Biden Defends Jobs Effect of Stimulus; Points to Al Franken as Example of Job Saved or Created…
Well, not exactly. But speaking in Cincinnati recently, Vice President and Economical Misreader Joe Biden basically said the only reason anybody anywhere still has a job is because of the bold leadership of him and Barack Obama:
"When they say we're not saving jobs, count the cop that still has a job, count the teacher that will be showing up in the classroom in September who would not be able to show up but for this… These are all essential services affecting the quality of life of our children and our families."
And the Real Man of Political Genius had this to say about his critics:
"I say to those who are critics who say we shouldn't do this, or in the neighboring congressional district … I ask the rhetorical question, what would they do?," said Biden. "Ladies and gentlemen, would they do nothing? I hear nothing other than the criticism. I didn't take this job, Barack didn't take this job… to do nothing. We took this job to rebuild America. That's what this job is about."
That's a nice rhetorical gesture, throwing the ball back into the hands of the punk kid on the court who's challenging the authority of the whistle-clad coach. But you know what? As Harvard's Jeffrey Miron pointed out in Reason recently, "the case for doing nothing," (that is, letting markets work and investors suck up the hit from their own bad choices) when it came to the financial sector is a damn strong one.
But if that's not working for Biden, here's a few things you and the Prez might have done rather than blow out all the stops on several generations of budget deficits, taking over huge swaths of the American economy, and meeting with the Easter Bunny: You might have lowered taxes across the board in a consistent, predictable, and convincing way; you might think about minimizing direct and future costs of hiring workers; you could have reduced deficit spending; and you could actually allow markets, especially in housing, to minimize the growth of asset bubbles and their effects when they pop. Among other things. Watch this video, Turning Japanese: Is the US creating its own "Lost Decade"? for some more pointers. (Go here for embed code, downloadable versions, and more).