Obamateurism of the Day

Barack Obama demanded and received $787 billion in stimulus spending to keep unemployment below … 8%. Now that unemployment has hit 10.2%, did Obama take some responsibility for having blown his economic predictions and for pushing a failed, expensive policy? Not exactly. In his address announcing a “jobs summit” yesterday, Obama shifted the blame onto — employers:

As I’ve said from the start of this crisis, hiring often takes time to catch up to economic growth. And given the magnitude of the economic turmoil that we’ve experienced, employers are reluctant to hire.

Small businesses and large firms are demanding more of their employees, their increasing their hours, and adding temporary workers — but these companies have not yet been willing to take the steps necessary to hire again.

Have not yet been willing? Maybe Obama thinks of companies as Scrooge McDucks, sitting on piles of cash and lighting cigars with Benjamins — that’s how Nancy Pelosi thinks of insurance companies with their villainous 3% profit margins — but this as absurd a statement on the economy as one will find. Companies aren’t willfully refusing to hire people. They don’t have any work for them, nor do they have the revenues to afford more employees.

Plus, let’s not forget all of the signals Obama has sent on taxes. Firms that might have been inclined to invest in expansion are holding onto whatever cash they have in preparation for the big increases that will have to come to pay for Obama’s big-government programs. Maybe if Obama dropped the budget-busting agenda and lowered the corporate tax rates, they’d be inclined to expand. But then he wouldn’t be able to take credit for all of those “saved or created” jobs any longer …

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!