Grumbling

"The problem with socialism is that eventually, you run out of other people's money to spend."

~ Margaret Thatcher

Isn't it time to recognize that the Federal Government has a lousy record of running businesses? The Post Office is broke; Amtrak needs subsidies each year; Fannie Mae is bleeding money; HUD is scandal-ridden; and Social Security is about to go broke. The reason is simple: businesses need to make a profit to stay afloat and politicians need to get re-elected. The two entities do not now nor have ever operated in the same way. Career bureaucrats do not know how to run a business and neither do their itinerant bosses who come and go with the election year. Why should they get their hands on Health Care?

Now comes the latest Government boondoggle -- Stimulus money to create jobs. The Associated Press has just released their study -- reviewed by independent economists at 5 Universities -- which reveals that the job stimulus package passed 10 months ago, for "shovel ready projects" has had little or no effect on job creation.

"As a policy tool for creating jobs, this doesn't seem to have much bite," said Emory University economist Thomas Smith, who supported the stimulus and reviewed AP's analysis. "In terms of creating jobs, it doesn't seem like it's created very many. It may well be employing lots of people but those two things are very different."

And last month, Nancy Pelosi passed another "shovel ready" stimulus package, titled disingenuously the "Jobs for Main Street Act." This is more about paying political cronies than putting unemployed customer service reps back to work.

Now, the President and the Vice President, want a "Green Jobs" act, based on Spain's renewable energy program. Yet there is much evidence to question whether infusion of public money by the Spanish Government actually created many jobs, and, in fact it may have cost more jobs in related industries. http://www.juandemariana.org/pdf/090327-employment-public-aid-renewable.pdf.

Businesses and entrepreneurs create jobs in our economy, not government. The government should be encouraging businesses to create jobs. Businesses don't try to govern our country -- and government should not try to be a business. This is a system that has worked for over 200 years and has proven its worth. Get the government out of the way!