Ms Rubin, excellent post, excellent points. While we are at it, here is an interesting juxtaposition of quotes from The Boy King that deserves attention, underscoring how this idiot is flying by the seat of his pants, courtesy The Illustrated Conservative blog:
January 2009: “That is why I have moved quickly to work with my economic team and leaders of both parties on an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that will immediately jumpstart job creation and long-term growth.”
Today (from radio address): “The Recovery Act was not designed to work in four months – it was designed to work over two years,” Mr. Obama said, after telling listeners that the plan hadn’t been intended “to restore the economy to full health on its own, but to provide the boost necessary to stop the free fall.”
January 2009: “Only government can break the vicious cycles that are crippling our economy – where a lack of spending leads to lost jobs which leads to even less spending; where an inability to lend and borrow stops growth and leads to even less credit… I am confident will save or create at least three million jobs over the next few years.”
Today: “I realize that when we passed this Recovery Act, there were those who felt that doing nothing was somehow an answer. Today, some of those same critics are already judging the effort a failure although they have yet to offer a plausible alternative.”
Ah, yes. The imprecise and impossible to measure “save or create” yardstick. Also, somewhere in this miasma of newspeak, The Dear Leader emitted some circular argument about the 49 billion or so being allotted to the extension of unemployment benefits. Comforting, I am sure, to those without work but hardly instrumental in “saving or creating” new jobs. In fact, one wonders where the incentive would be for the unemployed to seek work, knowing they had several more months at the government tit.
