21 July, 2010

From the Wall Street Journal

The following was received in my email and quoted from the Wall Street Journal.

"Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and when to reap, we should soon want bread." --Thomas Jefferson
Democrat policies equal unemployment

Editorial Exegesis

"[Barack] Obama's ostensible purpose [at his Rose Garden press conference Monday] was to lobby Congress for the eighth extension of jobless benefits since the recession began, to a record 99 weeks, or nearly two years. And he whacked Senate Republicans for blocking the extension, though Republicans are merely asking that the extension be offset by cuts in other federal spending. But Mr. Obama was nonetheless obliged to concede that, 18 months after his $862 billion stimulus, there are still five job seekers for every job opening and that 2.5 million Americans will soon run out of unemployment benefits. What happens when the 99 weeks of benefits run out? Will the President demand that they be extended to three years, or four? Only last week Vice President Joe Biden was hailing the stimulus for 'saving or creating' three million jobs. This week the White House says we need even more stimulus, in the form of jobless checks, to make up for the jobs his original spending stimulus didn't create. The one possibility the President and Congressional Democrats won't entertain is that their own spending and taxing and regulating and labor union favoritism have become the main hindrance to job creation. ... Mr. Obama also claimed yesterday that he wants to cut taxes on small businesses. That's a good idea, but Mr. Obama's proposal to provide one-year temporary tax cuts, such as expensing of certain capital purchases, will be dwarfed by one of the largest tax increases on small- and medium-sized firms in history that is scheduled to hit on January 1. The increase in the capital gains tax will fall hardest on start ups and expanding businesses that need capital for growth. More than half of the 'rich' who will pay higher income tax rates next year are small business owners and investors. The President is right that 'we've got a lot of work to do' to get Americans back to work.... But paying people not to work and adding $30 billion more to nearly $1.4 trillion of deficit spending is a dismal substitute for real economic growth and private job creation. Republicans are right to resist it." --The Wall Street Journal

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