Posted on 06/09/2012 11:46:02 AM PDT by John Semmens
In the midst of a sluggish economy and stubbornly high unemployment, President Barack Obama insists that while the private sector is doing fine, the public sector is still hurting.
“Look, most privately-owned businesses are making a profit,” Obama argued. “The same can’t be said for publicly-owned operations. For example, all across the country publicly-owned transit systems and stadiums are hemorrhaging red ink. Then there’s the publicly-aided businesses like Solyndra and EnerDell that have had to file for bankruptcy despite our efforts to subsidize them. The contrast couldn’t be more stark.”
The president blamed the divergent fates of the private and public sectors on “selfish Americans and their political enablers in the GOP. I mean, profits are a surplus over-and-above what is needed to keep a business going. Instead of sharing this surplus with an obviously struggling public sector, though, the GOP is siding with greedy owners and refuses to cooperate with us to boost taxes and spread this wealth around more equitably.”
As an illustration of the GOP’s lack of cooperation, the president cited its tepid response to his proposal to give every American $3,000 of government money so they can go buy “thingamajigs.” “Right now people are hoarding their money,” Obama said. “They’re afraid they’ll lose their jobs and their homes if they don’t conserve their cash. This caution is killing us. But if we tax away surplus profits and put $3,000 in the pockets of consumers they can go on a spending binge that will rescue the economy.”
President Obama’s contention that the public sector has had it harder during the recession doesn’t seem to be borne out by the data. While the number of persons employed in both the public and private sectors is currently lower than it was prior to the onset of the recession, the decline in the private sector has been steeper. In fact, there are now fewer persons employed in the private sector than there were in 2001. Public sector employment is currently 5% higher than it was in 2001.
In related news, Cory Booker, the Democratic Mayor of Newark, NJ who expressed his discomfort with attacks on the right of businesses to pursue profits was declared “dead to us” by a ranking Obama Administration official. “He’s out-of-step with the president’s thinking,” the official said. “And his refusal to recant is only making it worse. Booker’s ambition to rise within the ranks of the Democratic Party will never be fulfilled as long as Barack has any say. He should consider himself lucky if something really bad doesn’t happen to him.”
if you missed any of this week's other semi-news posts you can find them at...
http://azconservative.org/2012/06/09/president-says-private-sector-is-doing-fine/
did this dumba$$ really say the private secotr is fine?
and what we need are MORE GOVERNMENT JOBS?? PRODUCING WHAT???
PAPERWORK DOES NOT INCREASE WEALTH
..and the Private Sector says the President is doing awful...
I thought his most compelling defense of this position was made at a recent fundraiser.
"You know the economy is doing well when we can get together like this and pay $10k a plate for some arugula and tuna shushi. And it's not just here. Everywhere Michelle and I go on vacation we meet Americans eating lobster and wagyu beef, golfing, surfing and having a great time."
Head shakin’ cynical chuckle John. SHEESH! Good one again.
I would hope that the GOP comes up with a great commercial using Obama’s statement and a counter to it with interviews of jobless Americans.
The private sector could give more work to the IRS by submitting all paper returns.
Make the bastards work for OUR money!
Don’t worry, the NEW YORK TIMES said it’s not what he meant. It’s just those pesky Republicans taking his words out of context.
You know how pesky they are.
Obama graduated from the Tokyo Rose school of propaganda?
Or is he just a lunatic?
If someone said this to a group of private sector folks, they'd throw a net over him and stick him in a rubber room for evaluation.
What baraq probably means is that the private sector is doing fine so they can afford the new taxes that are coming down the road.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.