Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Politics

Obama's Department of Failed Ideas

The White House struggles against economic reality.

David Harsanyi | 8.17.2011 12:00 PM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

The Obama administration is finally going to focus on jobs—again. Jobs, jobs, jobs. And nothing says jobs like food stamps, unemployment insurance, and a shiny new federal department of … yes, jobs!

Some of you may find President Barack Obama's three-day campaign bus tour through Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois a considerable downer. Not that it's the president's fault. If it weren't for Japanese earthquakes, unpatriotic Republicans, Arab springs, European welfare states collapsing, market fluctuations, Lady Luck's being a complete witch—you know, existence—this mess could have been squared away months ago.

Now, granted, before long our attention will be appropriately focused on the antics of some extreme Christian dominionist or some C-plus-average state-school graduate. The press will soon gut and fillet these interlopers for the good of the nation. In the interim, though, it's becoming tough to conceal the administration's ideological rigidity and lack of ideas.

This week, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack was ready to "announce something that's never happened in this country" (never?!). If anyone had actually been paying attention, people might have imagined for a moment that a rogue idea had somehow bubbled up in a corner of the federal behemoth. Perhaps a great leap forward in genetic engineering? Or some new advance in nanotechnology?

Food stamps. The administration's announcement was to tout a new program expanding "economic stimulus" through food stamps. An idea Americans had "never" heard … this week. Then again, considering the nation is awash in food stamps, this must portend a colossal recovery. So that's certainly good news.

Similarly, when a Wall Street Journal reporter recently asked the White House press secretary to explain the administration's contention that extending unemployment benefits would be an economic stimulus, Jay Carney answered, "Oh, uh, it is by, um, I would expect a reporter from The Wall Street Journal would know this as part of the entrance exam."

Remember that in Washington, there's no such thing as a stupid question, only dissembling flacks who can't answer tough ones.

According to BSU graduate Carney, all educated folk understand that dependency is stimulative, so perhaps the problem is in the way government delivers. Word from The New York Times is that the administration is chewing over a proposal that would merge the Department of Commerce, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and economic divisions of the State Department to form a tremendously useless department, possibly named the Department of Jobs or maybe the Department of Competitiveness.

That's what the economy needs, the lecturer in chief meting out economic advice. At a Minnesota town hall, for instance, the president offered this gem: "You can't just make money on SUVs and trucks. There is a place for SUVs and trucks, but as gas prices keep on going up, you have got to understand the market."

If only the common man had such insight into markets. Earlier this month, Ford reported that sport utility vehicle sales had increased 31 percent (car sales improved 3.4 percent) from a year earlier. General Motors also "bounced back" on the strength of its worldwide SUV sales. Who knows? If this administration didn't harbor resentment toward useful and affordable energy, Ford could sell even more SUVs.

Now, considering the failure of Washington to help shake off this prolonged slump, it is no surprise that a recent Washington Post poll found that 73 percent of Americans—up from 52 percent last year and 41 percent a decade ago—doubt the ability of government to solve the nation's economic problems.

I suppose it's not surprising that this administration refuses to budge a single food stamp away from its faith-based beliefs. But if it really wanted to help, it would stop "helping."

David Harsanyi is a columnist at The Blaze. Follow him on Twitter @davidharsanyi.

COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS.COM

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: Penn Jillette: "What makes me libertarian is what makes me an atheist -- I don't know."

David Harsanyi is senior editor of The Federalist and the author of the forthcoming First Freedom: A Ride through America's Enduring History with the Gun, From the Revolution to Today.

PoliticsEconomicsBarack Obama
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Show Comments (239)

Latest

The App Store Freedom Act Compromises User Privacy To Punish Big Tech

Jack Nicastro | 5.8.2025 4:57 PM

Is Shiloh Hendrix Really the End of Cancel Culture?

Robby Soave | 5.8.2025 4:10 PM

Good Riddance to Ed Martin, Trump's Failed Pick for U.S. Attorney for D.C.

C.J. Ciaramella | 5.8.2025 3:55 PM

Trump's Tariffs Are Already Raising Car Prices and Hurting Automakers

Joe Lancaster | 5.8.2025 2:35 PM

Trump's Antitrust Enforcer Says 'Big Is Bad'

Jack Nicastro | 5.8.2025 2:19 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!