Pelosi is an embarrassment…
…to the Democratic Party and to the nation. The former, however, may not realize that fact, and can’t or won’t get rid of her, due to the power she’s amassed and her ability to pass legislation that an increasingly left-leaning Democratic Congress seems to yearn for despite the fact that most Americans feel quite the opposite.
Pelosi’s latest is—well, watch for yourselves:
Here’s a transcript so you can study and savor her remarks at leisure:
…[U]nemployment insurance, we talk about it as a safety net and the rest—this is one of the biggest stimuluses to our economy. Economists will tell you this money is spent quickly, it injects demand into the economy, and is job-creating. It creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative you can name, because again it is money that is needed for families to survive, and it is spent.
So it has a dual benefit. It helps those who’ve lost their jobs, but it also is a job-creator, and for that reason —for those two reasons—it should be passed, and I’m optimistic that it will. It’s impossible to think of a situation where we would have a country that would say we’re not going to have unemployment benefits, and the only people who want them are people who don’t want jobs. That’s just so contrary to what our country is about, and I reject that misrepresentation of the motivation for people to be on unemployment insurance.
Boy, I would have dearly loved for Ms. Pelosi to have directly quoted and mentioned the names of those economists who have touted the enormous and speedy job-creating effect of extending unemployment benefits, because this seems to be one of the oddest assertions I’ve heard in quite some time.
Yes, it’s good for people to have money to spend. And yes, unemployment benefits help to keep the wolf from the door of those who have been let go. But speedy jobs creation, faster than “any other initiative you can name?”
Maybe what Pelosi meant was that it does so faster than any other initiative she can name, or is willing to name, or to even think about or consider. Tax relief for businesses? Perish the thought! Holding off from changing health insurance policy in such a way that businesses become afraid to expand, and even feel it necessary to contract? Not for Nancy! Creating a general climate in which business feels government will not turn on it in a capricious manner? Not on your life!
Note that Pelosi is speaking of a bill that proposes to extend employment benefits for six extra months beyond what is already available, and that Republicans are arguing against it because they feel it would increase the deficit more than we can afford. So what’s up with attacking this straw man of people wanting to do away with unemployment benefits entirely? That’s not the issue here, and “I reject that misrepresentation” of the position of the opposition, as should everyone within earshot of Pelosi’s unctuously Orwellian output.
Meanwhile, back in the real world…even liberal shill Ezra Klein realizes the recent jobs report is sobering stuff. Of course, Nancy would say all the more reason to pass the bill extending unemployment benefits and get that speedy jobs creation thingee going!
Just another good example of lunatics running the country.
What a mess in that woman’s head.
We don’t want your dismal checks – we want to work! To produce something useful and beautiful.
But she wouldn’t understand this. She never produced anything in her life.
Uh oh…princess “P” has gotten her meds mixed up again. She’s beginning to beleive she’s capable of critical thinking.
uh…that would be “believe”
As I noted earlier, you can collect a lot of wood and leaves and make it look like a tree. A skilled person can make it look a lot like a tree. Doesn’t mean it’s going to grow or bear fruit. It eventually rots away.
I blame Bush.
What this prevaricating woman, who proves the “Peter Principle” eveyday she remains in the leadership of the House, does not say is that the Republicans are ready to extend the benefits if the dems will agree to spending cuts that match them. That’s akin to asking Madam Pelosi to give up her botox. Not gonna happen on her watch!
More reasons to work for, support, and vote for fiscal conservatives in Novemeber!
Paleo-Neo-Conservatism Dying, Neo-Neo-Conservatism Rising from Her Ashes: A Neo-Con Warmonger Manifesto
http://www.newsrealblog.com/2010/07/02/paleo-neo-conservatism-dying-neo-neo-conservatism-rising-from-her-ashes-a-neo-con-warmonger-manifesto/4/
“Which was worse, the Vietnam war or the Killing Fields?”
Onward evangelical fundamental jew-loving Christian soldiers!
The original 4th of July was a declaraion of WAR!
In her position, Speaker Pelosi must choose her words carefully. Much of the country still believes the Rethuglican “fiscal responsibility” snake oil that actually means don’t tax the rich.
It’s up to the rest of us to help Nancy create a fair and prosperous society for every American. We can demand the things she agrees with but is politically unable to speak.
Unemployment benefits should not only be extended, they should be doubled! Doubling the benefits means doubling the job creation…and extending the benefits indefinitely will create jobs indefinitely!!
***********
So as to leave no doubt about my sincerity, I note that the term reductio ad absurdum was invented by dead white males to justify their oppressive patriarchal racist imperalist hegemony.
After she has done the maximum amount of damage that she can possibly manage to do, this odious woman will retire to her multi-million dollar Napa vineyard or to one of her other properties, there to enjoy what I am sure will be her quite hefty retirement benefits.
I know that political trials are a very dangerous way to go, but these saboteurs don’t have anything to fear when they deliberately ignore–as they so obviously, blatantly do–the will of the people, when they try to silence, if not destroy, any citizen—“Joe the Plumber” comes to mind–who dares to question them, and to ignore, too, the good of our country and, indeed, what must be done and not done to assure its very survival.
