Columbus, OH - President Barack Obama was in Ohio Tuesday, selling his $447 billion American Jobs Act at the Fort Hayes High School in Columbus.
In the speech, the President stated, "We're standing here with cops and firefighters whose jobs are threatened because states and communities are cutting back. This bill will keep cops on the beat, and firefighters on call. So let’s pass this bill so that these men and women can continue protecting our neighborhoods like they do every single day."
Sound Familiar?
The President and Vice-President spoke after the signing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the $787 billion stimulus plan , in Denver Colorado February 17, 2009.
"Thanks to the Recovery Act, thousands of additional police officers will go on the streets of America, and hundreds and hundreds of fire stations will be built, making the people of Denver and every other city in America safer."
In Columbus; "All over the country, there are roads and bridges and schools just like Fort Hayes in need of repair. ...There are construction projects like these all across the country just waiting to get started...There are workers ready to do it. So let’s tell Congress, pass this bill right away."
ARRA; "...we are remaking the American landscape with the largest new investment in our nation's infrastructure since Eisenhower built an Interstate Highway System in the 1950s."
Columbus; "Tell them that if you want to create jobs right now –- pass this bill. If you want construction workers renovating schools like this one -– pass this bill. If you want to put teachers back in the classroom –- pass this bill. If you want tax cuts for middle-class families and small business owners, then what to do you do? Pass this bill."
"Budget cuts are forcing superintendents here in Columbus and all over the state to make layoffs they don’t want to make. It is unfair to our kids, it undermines our future, and it has to stop. Tell Congress to pass the American Jobs Act so we can put our teachers back in the classroom where they belong."
ARRA; " It's an investment that will create jobs building 21st century classrooms and libraries and labs for millions of children across America. It will provide funds to train a new generation of math and science teachers, while giving aid to states and school districts to stop teachers from being laid off and education programs from being cut. In a place like New York City, 14,000 teachers who were set to be let go may now be able to continue pursuing their critical mission."
The stimulus package promised everything the jobs bill promises now.
It is obvious the $787 billion stimulus did not work, in fact it made things worse.
Unemployment in 2008 was at 5.8%. In 2009, the first year of the ARRA, unemployment rose to 9.3%. In 2010, unemployment again rose to 9.6%.
Currently, the rate is 9.1% for the month of August.
Coincidentally, there is a 1% increase in the "not in labor force" category since January. Those in this category include "discouraged workers," those that cannot find jobs.
Based on the speeches regarding the ARRA and the American Jobs Act, the jobs bill is to be used to do what the ARRA was to be used for.
Albert Einstein is said to have described insanity as doing the same thing again and again, expecting different results.
With results like this, who in their right mind would do it again?
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