Was the September Jobs Report a Preview of a Teabagger Congress?
October 11, 2010

 
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Last Friday, the White House released the disappointing unemployment figures for the month of September, with unemployment stuck at 9.6% following a net loss of 95,000 jobs. I stress “net” because even though the private sector gained jobs, the number was offset by the elimination of hundreds of thousands of government jobs (as columnist EJ Dione put it, “our ‘Socialist’ President is cutting the size of government.”)

There was another report last week you might have missed: The Obama Administration cut the 2010 Deficit by more than $125Billion dollars to less than $1.3Trillion… well below the $1.4Trillion estimate for this fiscal year. With Republicans and Teanuts running around screaming about the growth of government and the size of the Deficit, you’d think this would come as good news to them. Instead, all anyone is talking about is the disappointing jobs report.

But here’s the problem: These two events are not unrelated. Part of the the reason for BOTH is because of all those temporary Census Workers being let go as the program drew to a close. The government fired a bunch of people, saving money but contributing to the unemployment rate. And THAT’S the quandary of Tea Party economics. They are desperate to reduce the Deficit (a noble goal under normal circumstances) because they believe (but I doubt could ever explain) that an exploding National Debt is costing us jobs. They want to slash government spending at a time when government spending is what’s needed most.

So you can see the Teabagger’s problem: slashing government spending WILL create unemployment and push those numbers up. It’s no longer a matter of opinion. This month’s job report shows it as fact. Q.E.D..

You’ve probably haven’t seen one of David Plouffe’s monthly “Job Growth Charts” in several months. Up until last May, nearly every month was showing strong positive gains in job growth. Then suddenly, in June, the numbers started going negative again. Why? What changed in June to account for this startling turn around? Simple. The government stopped hiring and let go of 250,000 temporary Census workers.

Those same Republicans screaming about the Deficit now, are the same Republicans who exploded the National Debt from $5T to over $9T when they took control of all three branches of government in 2001. And where were the “teabaggers” then? They were on the front lines blaming Bill Clinton for 9/11. And now, they want to extend (or even make permanent) the Bush Tax Cuts on the top 2%, all the while screaming about the size of the Debt. Sorry folks, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t complain about the size of the Debt/Deficit and then defend the tax policy that got us here.

They also want to lighten regulations on Wall Street and repeal “ObamaCare”, which includes things like “no more denials for preexisting conditions” and “keeping your kids on your insurance until they finish college”.

The “Tea Party” is a subset of disaffected Republicans with one thing in common… an incredibly low level of understanding as to just how government works. I often wonder if those idiot Teabaggers with the “keep your government hands off my Medicare” signs realize the people they are working so hard to get elected are the biggest proponents of privatizing and eventually eliminating Medicare? (see my weekly links since last August.)

Only three times in the past 100 years have Republicans controlled both house of Congress AND the Presidency: from 1931-1933 under Herbert Hoover. 1953-1955 under Eisenhower, and (of course) the first six years of the Bush Presidency, where the same Republican controlled Congress under Bill Clinton that “handed Bush a Recession” (or so we were repeatedly told) spent the country into oblivion funding two wars and giving massive tax cuts to the rich in the vain belief it would create jobs. Instead, the national debt exploded and the economy sank into Recession twice during the Bush presidency. It didn’t work then, so clearly, “we just didn’t go far enough.” (/snark)

Those who don’t learn from history are Tea Baggers.

NOTE: Friday I will be posting my compiled “List of reasons to keep Republicans from regaining control of Congress”, in time for you to send out to everyone on your mailing list prior to the November election and most states begin Early Voting. Be sure to revisit Monday and use the email link above each post to send the list out to everyone you know. We remember how we got here. Angry voters voted in a huge Democratic majority in 2006 and a Democratic President in 2008, hungry for change. But voters have the memories of goldfish and it is horrifying to think that just two years after the most incompetent presidency in history, voters may be looking to those same incompetents who dug this hole to get us out. The consequences of moving backwards to the policies that got us into this mess are nothing short of catastrophic.