However, if they knew that they could be put in front of a court to justify their actions after the fact, and that all of their benefits could be striped from them, indeed, that they could face jail time for their actions, then I believe that most of them–being cowards–would not contemplate or do anywhere near the damage that they now feel free to do.
P.S. I include a link to a recent study (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a4B_t.tm4Kpc) that indicates the Botulinum neurotoxin used in Botox can migrate through neural pathways back to the brain. Not excusing her actions in any way, jus sayin’.
Is there anytime SanFran Nan opens her mouth and DOESN’T sound like a blithering idiot?
“Every month that we do not have an economic recovery package 500 million Americans lose their jobs.”
“Natural gas is not a fossil fuel”
“We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it”
“Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process.”
“The president led us into the Iraq war on the basis of unproven assertions without evidence; he embraced a radical doctrine of pre-emptive war unprecedented in our history; and he failed to build a true international coalition.”
I am reminded of the New London Police Department, which had an IQ cutoff : it wouldn’t hire applicants above a certain level. Perhaps the New London Police Department should hire SanFran Nan. She could certainly qualify.
I can see why Barack likes SanFran Nan: compared to her, anyone looks smart.
What a maroon! Economic research had found that unemployment benefits actually increase unemployment because people are most likely to find a job when their benefits are running out or have run out. Until then they are unlikely to take an unpleasant job or a low paying job or a job that requires a move. Also, extremely long benefits (like 99 weeks) are counter productive because they keep people out of the labor force so long that skills and work habits get stale.
A virtue of the U.S. version of unemployment benefits as compared to the dole in Europe is that our system required a work history to qualify and the benefits were limited to six months. Thus, unemployment in the U.S. tended to run about half that in Europe. I guess our current French unemployment rate is part of Omama’s plan to make us more like Europe.
We have a fair society, and used to have a prosperous one. Nancy and her ilk have seen to the latter, and are striving to finish off the former.
I believe the argument here is that when an average Joe gets a tax break in times of economic uncertainty, such as this, they tend to pay down debt.
Normally, this would be good and would lower interest rates, as banks would try to get their cash lent out. However, the uncertainty level is high enough that credit is still tight.
Therefore, the question is how to get cash from government coffers into consumption as quickly as possible. Unemployment benefits as she does point out, are almost immediately and completely spent, and therefore directly stimulate demand.
Something like a tax cut is (to my mind) a better-long term growth proposition. But tax cuts take a while to result in hiring and growth.
Nancy’s favorite “economists” are no doubt Alan Blinder and Paul Krugman. May they all have to eat their own cooking, rather than serving it to us.
An overachiever? No. New-age psychopath?
10nth thing a man doesn’t do:
Litter.
Hippies don’t pack their trash out. Men do!
BRD, your analysis probably has merit. The problem is that Nancy Pelosi’s big idea comes after about two years of throwing government money all over the place. They long since ran out of money and there is nothing left to throw but IOUs. We squandered the short-term; now we better focus on disaster avoidance in the long-term
I don’t think you need a PHD in economics to grasp that uncertainty, fueled by irrational government actions,–and seemingly idiotic statements like this one–are a serious part of the problem. It is fairly clear that sensible people are wary of making longer-term commitments–except for those who have the wealth and clout to take advantage of other’s distress for longer term profit. So, in some ways the “caring Progressives” may benefit those they profess to hate the most.
A personal observation. Adult/single niece has been unemployed for a year or so. She has been making cursory effort to find a job. Unemployment benefits are running out, or already have, and lo and behold she has found a job–a good one. Coincidence?
GS, your babble adds much less than you suppose. Perhaps you are pleased with that opinion, as you probably see yourself as a clever provocateur. Believe me, you aren’t.
One more note. Dear President, Madame Speaker, et al. Seal the border. Enforce the immigration laws. Give unemployed Americans a chance at the jobs you thought they would not do.
I’d not expect to come to Pelosi’s defense – she’s a stupid and ignorant person, as proved by her reaction to the Kelo decision – but in this case she’s almost right. It’s not that unemployment insurance creates new jobs; it prevents undue contraction in existing jobs. And it does get spent immediately, since it’s not considered a windfall. It keeps the economy ticking.
And to those who believe that those out of work should get off the teat, I’ll point out there are a lot of people out there who have found work, but at a substantial reduction in pay, often part time. They are still collecting partial unemployment while working.
Businesses large and small are avoiding permanent hires wherever possible to retain flexibility and avoid payment for fringes like health insurance. It’s a buyers market, with hundreds of applicants for each crummy position. People with 25 years of managerial experience are taking jobs for 15% over minimum wage, or less, and no health insurance. They have no choice.
If one follows SanFran Nan’s reasoning, then the solution to the current economic mess is readily at hand. Have everyone in the country quit their jobs and receive unemployment benefits and spend the money quickly. Within a few weeks, this huge jobs creative force will reduce unemployment to zero and have the economy chugging ahead at full speed.
