Remember “Voodoo economics” back in the 1980's? Democrats had a field day for years castigating Republicans with that tag line. It now appears the reference is alive and well in the nation's political circles, though it has nothing to do with tax cuts this time around.
The phrase now describes the insane idea that government can spend its way to our prosperity. That is definitely not the conclusion of a House Ways and Means Committee report titled, “It's Official: On Unemployment and Jobs, Democrats' 2009 Stimulus Was a Huge Failure.”
The report provides striking reminders about predictions made by the White House in January, 2009 as they encouraged passage of the mammoth $814 billion spending bill. By January, 2011, the stimulus bill was to have lowered the unemployment rate to 7 percent. It is currently at 9.1 percent and the report notes, “The unemployment rate would be 11.3 percent if it included all the 'invisible unemployed' – American workers who have simply given up looking for work.”
The stimulus was supposed to create 3.7 million jobs by now for a total of 137.6 million jobs in the American economy. As it stands presently, there are 130.7 million jobs. All but three states have lost jobs overall and the private sector alone has lost 1.8 million during that two year period.
The unemployment rate is just slightly above what the White House predicted had the bill not been passed as emergency legislation. Any honest assessment of this dismal report must include factors including flawed economics in general, kickbacks to unions and other Democratic special interests, corruption and an inefficient bureaucracy.
The ironic part of this is the one area that exceeded job creation expectations – Washington, DC. Almost twice as many jobs were created there than the White House “anticipated.” In other words, the only growing area for jobs creation is the federal government.
The Ways and Means Committee report suggested four solutions to get the economy moving again to revive the sagging future of Obamanomics. They were as follows:
- Streamline the tax code
- Pass pending free-trade agreements so American companies can easily sell goods overseas
- Repeal and replace Obamacare with reforms that actually lower insurance costs
- Get spending under control so the national debt doesn't threaten the economy
Democrats may call this voodoo economics, but to a majority of Americans, it is common sense going into an election year. President Obama may wish to take note of a similar situation that occurred some 32 years ago in another “shovel-ready-type” era.
Jimmy Carter was our last one-term president for similar reasons at this saame time in 1979 - one year before the election of Ronald Reagan.
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