Scott Brown sums up the bottom line of the American Right

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Your telling me all those billions of untaxed dollars wouldn't do any good if not directed by politicians?   

No, I'm telling you it does less good going into Paris Hilton's vaults than when it is directed to people who earn less so spend more of their income.

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Economics is hard, isn't it?

No, just finding any sense in naif-Keynesianism.   But it's good to know that Paris Hilton is holding all the nation's wealth under her mattress, so let's just create endless make-work jobs because multipliers.


You know what I hear is really hard?  Polling.

[bullmoose88]

What if I told you both the private sector and public sector provide goods and services that are delivered by people being paid for their work?



Mind = blown.

Very Morpheus-like.

[Rockefeller GOP]

Oh no, he didn't!

[HAnnA MArin County]

I've never understood what Republicans mean with their talking point that "government doesn't create jobs." First, government created THEIR jobs as representatives and senators. Police, sheriffs, detectives, teachers, principals, superintendents, park rangers, etc. these are all public sector jobs. Sure, they aren't in the "business" of making a (monetary) profit like private sector companies, but for them, the profit is beneficial to us all: their profit is making sure our roads, bridges, and infrastructure are in tact, ensuring that our children are properly educated to acquire the skills necessary to earn those high-paying jobs, and protecting our communities from crime and other threats to our safety. To some people, this is more rewarding than earning money, so to say that government can't create jobs is perplexing to me. 

[bedstuy]

The phrase "create a job" is meaningless.  Everything in the economy is interdependent so nobody is solely responsible for the employment level.  Government hiring is certainly employment or creating jobs.  But, if the government taxes and borrowing leads to a reduction in employment greater than the number of jobs the taxes and borrowing paid for, it's not really "creating jobs."

However, the common sense way to look at this is that the government ought to use that basic cost benefit analysis in the economic impact of their policies.  Maybe a new regulation on smokestacks will lower employment at a smelter, but it will create jobs for the fishing industry because the acid rain from the smokestacks doesn't kill as many fish.  Maybe government car emissions regulations destroy jobs at the auto manufacturer, but they make it possible to breath in Southern California which creates a ton of wealth and creates jobs.  Government needs to make all these choices like that with costs and benefits. 

This idea that it's either get involved and destroy jobs, or let the magical free market work is just a load of horse pucky.  The question is whether government is making smart policy choices for the economy, whatever those are in your opinion.