I understand that some scientists are unsure whether botox can seep into the brain and cause severe damage. It would seem that SanFran Nan makes a good case for the devestating mental aberrations that can occur from such seepage.
I’m told Boxer said the same thing today – sounds like this is the new talking point, and they will parrot it.
Rush will make a chain of quotes out of is, like his “gravitas” ensemble.
KBK,
You are right that unemployment payments can help individuals, but you also mentioned that uncertainty slows down recovery. So why is Botox Brain not pushing for more stability instead of pushing HCR etc? She could say she would cool down Obama’s Cap and Trade Dreams. Believe me if one phrase of an hour-long speech from her makes sense, it’s only because she has an infinite number of monkey punching keyboards for her.
I’m surprised the brilliant democrat economic strategerist haven’t recommended every American cut the grass of his neighbor to his left for a thousand dollars. That way we get full employment, a handsome wage and America is once again a wealthy country!
These nanny statist democrats are so full of themselves, they’re probably certain they know better than gravity which course a river should take.
Steve H, that is brilliant.
Have you been contacted by the White House? There are going to be several openings among the brain trust that make up Obama’s economics team. (Well, some would say there are already several openings in those brains, but let’s be nice.)
Send your idea to Princess Nan and Prince Harry. Interesting to see how long before they are in front of a camera touting their new solution.
Many (and polls now indicate it’s “most”) of us see what she’s attemping here. It’s the ol’ power grab via “we’re just trying to help the downtrodden”.
One: If she is so sincere, why all the lies, misinformation, and deception?
Two: Doesn’t she see that their policies are only creating more “downtrodden”?
KBK’s thesis seems to be that the Government caused the problems, so the same Government should provide the rescue solutions.
Speaking of govt eptitude, see the Flag ‘graffiti’ matter on Drudge today. Only took Caltrans 8 years and they responded in the worst way at the worst possible time. A true symbol of bureaucracy.
Oldflyer : my take on the posting of gs is that it was an attempt at humor. At least I found it humorous.
Reduce unemployment to zero? A calamity earnestly to be avoided! Then the engine driving the economy will sputter, as all those employed people will save some rather than spending every penny, reducing the velocity of money. Then we’ll have to fire them all to get the economy moving again.
SteveH, please don’t post stuff like this. The Dems will adopt it as a plank, and the rubes will be high-fiving each other that their ship has come in.
Wait, I have an idea — let’s double everybody’s pay! Woot! Good times! I’m thinking now what I’ll do with my new higher income.
J.J. formerly Jimmy J. Says July 2nd, 2010 at 4:54 pm
“… this prevaricating woman, who proves the “Peter Principle” everyday …”
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That seems to be the overriding theme of this administration, don’t you think? They have ALL risen past their level of incompetence.
And, this administration pretty much demonstrates
(1) the POWER of crony politics
(2) the vainglorious STUPIDITY of crony politics
It would be laughable –this cadre of stumblebums attempting to manage the affairs of the strongest, richest, most free and most just nation in the history of the world– EXCEPT that they in their power-drunk hubris are passing laws right and left that will CONTINUE the degradation of this country.
It’s not just the rapid increase in the size of government , it’s the “panels of experts” tucked into these 2000+ page bills that nobody in Congress reads before passing (*). These “panels” create the same odious condition as exists in the EU: nameless bureaucrats making decisions for which there is NO REDRESS. These unelected panels are chosen by –whom? Their qualifications are –what? They are paid –how much? Who supervises their work? Who can fire them? What are their guidelines? There’s no mechanism to publicize their deliberations on the policies they make, and no way for the public to have any voice in those deliberations. These panels are “government by fiat” –tyranny– in tiny little snap-together pieces. Bad, bad, BAD idea.
– – –
(*) This needs to be regarded as not just malfeasance (thereby subjecting those legislators to recall); this needs to be regarded as TREASON and punishable by firing squad. THAT possibility might turn the attention of those grandstanders in Congress to actually DOING THEIR FRICKIN’ JOBS.
And here is another facet of totalitarian life. hollyweird made it seem like the russian people were stupid and in thrall to such propaganda. the truth is as you see here, where everyone knows its bs, but can do nothing but listen. its the leaders who are deluded that the people are so stupid as to believe what they are saying.
and so, rather than how it is when i pointed this out a long time ago and was argued to, now you experience it. we only can listen to it. they think we or some of we are taken in by it.
A_Nonny_Mouse,
One thing that seems to qualify some Europeans for these jobs is being a real pain to other pols in the party. They get kicked aside rather than out, and the money is good enough to suppress any resistance.
She’s the Other Mother.
A_Nonny_Mouse:
I’ve been saying for a long time that when legislators vote for bills they haven’t read, then we no longer have representative government.
The Founders would have never stood for it.
If you take her statement to its logical conclusion, no one would be employed and no one would get a check. In fact, no one would be on this planet!
And she said it with a straight face, which even I can’t do.