industries that Democrats don’t like to industries that they do. The “stimulus” package is just a wish list of every government program that liberal Democrats have long wanted.
As Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s Chief of staff, announced after the election last fall: “Rule one: Never allow a crisis to go to waste. They are opportunities to do big things.”
From $300 million for increased teacher salaries to $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts to $650 million for digital television conversion coupons to $1 billion to make sure that minorities are not undercounted in next year’s census, one wonders by what economic logic these programs have to do with stimulus. The sheer size and scope of how the federal government will micromanage where money will be spent is breathtaking.
Suppose you want to help people out. You have two choices — either give people the money and let them decide how to spend it or allow the money to be spent on only specific items. The Democrats, who have always favored micromanaging people’s decisions, have brought it to new levels.
If you want to help, can’t you just give poor people the $650 million dollars, and let them decide what their most pressing needs are? Take TV. Maybe an individual wanted to spend the $50 it costs for the most basic boxes on something else. But sorry, they only get the government money if they use it to buy converter boxes. Because of the subsidy someone who might have been interested in buying a new digital TV, or heaven forbid a radio, might now decide that they will simply keep their old TV.
Will this create new spending? Is the point of the new $650 million for converter boxes to provide a shot in the arm for converter box makers? I am sure that this is one industry that everyone is worried about, right?
Look at the reported $170 billion that will go to state and local governments ($80 billion for education, $87 billion for Medicaid, and $3 billion for Medicaid regulatory initiatives). Even Democrats can’t argue with a straight face that this is some new emergency stimulus idea. The Wall Street Journal noted last week that “state aid has long been a priority” for Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
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