Obama on jobs – ‘saved or created’ the new double-speak
The Executive Branch has gotten quite fond of saying their policies have “saved or created” x-number of jobs. Can someone tell me why the media is allowing this to happen? The numbers are pure fiction and the main stream media who’s mostly in love with President Obama is happy to report the data.
It’s kind of like your kid coming home from school and reporting that he got an A in English, and not providing you with any documentation.
That’s great dear.
William McGurn over at the Wall Street Journal has an interesting opinion piece on the saved or created political phenomenon. It’s pure genius – if we and the media let them get away with it – since the Obama administration has created a new standard that guarantees their policies will never be wrong.
If the economy looses another one million jobs next month, the administration can come out the next day patting themselves on the back and report that they saved or created one million jobs.
“Hey, look on the bright side, without our decisive action, the economy would have lost two million jobs… we’re moving in the right direction!”
Remember Obama’s visit to Caterpillar in February? He said that once the stimulus bill was passed, Caterpillar would be able to hire back some of the employees they laid off. Of course, the CEO of Caterpillar said the opposite the next day, implying more layoffs were probably coming.
The Obama administration would tell you without that stimulus package, Caterpillar would have laid off even more people! They can’t prove it, and the CEO of the company does not agree with them, but that doesn’t really matter.
Back to McGurn…
Mr. Obama’s comments yesterday are a perfect illustration of just such a claim. In the months since Congress approved the stimulus, our economy has lost nearly 1.6 million jobs and unemployment has hit 9.4%. Invoke the magic words, however, and — presto! — you have the president claiming he has “saved or created” 150,000 jobs. It all makes for a much nicer spin, and helps you forget this is the same team that only a few months ago promised us that passing the stimulus would prevent unemployment from rising over 8%. …
During a March hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, Chairman Max Baucus challenged Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on the formula.
“You created a situation where you cannot be wrong,” said the Montana Democrat. “If the economy loses two million jobs over the next few years, you can say yes, but it would’ve lost 5.5 million jobs. If we create a million jobs, you can say, well, it would have lost 2.5 million jobs. You’ve given yourself complete leverage where you cannot be wrong, because you can take any scenario and make yourself look correct.”
Now, something’s wrong when the president invokes a formula that makes it impossible for him to be wrong and it goes largely unchallenged. It’s true that almost any government spending will create some jobs and save others. But as Milton Friedman once pointed out, that doesn’t tell you much: The government, after all, can create jobs by hiring people to dig holes and fill them in.
Ugh…
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Obama is attempting, with the aid of the lickspittle, Obama besotted press, to create an economic Potemkin Village.
Well, the "Emporer's New Clothes" will eventually be revealed for what they are: a giant deception.
(Insert sound of derisive laughter from a Chinese student audience towards Geithner)
Almost forgot! See the Media Research Center's 2007 report on Couric's 30 most biased moments in her first year:
http://www.mrc.org/cyberalerts/2007/cyb20070904.a… (see section 4)
I wonder how long the list is now?
Sorry! This is supposed to be under Steve's Couric Post!
I just saved or created $1,500,000 by not buying a motor yacht. Now O'Bummer wants to tax me on the income!
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Those who voted for obama will NEVER quit him. Even if they have to clap scream and faint on cue, they will ALWAYS show a dazed , dreamy face to the right. Its NOT about like HIM so much, its about HATING bush, they just can't let go.
I live in glastonbury Just about everyweek, I got sick to my stomach when I had to pass a pathetic bunch of whiners holding signs wanted Bush impeached for the war, calling him the cause of the war, calling him a murderer. I had NO IDEA the troop have been withdrawn by Obama! I mean the war MUST be over, right? Idon't see signs accusing obama of lying about bringing the troops home. I see no signs of the current american president sitting on his hands while troops die, I see no signs stressing the URGENCY of bringing them home…NOW!……..so they must be home right? It was NEVER about the war. It was ALWAYS about Bush.
ps: Now the signs are mostly about free healthcare. The war suddenly lost all its glimmer.
Oh, and signs about "helping the troops heal" Oh yeah, just how are you gonna do that? I guess it just SOUNDS deep. Kinda like "Save Tibet". How you gonna do that? By putting a stupid bumper sticker on?
I think Jim also forgot about Iraq because he never talks about the war since
Obama became President.
Goodness, can't you guys keep on topic? And you wonder why many blogs don't allow posts at all. In just three comments, you've completed a truly amazing thread drift.
Ted, this post was not about the "war in Iraq" and it was not even written by Jim.
Read and follow the TOU or go elsewhere.
Free Speech.
Ahh, can someone guess how Ted just got banned from posting here? Ted, go away. You no longer are welcome here. You're stuff will now go into a spam drawer along with the posts for vicadin prescriptions online. You had an opportunity and you blew it, always reverting back to personal attacks. Your last two posts broke a cardinal rule and you probably don't even know what it is. Cya never.
The point of my post was to show how FUTILE it is to point out doublespeak in obamas statements. It doesn't matter WHAT he says, HOW he says it, his minions will ALWAYS make excuses for him, and then we all beat our heads against the wall like we just can't understand.
Idealogues are all the same. The right did the same with RR's "forgetfullness".
Sorry, if that wasn't clear.