Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : I Will Continue to Continue, to Pretend.... -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (1439)	3/10/2004 4:50:14 PM
From: Neeka	Respond to of 35834

Like the ones who are complaining about the WTC scenes in the GOP ads? Too bad. This is America and 9/11 belongs to all of us. M The myth of government job creation strategies Commentary by Steve Gill March 10, 2004 It is a constant refrain from Democrat presidential candidate John Kerry and his lackeys these days: "George W. Bush has the worst job creation record of any president since Herbert Hoover." They also claim that an economy that has seen significant growth in productivity, the stock market, consumer confidence, housing starts, and overall economic strength, is a "jobless recovery" because the Bush administration is "shipping our jobs overseas." Statements like these make for great campaign rhetoric, but they are far from true. In fact, the unemployment rate today is virtually the same as it was when President Bill Clinton ran for re-election in 1996 touting his strong record on the economy. The reference to Hoover is intended to give the impression that we are experiencing a second Great Depression, when unemployment rates hit 26 percent. The policies that Hoover relied upon and which were responsible for helping us into the Great Depression - high tax rates, protectionist tariffs, increased government regulation - are the policies promoted by Democrats who invoke his name. In fact, those who complain so loudly about the current jobless rate of 5.6 percent in the Unite States want to move us closer to the socialist economy of Germany, where unemployment exceeds 11 percent. What is most disturbing about the promises and complaints of the Democrats is not their lack of historical perspective but their inability to understand basic economics related to jobs and job creation. Jobs are created when a business thrives to the point that more help is needed to meet the demands of customers. Jobs are created when it becomes profitable to the employer to add personnel. Jobs are created when a business can overcome the barriers of competition, regulation and taxation to achieve a profit. Usually, those barriers are overcome through a combination of innovation, effort, technology and guts. Government does not create jobs, at least not those that drive a nation's economic engine. Government can help establish an environment where the free market enables those with ideas, capital and courage to create businesses that will employ people as they grow and expand. Government can reduce or eliminate obstacles that prevent businesses from succeeding - regulation, taxation and litigation. But most of all, government can help businesses grow and hire by staying out of the way. Few successful businesses are modeled after the customer-focused efficiency of government. Fast food restaurants have 30-second promises to deliver in the drive-thru and place timer at the window to show not only their commitment but also their success. Do government agencies promise such fast, efficient, customer-oriented service? Do you ever expect to see a 30-second timer counting down the successful completion of your interaction with a government agency? The truth is that when all job creation is reviewed, including the self-employed and family businesses, jobs in the United States have grown in the past three years. Like only counting some of the votes in Florida rather than counting all of the votes, Democrats only want to count some of the jobs that have been created in the last three years while ignoring others. Lying loudly and often does not change the truth. Creating more and better jobs should certainly be a goal of the next president, but to achieve that goal he must understand how jobs are created in a free economy. So far, John Kerry has shown himself to be in great command of Bush-bashing rhetoric but sorely lacking in the reality of understanding how the American economy really works. American workers deserve better. Steve Gill is a morning talk host on SuperTalk 99.7 WTN and NewsChannel 5+. nashvillecitypaper.com.