Good thing too.

But, what is the deal here, is Obama chanelling the Gipper?  Has he been studying Reaqan’s successes in his spare time?  Wouldn’t that be cool?

On Tuesday, when the President began to lay out his new employment strategy I thought I was listening to the President Ronald Reagan.

You probably did too (if you are old enough to remember or have read about his economic policies).

Consider that Obama and his team are contemplating reducing employment taxes, providing direct incentives for new hiring, eliminating capital gains tax (one year only — but hey that is a supply side beginning) on new small business spending, federal guarantees of small business loans and ressurrecting the Gipper himself to coordinate the program.  Okay, that last was just for fun because everyone knows that Obama can’t to that . . . he is not a God as some (the Nobel Committee among them) think!

This is all good classical supply side stuff . . . not enough to satisfy Reagan’s good buddy Arthur Laffer(who posited that lower tax rates could increases tax revenues) . . . but a start.

I wish there was some direct government hiring instead of extending unemployment benefits (which adds to costs with nothing in return).  Heck if we are going to pay the unemployed for a year or more to not work then lets get them doing something productive  (see earlier post).

This is pretty cool stuff coming from a new President who has proved to be much further left than many voters thought he would be. And I am further encouraged he will seek real change in D.C.

Along with this he proposes increased federal spending for highways, bridges and stuff.  A further improvement in my opinion (again see earlier).

Now the bad part . . . the Obama team are talking even more about spending our way out of this  crisis.  Watch out deficits the dems are at it again!

But let’s focus on the good stuff . . . helping small business is a great start (and maybe enough to jump-start employment).  Small business are the real engine of growth in America–where the real ingenious stuff happens, where innovation hits the tar of the growth road.  Two thirds or workers in America are putting forth the good effort with small businesses . . . hence the best place to expand.

My bottom line:  I like this.  If implemented quickly this can be a great impetus to the economy.  Further such a quick implementation would likely raise confidence and increase consumer spending.  All good things.

I am hopeful just as long as the Republicans are supportive of the good stuff and don’t fight all change just for partisan political reasons.

Now, I would like you to remember this important point:

The best, quickest and most permanent way to improve governance in the United States of America is with strict term limits.  If our legislatures won’t implement this then we, the people, can.  Just don’t vote for anyone who is in office.  Any change is better than the status quo in Washington D.C.!!

thanks to flickr’s will hybrid for the photo of Hoover Dam

The details aren’t all that important to most of us — including the 15,000,000 unemployed — because while the bill shows some elements of ’sensitivity’ to the problem it isn’t for charity’s sake but rather to keep the Senators who are running for office next year from joining those 15 M in the unemployment lines.

The bill provides for up to 99 weeks of benefits . . . much longer than ever provided before (the previous record was 65 weeks in the 1970’s).  That is an extension of another 20 weeks and the fourth extension since June of 2008.  You can do the math yourself knowing that the average benefits are $300 per week.  Billions of $$ that should, and could, be better spent elsewhere.  And I really am for helping the unemployed . . . but remember that if you teach a man to fish he can live forever!

While you can do the math, you may not be prepared (mentally or emotionally) to figure out what this really means.

Let me tell you.

Numero Uno.  Ninety-nine weeks of unemployment.  That is nearly two years and isn’t higher than that only because of the political implications of providing TRIPLE-DIGIT UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS!    So the main reason for this is political . . . not economic.  Okay . . . we got that straight.

Secondly.  It is  businesses who pay for much of this benefit by nature of their contributions to the unemployment funds of each state and the federal government.  So, on a macro-micro level this benefit represents billions of $$ that businesses simply can’t spend on JOBS!  Ah, know you are seeing further political implications here . . . more democratic income shifting (a favorite ploy of the socialist left).

Thirdly and finally.  This extension of 99 weeks means that most (or at least a whole lot) of the unemployed (and their friends and family) will appreciate the impacts of these benefits extended right up to the critical elections of 2010.  Oh, yeah!  Get the picture?? What a dang obvious ploy by the majority democrats (and all of congress)  to buy votes so that they can stay in office (if it isn’t a direct political maneuver, it sure stinks like one).

Or course anyone who has been reading CapitalistMarks for more than a week knows that our #1 priority right now is unemployment.  But paying people to stay on unemployment even longer just isn’t right.  Fact is I know of one talented young guy who feels perfectly comfortable taking unemployment benefits (just about anyone can live on $1,200 a month tax free for 99 weeks) until he simply has to look for work.  That isn’t good for him and it sure isn’t good for you and me.

Congress is enabling again.  Just what we don’t need.

What we really need is all of those billions of $$ being spent to CREATE jobs (and a few hundred billion $$ more).  Stop paying people NOT to work and create jobs for them.  Or provide education so they can get better jobs.  Put them to work and not in front of their TV’s.

Another failure of moral balance by our Congress (democrats and republicans alike really).  Another great reason for term limits.  Another great reason to NEVER, EVER, EVER vote for an incumbent (and that goes quadruple for any that have had two terms or more!!!).

Light up the phones once again.  Swamp the web.  Write those snail-mail letters.  Get congress back on the right track.  Get America back to work.

Thank you and good-night for Pete’s sake!!

thanks to flickrs kaibara87 for the phots