Hiring an Amateur

You've got a big, critical, complex job to do. You need someone to take charge. Do you seek out someone with a record of dealing with that sort of thing or do you go for the good-looking, glib guy with the stepping stone record of hopping, skipping and jumping across the pond without ever getting his feet damp?

Well, here's the way the record is shaping up:

Not Since World War II

I'm sure he would explain that we've got a pair of wars going on. We did in World War II as well, but those wars involved tens of millions of Americans under arms and total mobilization of our industry. His wars involve about 200k soldiers and a dedicated effort that most Americans don't even notice.

Claims Soar as Not Working is Rewarding

At 8% he declares a crisis and throws almost a trillion dollars at "shovel-ready" projects despite the fact that most Americans are not trained in operating such a complex mechanism. When unemployment rises to 10% he declares success and proposes more stimulus, apparently in hopes of achieving even higher levels of joblessness.

Sales Plummet, Jobs Connected

Start tracking all of the construction dependent connections around home sales and you can begin to appreciate the broad-ranging impact of government intervention in mismanaging home financing through Fannie and Freddy.

Surprise Rise is Not Surprising

Once upon a time in America we established unemployment benefits to tide an individual over until they could find a job. The benefits were meager and they were time limited, typically about four to six months. Most people seeing the end game in sight got humping. Now a benevolent government offers extension after extension so that benefits currently run nearly two years and are probably going to become indefinite. Not working is almost as rewarding as working but with a lot less stress.

And the beat goes on: