Letters by a modern St. Ferdinand III about cults

The MIMH [the most important man in history, the Great Prophet Obamed], deliriously proclaims that the $1 Trillion orgy in spending has 'created or saved' hundreds of thousands of jobs. Like most government pronouncements on the economy, the idea that tax money creates anything positive is nothing more than deceit and disinformation. The only beneficiaries are politicians and the nomenklatura functionary class. As government expands, the political-economy rigidifies, taxes must go up, and jobs and wealth are destroyed. The MIMH's stimulative project has only expanded debt and economic retraction. Facts make this clear.

The US unemployment rate has gone from 10% to 9.6% during the MIMH's stimulus period. This means that 0.4 % of the US workforce or 600.000 people (0.4% x 150 million workers) found a job. So $ 1 Trillion in total spending on a mere 600.000 jobs equates to $1.6 million on average per job. Even if we accept that all these 'jobs' are actual real world functions in which people work 40 hours a week and contribute to productive activities, that amount is 40 times the US average yearly wage. It would have been cheaper just to mail these 600.000 people welfare cheques totalling $40.000 for the year. But the madness of the rabbit hole of government stimulus runs much deeper.

The unemployment rate excludes millions of people who stopped looking. The actual current rate is therefore certainly above 10%. Most analysts who study unemployment will state that the real rate is 20%. If we were to add back the millions who stopped looking; or those on work-fare programs paying a few hours a week who are not counted for some reason, we would see a real unemployment rate far above 10% during the past 2 years. This means that the stimulus package in reality has done little to create any real jobs or economic growth.

But it goes further. The MIMH does not break down all of these jobs that he and the elite supposedly created. How many are in the private sector ? How many are trimming trees and wearing Obamed Tshirts whilst working for ACORN, or some community organizing chimera ? How many are permanent ? What are the average hours per week? No details. Just vague claims that the great man's expansion of government saved the world. It would have of course, been far cheaper and more effective to cut corporate and income taxes, which would raise overall revenues, and create jobs and investment. But that is not 'compassionate' or nuanced enough. We need more massive government spending – as if that solves anything.

But no matter the social engineers and sneering elites know better. So in Obama's 'job growth' claim we have the following insanity: jobs saved or created include thousands of people who were paid by government stimulus funds to work 1 hour over 3 months. This is a fact. So now the government's definition of a job has been re-configured. Even the most malformed of the MIMH's cult, would have to admit that 1 hour in 90 days is not a job. But as with the unemployment rate, GDP and inflation, the government arbitrarily changes definitions, ignores real world facts or common sense and socially engineers numbers and levels to give politicians and the state credit or a 'victory' over whatever problem they are trying to address and correct.

And they never tell the media or the public the absurdity of their logic or claims. Consider these government based numbers - they show the extent of the failure of the Great Man's economic plans:

3.5 MILLION: Jobs Obama Promised Stimulus Would Create By End Of 2010. (President Barack Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act, Press Release, Denver, CO, 2/17/09)

3.3 MILLION: Jobs Lost Since Obama Made That Promise. (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10) 

6.8 MILLION: Jobs Obama Must Now Create To Keep Promise By End Of 2010. (President Barack Obama, Remarks At The Signing Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Act, Press Release, Denver, CO, 2/17/09; U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10)

1.1 MILLION: Jobs Obama’s Economists Project Will Be Created By End Of 2010. (David Jackson, “Obama Economic Report: Stagnant Job Growth This Year,” USA Today, 2/11/10)

5.7 MILLION: Jobs By Which Obama’s Economists’ Projection Leaves Him Short In Keeping Promise.  (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10; David Jackson, “Obama Economic Report: Stagnant Job Growth This Year,” USA Today, 2/11/10) 

6 PERCENT: Not Surprisingly, Number Of Americans That Say Obama’s Stimulus Created Jobs.  (Stephanie Condon, “Poll: Economy Brings Down Obama's Job Approval Rating,”CBS News’ “Political Hotsheet” Blog, 2/11/10)

7.7 PERCENT: Unemployment Rate When Obama Was Selling Stimulus In January 2009. (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10)

8 PERCENT: Unemployment Rate Obama Pledged Stimulus Would Prevent Us From Reaching. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, "The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan," 1/9/09)

 9.7 PERCENT: Current Unemployment Rate. (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10)

16.5 PERCENT: Current Unemployment Rate When Underemployed And Discouraged Workers Are Included. (Sara Murray, “Signs Of Hope As Jobless Rate Dips,” The Wall Street Journal, 2/6/10)

334,000: Americans That Have Given Up Looking For A Job Since Stimulus Was Signed. (U.S. Bureau Of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10) 

47: States That Have Lost Jobs Since Stimulus Was Signed.  (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 2/16/10)

The MIMH is simply lying when he states – quite emphatically – that his stimulus saved the planet. 

In 1920 there was a post War depression which occurred for many reasons. 20 million people were also dying from 'Spanish' flu, an epidemic caused by the fetid conditions of trench warfare but first identified in Spain. Then President Coolidge did nothing. He did not erect huge bureaucracies. He did not bankrupt his treasury with job programs, bank bailouts or industrial engineering politicies. He did not fear monger the population into a frenzy of hysteria over the flu. No national implementation costing billions was fomented to stop what clearly was a risk to national and personal health. By 1921 the US economy had recovered and most Americans had taken local and individual actions to limit the effects of Spanish Flu. The world did not end.

More government always ends badly. No jobs are saved or stimulated by absurd bureaucratic programs and political preference. Only debt and rigidities are created. At some point the entire edifice, weakened by its own lies, deceit and hypocrisy, not to mention fiscal and moral insanity collapses. This paves the way of course for more governmental action plans to 'save us' from the collapse 'caused' by non-governmental enemies of the people. The people burning down your house so to speak, are of course the same ones who should rebuild it.  Maybe not.