Can Someone Please Explain to Me...?

Published on May 5, 2005 By Gideon MacLeish In Politics

First of all, to start this off, I'd like someone to point to me the passage in the US Constitution where ANY BRANCH of the federal government is required to provide jobs.

Have you done that? NO? Well, why don't you check your state constitution for the same passage?

I can't say I'm familiar with all 50 states' constitutions, but I'm reasonably certain you won't find it.

Why? Simply because it is (ready for this?...) NOT THE ROLE OF THE GOVERNMENT!

Expecting the government to be an agent of compassion is imparting onto it a role far larger than any government could reasonably be expected to assume. It is also, as I have repeatedly pointed out, against the concept of personal liberties.

George W. Bush has arguably created jobs. By continuing the war in Iraq and putting soldiers in harm's way so that more than 1500 of them have effectively been removed from the workforce, he has ensured more jobs for the American people. And he could continue to do so if you wanted.

But what I don't get, what I can never get, and this is the point of the article, is how confiscating more and more of Americans' taxes create jobs. If anything, it destroys them as businesses are forced to downsize to meet their payroll. If the government creates jobs within the government to offset this loss, it's a false economy, plain and simple. It is a house of cards that cannot stand over time. And, I fear, that's exactly what we HAVE created in the American economy.

I have yet to meet a liberal who was a good economist. For that matter, I have yet to meet a liberal who meets JFK's famous challenge: "ask not what your country can do for you, but what YOU can do for your Country". They ask, instead, that the government continue to give at the expense of the wealthy, to help the poor within the country live indulgent lifestyles without earning them.

Liberals, in short, have crippled America's work ethic. Can someone please explain to me how this serves the greater good?

Comments

bakerstreet

on May 05, 2005

"Can someone please explain to me how this serves the greater good?"

Not me. Turning your government into a thermostat for your economy just ensures that your economy will always function at the same level of health as your government. I think if people were schooled a bit more in history they'd want to build a HUGE wall between the inherently inept government and the economy...

just john

on May 05, 2005

I am right there with you. As I drive my paid off 1994 Ford Exploder throught the poor neighborhoods in town I sit in awe. I sit in awe of the fact that most of the vehicles are Navigators and Tahoes sitting on "dubs". The rims on these vehicles alone are worth more than my Exploder. I have a good job and I am putting my wife through school. Our life is not one of lavish things. In fact, we are happy when we can afford to go sit at the McDonalds and share some time over a hamburger.

Why is it that the guy who is drawing welfare can afford to drive a car better than mine. Why do I see them dropping quarters in the slot machine at the casinos. I don't have the first clue. I do however know how the system works. My wife and I took in 4 children and we were given assistance from the state to the tune of $222.00 per child each month. Without it we would have all gone hungry. I never felt bad about taking that money because I was keeping these kids out of the foster system which pays over $400.00 a monther per child. But the one thing I noticed was that at the first of the month when the money was deposited all I had to do was walk up to an ATM push in my state issued card and PIN# and out popped cash. I could then walk around the corner to the next ATM and take the daily limit out there too and continue till all of the cash was gone.

Now if I was working and getting paid under the table, I could still draw those state provided funds plus what I earn. I can only imagine the ways that the system can be worked. The government makes it so easy .. Why would you want to find work?

Danny Bassette

on May 05, 2005

The president, vice president, congress, and probably a few other similar positions are named in the constitution, right? So there you go, all the jobs the government are required to provide, and they are already filled. Maybe those people currently holding the jobs should be fired and someone that does the job better should be hired? Perhaps give them a few years to try and get their act together before doing that, just to be nice

Dr Guy

on May 05, 2005

Danny gets an insightful for that one! SO there you go Liberals! You want the government to create more jobs? create more positions in congress!

MasonM

on May 05, 2005

create more positions in congress!

Oh great, that's just what we really need.

Spc Nobody Special

on May 05, 2005

The taxes I can see, but for the jobs, how about FDR and the social programs he implented during the Depression, including the WPA?

He created vast numbers of jobs, opened soup kitchens and social programs, and depending on the historians you talk to, helped if not actually end the depression, then lessened it's effects and made it survivable until the economy truly revived with the outbreak of WWII.

In my opinion, he was the last great Democrat this country has seen as president to date. The Constitution doesn't say they have to help people, or create jobs from compassion, but it allows them to do so when it is needed. But then of course that doesn't mean that current administrations are doing so in a way that is proper, or well run.

Spc Nobody Special

on May 05, 2005

Who wrote that comment? Me? No.....can't be, I thought I was conservative republican. Wierd..........

Dr Guy

on May 05, 2005

Oh great, that's just what we really need.

I did not say it was good, but it is constitutional and legal, so we dont need activist judges to create the positions!

MasonM

on May 05, 2005

The things FDR did in response to the Great Depression were definately good things. Unfortunately, like any good idea, it doesn't take too many people to turn it into something useless and counter-productive.

Gideon MacLeish

on May 06, 2005

In my opinion, he was the last great Democrat this country has seen as president to date. The Constitution doesn't say they have to help people, or create jobs from compassion, but it allows them to do so when it is needed. But then of course that doesn't mean that current administrations are doing so in a way that is proper, or well run.

SPC,

Good response,

While I don't agree with all of FDR's programs, at least it can be argued that those programs DID serve the greater good. They built roads, built the power grid (although I'm not sure that's as good a thing as we make it out to be...but that's a separate blog), and improved the quality of life while providing work for many Americans. The problem is that every generation since has seen entitlements as an OBLIGATION with little understanding of the times that demanded them.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!