House Passes "Jobs" Bill

Jillian Bandes | March 04, 2010 3:30 PM

I use the scare-quotes because I'll never believe that the government can ever "create" a single job. They can only continue to pass things they pretend are jobs, but are really just positions the taxpayer funds, for which we get (at best) a marginal return. Even the returns we do get are so de-valued, and under-performing, that it's never, ever in our interest to pay for them -- because anything the government funds is inherently more wasteful. But both Democrats and Republicans are more concerned about their own re-election prospects than what's actually good for the country, and too many voters don't pay attention to the wool they're pulling over our eyes. So our system continues to falter.

The $15 billion bill is dwarfed by other Congressional initiatives, like the $789 billion stimulus bill, but that doesn't make the principle of its passage any less despicable. It includes the temporary elimination of payroll taxes for businesses that hire unemployed workers, and a tax credit of $1,000 if those businesses retain those employees. It also includes other minor tax cuts, and increased spending on infrastructure and energy development.

Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson was one of the only ones who wanted Congress to pay for the jobs bill before passing it. But his concerns went the way they usually go on Capitol Hill -- into the dustbin.

I like the statement from Rep. Tom Price (R-GA):

Those who claim this will encourage job creation clearly don’t understand what goes into a hiring decision in the private sector. Any company that can't afford to hire today still won't be able to hire if this bill becomes law. Calling this a 'jobs' bill is pure fraud.

...This bill won’t convince wary employers to suddenly start hiring. It simply hands taxpayer money to businesses which were already going to hire anyway. ...You can't tax Americans back to prosperity. It’s just that simple.