'The Private Sector Is Doing Fine'?

 "Here comes the orator! With his flood of words, and his drop of reason." --Benjamin Franklin

 

For the Record



Clueless: 'The private sector is doing fine.'

"In now-infamous comments on Friday, President Barack Obama informed America that 'the private sector is doing fine.' This, of course, was news to the 12.7 million people who are out of work and the millions more who are struggling with the part-time jobs they can find, or have simply given up looking. While the President's comment is astoundingly out of touch with the public -- and economic reality -- perhaps even more distressing is that this wasn't a passing verbal gaffe. This is actually a consistent talking point of the President and Democratic leadership that goes largely unchallenged by the media. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D–NV) made the same case last fall when he was pushing a $35 billion bailout for state and local governments. 'It's very clear that private-sector jobs have been doing just fine,' Reid argued. 'It's the public-sector jobs where we've lost huge numbers, and that's what this legislation is all about.' This is the President's and the Majority Leader's solution to the jobs crisis: more so-called stimulus and more government employees. As Heritage's James Sherk has explained, this thinking is completely backwards: 'If the recession has barely touched one sector of the economy, it is government.' ... Following a flurry of outrage over his Friday comment, the President backtracked, saying what he meant was that 'we've actually seen some good momentum in the private sector. That has not been the biggest drag on the economy.' Moving from 8.1 percent unemployment to 8.2 percent can only be considered 'good momentum' in this White House. However, he's correct about one thing: The biggest drag on the economy isn't the private sector, but Washington." --Heritage Foundation's Amy Payne  [Cont. Reading ]

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