41,000 New Jobs in May

The Obama administration is singing the praises of their economic recovery plan, and that is all crap! There are now approximately 30 Million Americans unemployed, under-employed, or have given up looking for work today, and they want you to think that creating 41,000 new jobs in May is a great accomplishment??

Here is what should have happened over a year ago. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation point out that the 47,000 miles of the Interstate Highway system are all over fifty years old and are badly deteriorated in many places. Interstate highways in Arkansas belong in a third world country. In addition, there are 150,000 bridges classified as structurally deficient or obsolete. Every state highway department knows exactly where that work is needed.

There are just over 25,000 cities and towns in the U.S. and every mayor and/or city manager knows exactly what work is needed in his/her town, and exactly how to get it done.

So why has not the returned TARP funds been applied to this problem? Well, it seems there are two problems. One is that the administration wants to control all projects from Washington so that projects need months and months, and now years to get approved. All that was needed was to announce a number of available dollars and award contracts on a first come, first serve basis until the money is gone. The Association of Mayors offered to do this job 18 months ago and were turned down flat.

The work would have provided real paychecks to real people to spend to get the economy growing again. (See The Saving Paradox posted ealier.) It would have spread the work, and the money, all across the U.S. It would have reduced the unemployment benefits we are paying out. And best of all, it is work that will HAVE to be done sooner or later, and paid for sooner or later.

The second problem is that Obama's wealthy economic guru dismisses this kind of work as simply "manual labor".

An earlier post claimed we have a dysfunctional government. That is not quite right. What we have is a dysfunctional economist who is controlling our economic policy with some nonsensical economic theories and a complete lack of understanding of the lives and woes of most Americans.

You will know the depression is over and the recovery has begun when you read that Larry Summers has left the White House. Until then we are completely screwed and you should be paying off debs (if you can) and stock piling cash.