by Victor Davis Hanson
Investors’ Business Daily
1/29/2010
A year ago Barack Obama inherited a recession brought on by financial panic after the collapse of the housing bubble. The market crash was made worse by Wall Street shenanigans and recklessness at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Job losses followed.
In response, Obama pushed through a stimulus bill that went well beyond the borrowing done by George W. Bush in his last months in office.
In fact, Obama and Congress borrowed an additional $787 billion to infuse the economy with fresh job-creating cash.
The president warned us that without this borrowing, unemployment might reach double digits. Yet with the stimulus, unemployment has soared from 7.6% to 10%. That translates into more than 4 million jobs lost in 2009 alone.
In reaction, an embarrassed administration continues to cite hypothetical jobs saved, rather than the actual number of jobs lost this year. Just this week senior White House adviser Valerie Jarrett, press secretary Robert Gibbs and senior White House adviser David Axelrod variously claimed “thousands and thousands,” “1.5 million” and “2 million” jobs saved. If the White House insiders can’t get their theoretical numbers straight, how can anyone else?
Why the continual job losses?
First, the government can create only so many jobs by borrowing and spending. It is less efficient than private enterprise in reacting to market needs — new products, new services and new consumer tastes.
The article continues at IBD.
