Truths, like our Constitution, are flexible and situationally dependent
We’ve seen the graphs before. You know, the ones showing Obama’s prediction that the U.S. will experience as much as 8.7% unemployment if we don’t enact the Stimulus Bill, then the little line on that graph which shows us at nearly 10% unemployment WITH the Stimulus Bill. Yeah, things never work out like a politician plans. Whereas Obama has decided to just gloss over that fact, because graphs are just so…inflexible in the eyes of TV viewers, a few numbers bandied about in a report are easily changed. It’s the best case of a revisionist history seen outside a liberal arts university course on the French-Indian war (if that course is even offered anymore).
What I’m talking about is the Romer/Bernstein Report of January 2009 which states that the U.S. would, by now, have only 133.9 million jobs if we did not enact the Stimulus Bill.
Recently the President has come out saying that the Stimulus Bill has created or saved 2.8 million jobs. If that were the case, we should have 2.8 million jobs over the 133.9 million jobs estimated without the Stimulus Bill, or 136.7 million jobs.
Alas that is not the case. Turns out that we currently have 129.7 million jobs. That’s 4.2 million short of the estimate…and the estimate was based on NO Stimulus Bill.
So how can we have fewer jobs than predicted and still be 2.8 million jobs ahead of the game? If you’re a politician, the answer is, “Change the baseline.” That’s what Obama’s administration did so that he can claim a win in the number of jobs out there. Just drop the baseline about 7 million jobs, and you’ve got a win! Woohoo!
How ’bout I tell my bank that my mortgage is really $700 less each month, and WHAMMO!, I’ve got loads more discretionary income. I like the way this game works. Too bad it’s only played in Washington with other people’s money. My money. Your money.
Posted on April 20th, 2010 by TheAdamBomb
Filed under: Uncategorized
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