Another Job Growth Plan = Selective Subsidization

If the history of political meddling in the economy teaches us anything, it is that people seldom come to a realization of basic economic realities. That's why President Obama can come up with yet another plan to 'stimulate' our economy like this:

That's why we need to take further steps to create jobs and keep the economy growing, including extending tax cuts for the middle class and investing in the areas of our economy where the potential for job growth is greatest.

The simple fact lost on many is that all of this involves taking money we don't have (which will mean increased debt and/or future devaluing of our currency) and spending it in ways that politicians deem appropriate. What it really, in effect, represents is government taking our money from us and deciding how to spend it for us.

"Extending tax cuts for the middle class" implies that only that segment of income earners defined as "middle class" by politicians and deemed worthy of tax breaks will benefit from such a measure. The "investing" (which is government code for "spending") in areas of the economy "where the potential for job growth is greatest" means government deciding what industries and individuals should be subsidized.

How to Make Yourself Look Good

Here's an article from Cato which gave me the idea for this cartoon.

Commercial Real Estate -- the Next Industry to Be Nationalized?

As I discussed in my earlier post, the sugar high is finally wearing off from the commercial real estate bubble. Not to fear, the government is here! Crushing last year's purchases in just one quarter, the federal government is using some clever tricks to artificially "stimulate" the slumping market:

At the same time, federal leasing activity is expanding, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, the real estate firm representing the government. The government signed deals for 750,000 square feet of space in the District in the first quarter of 2010, compared with 670,000 square feet in the city for all of 2009.

The money will go to good use, however:

Expansion of the government's role in the nation's financial markets, increased defense spending and the new health-care law are driving its demand for more space. The government is expected to increase its Washington area payroll by as many as 100,000, according to Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit group that helps the federal government find workers.

"The government spent 2009 planning for the growth. We're going to see the growth materialize in 2010," said Scott Homa, research manager for Jones Lang LaSalle.

What's an extra 100,000 on the payroll going to do? Why worry? The taxpayers can handle the tab.

More stimulus leads to bigger government.

From The Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights, Obama’s Backward Economics by Yaron Brook provides appropriate commentary:

Barack Obama claims that Americans can only stave off economic disaster by trillions in government spending--which means trillions of dollars taxed or borrowed to finance government make-work programs,” said Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights. “Obama-nomics couldn’t be more wrong. “Prosperity requires that the government drastically cut government spending. That way, as much real capital as possible will remain in private hands, and be put to productive use by entrepreneurs to create valuable goods and services to sell at home and abroad. By taxing and inflating our wealth away, Obama will simply be creating more of the crushing debt that brought about the current crisis.