Remember the USSR and their central planning experiment? Everything for everyone came from Moscow. On 11-16-09 a Alan S. Blinder wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal titled ” How Washington Can Create Jobs.”
Mr. Blinder tells us how we can solve unemployment. He tells us what Obama has told us, that the $787 stimulus bill has already “doubtless saved many jobs already.” Great, the unemployment is only 10.2%, just think what it would be without the stimulus bill. Probably, 10.1%.
He suggests we should hire people to repair parks, have public service jobs. He does add that the money must come from the government. He does acknowledge that it would increase the deficit. He does acknowledge that the Federal civilian payroll is already at 1.4 million. He suggests it would be no problem to find another 1 million more Federal jobs.
Next he proposes a tax credit for new jobs, not a new idea. A $5,000 tax credit for a $50,000 job. But, he rejects that idea because he acknowledges that the system will be gamed. He does not address the thought that the 10.2% unemployment rate sets the base at the lowest level it has been for 30 years.
This is the USSR at it’s very best. Central Planning, government uses tax dollars from the businesses that are succeeding and give them to newly hired Federal employees to help Smoky the Bear keep fires down in parks. The money to hire these employees seems in Mr. Blinder’s mind to come from heaven. How do we help the economy by stressing the few businesses that are working to hand out to new jobs that don’t produce any GDP.
I’m amazed that Mr. Blinder doesn’t have a job in the Obama administration already. An esteemed professor at Princeton University he has all the qualifications. The ideology, the pedigree, the lack of any real world work experience, and a fervent belief that government is good. We sure wouldn’t want a capitalist to offer a plan to reduce unemployment.