Last week I wrote a blog that identified the fundamental flaw at the core of Health Care Legislation—FREEDOM! This week I’m compelled to write a blog that identifies not only the fundamental flaw at the core of all economic stimulus efforts to date, but the one game changing idea (for the better) that is now being discussed at the White House and beyond. This initiative and public support for it are so important that I urge all readers of this blog to share it with others and to voice support.
The title of this blog “162,000 New Jobs! Not!!!” exemplifies the fault of all economic stimulus efforts to which I speak, in its absolute entirety—INTELLECTUAL DISHONESTY!!! An administration and a media that suggests that the U.S. economy has turned a corner as demonstrated by a jobs report that encompasses temporary jobs, created by the government, funded by deficit spending, is engaged in cognitive dissidence, at best, and outright intentional deception at worst. And for those who are not as familiar with the specifics of this report as I, let me just point out the most obvious—48,000 Americans have been employed temporarily to take the U.S. Census.
Problem solving is a function of truth. Politics, self-interest, and ego are abhorrent to the problem solving process and must not be present if absolute answers are to be found. To date the problem solving process that has been utilized, with respect to the most recent collapse of the U.S. economy, has been completely polluted with the three previously mentioned toxins. Imagine the damage a small business could do to itself if it were to spend money on capital improvements believing that the economy had indeed turned the corner as reported—it could be a deathblow. The current administration would do itself and the country a service if it were to simply tell the truth—the stimulus, to date, has not worked. The baseless prediction that unemployment would top out at 8% was wrong. There’s no shame in being wrong and moving on. Problem solving, by definition, is a matter of trial and error. If President Obama would just say the truth, not bother with endless rationalizations, and tell the American public what he plans on trying next, the public would support him—I suggest this highly!
So what’s the good idea? The administration is considering legislation that would reduce capital gains on investments into small businesses to ZERO. Continue reading 162,000 New Jobs! Not!!!