 


 

Our fifth and final week of reasons to keep Republicans from regaining power:

  1. A frightening glimpse into a Conservative future that privatizes everything: a Tennessee family watched in horror as the local “subscription-funded” fire department arrived only then to refuse to put out the fire engulfing their home because the residents had failed to pay the privatized fire departments’ $75 annual membership fee.. The homeowner quickly offered to pay “whatever it would take” to get them to save his home, but were told it was “too late” as they and the firefighters stood and watched their home and all their belongings (and three dogs & a cat) burn to the ground. What if there had been children inside that home? Would they still have stood by and watched it burn? (Update: rather than apologize, the next day the county decided to Expand the program, making it even bigger.) The all-Republican Obion, TN Republican County Commission believes residents are saving money by making them pay a separate $75 membership fee for firefighting services. So how much is each resident saving on their property taxes? 13cents. That’s right, each resident is paying $75 to save 13cents.
  2. Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) said Saturday (10/2) that preventing gays from marrying is equally (more?) important than fixing the economy.
  3. When will Republicans learn we live in the age of video tape? Deny it all you want, but when you claim you don’t support privatizing Social Security, just make sure we don’t have you on tape praising the idea as “The greatest force in the universe.
  4. Arizona governor Jan “Papers, please” Brewer declared the first Monday in October “Child Health Day” after she has already agreed to cut $72 million from children’s health services, eliminate “KidsCare” from Medicare, and proposing the elimination of the Early Childhood Development and Health Board.
  5. While the Teanuts are running around screaming about “illegal immigration” and making absurd claims of Mexican border violence spilling over into neighboring border states, the Obama Administration deported “a record number of unauthorized immigrants – more than 392,000 in 2009.
  6. In a video editorial on CNN, Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks does a fantastic job of pointing out (my favorite pastime) the blatant hypocrisy of some high-profile Teabagger Senatorial candidates (Sharron Angle, Joe Miller and Ron Johnson) who have railed against government handouts… except when it was THEIR hand that was out.
  7. The Teanuts are SO opposed to increased government regulation, that the Missouri Tea Party has decided to oppose a bill mandating humane conditions at puppy mills. Way to take a stand, guys!
  8. As mentioned above: The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported last Thursday that the Deficit this year will be “slightly below $1.3 Trillion”… well below their $1.4 Trillion estimate. The Obama Administration is actually reducing the Deficit.
  9. Former Senator and 2012 presidential hopeful, Rick “Man on Dog” Santorum went on Fox “news” last week and made the astonishing claim that “under President Bush, poverty among African-Americans and single women hit an all-time record low“. I kid you not. In fact, the exact OPPOSITE is true (big surprise), steadily climbing to 24.7% for African-Americans, and nearly 30% for single mothers by the time end of 2008.
  10. Another week, another Republican candidate promising to shutdown the government if Republicans regain control. This week, it’s Alaska Teabagger Joe Miller.
  11. Teabagger Senate candidate Ken Buck (R-CO) flat out denies that he ever supported the idea of “privatizing Social Security”, despite having said repeatedly that he wants individuals to be able to invest “their Social Security money in individual funds” and that “the private sector runs programs like that far better.” These guys are desperately now trying to run away from their records on the subject because they know how unpopular the idea is.
  12. After defending Tea Party racism, “Birthers” that think President Obama was born in Kenya, “Tenthers” threatening to secede from the Union, and “Witchcraft dabbler” Christine O’Donnell, House minority whip Eric Cantor draws the line at defending “Nazi reenactor” Rich Iott (R-OH).

Be sure to check back Friday for our Master List & Voter Guide.
 

And as usual: a reminder to Sign my Green Jobs petition:
Support green jobs NOW!

 


 

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October 11, 2010 · Admin Mugsy · No Comments - Add
Posted in: Economy, Election, Money, Politics

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