Posted on 07/20/2009 5:42:18 AM PDT by FreeManDC
It’s no secret that men have been hit hard by the recession. From November 2007 to November 2008, the U.S. economy lost over 2 million jobs — 82% of those losses were male jobs and only 18% female jobs. The reason is because men are concentrated in the sectors devastated by the downturn: manufacturing and construction.
This employment gap prompted University of Michigan economist Mark Perry to dub the downturn a “man-cession in the lipstick economy.”
So in his Inauguration speech, Barack Obama glowingly promised, “We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.”
Within days, the newly-installed president unveiled his stimulus proposal, vowing it would create millions of “shovel-ready” jobs. And on February 17, Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009.
That would get men back on the job and ready to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure, persons assumed. And if you visit the government’s ARRA website — www.recovery.gov – you’ll see upbeat pictures of hard-hatted carpenters, energy-efficient courthouses, and gleaming hospitals.
But following passage of ARRA, unemployment continued to rise and the gender gap worsened. By May of this year, 10.5% of men, compared to eight percent of women, filled the ranks of the unemployed. That’s the worst gender gap reported since 1948.
So where did the $787 billion economic stimulus package go wrong?
Part of the problem is the crass influence of pay-back politics. According to a July 8 USA Today report, counties that supported Obama in the November election received $69 per person, compared to $34 per capita in counties that voted Republican.
Another reason is the hefty outlay of stimulus money to state governments at the expense of local groups. “You don’t fertilize a tree from the top down,” quipped Democratic senator Tom Harkin of Iowa. “Too much of this is going to the top.”
But far worse is the fact that the Obama Administration sold out to the feminists. Christina Hoff Sommers’ recent exposé, “No Country for Burly Men,” offers a stunning account of the legislative transmogrification: www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/659dkrod.asp
As soon as Obama released his stimulus proposal, the National Organization for Women and other feminist groups swung into action. They knew the head of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors, Lawrence Summers, would be a push-over following the putsch at Harvard University.
So following a flurry of closed-door meetings, emails, petitions, and op-ed columns that derided Obama’s “Macho Stimulus Plan,” the White House staff set out to revamp the proposal. They released a report assuring that 42% of all jobs would go for females, openly admitting the new approach “skews job creation somewhat towards women.”
When the final bill was signed into law, the feminists were ecstatic. NOW president Kim Gandy exulted how the law contained many of the “very specific proposals that we had made” with price tags carrying “numbers that started with a ‘B’ (as in billion).” And $325 million was allocated for family-busting domestic violence programs.
Less than four months later the Associated Press would report, “Most of the roughly $300 billion coming directly to the states is being funneled through existing government programs for health care, education, unemployment benefits, food stamps and other social services.” In Georgia, two-thirds of the state government’s stimulus money would pay social programs. In Mississippi, only 13% of the stimulus money is projected to go for road construction, according to the AP.
“We talked about ‘shovel-ready’ since September and assumed it was a whole lot of paving and building when, in fact, that’s not the case,” complained Chris Whatley of the Council of State Governments.
The irony is the male vote was a decisive factor in Obama’s improbable quest to reach the White House. During the primary campaign, the white male vote propelled Obama to victory in 10 out of 17 states: www.renewamerica.us/columns/roberts/080624 . And last Nov. 4, males again played a crucial role, with 49% of men casting their vote for Obama, compared to 48% siding with McCain.
Conservative icon Phyllis Schlafly believes the goal of the reverse discrimination that lards Obama’s stimulus plan is to “make men, husbands, and fathers irrelevant as family providers.” According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 7.5 million American males are now listed on the unemployment rolls. That’s a lot of irrelevant men.
For those dumb enough to have voted for Zero, TS.
I’d like to see it further broken down upon racial lines.
Two hardcore, lifelong, ultra-doctrinaire uberliberals of my acquaintance, here in the Glorious People's Republik of Seattle, have both lost long-held, ostensibly "safe" jobs in the course of the last seven days, thanks to Zero's fumble-fingered hand on the nation's economic rudder.
As I took immense satisfaction in chirping merrily to the more obnoxious of the two just yesterday, upon hearing her sniveled tale of woe after running into her at the grocery store: "HOPEY CHANGEMAS!!!" ;)
What is it about the Rev Wright-Colonel Obama get whitey plan you didn’t understand before the election?
Rhetorical question, but needs asking.
The next time that you see her, just tell her that she is clearly mistaken.
Hussein is in charge - Everything is good now.
Obama lied, your job died!
Does anyone know anyone or know someone that does know someone etc etc. that was unemployed and has receieved a job based on Obama’s stimulus bill?
Crap here where I live even the pople that are actually WORKING are not getting a paycheck!!!
The Correctional Officers at the County Prison have not been paid for sometime now and doesn’t look as if they will get paid anytime soon. Many of the State workers are not getting paychecks for working.
If you are unemployed in this area what chances do you think you would have of finding a job anytime soon?
Is this the change that people voted for?
Unpaid Employment???
Yeah, like the other guy said,
tell them they must be mistaken. They still have their jobs, because everything is “skittle crapping flying unicorns giving rides over the rainbow” under 0bama.
Or, ask them if the think it’s still “Bush’s fault”. I’d bet they’d look up with a brighter expression on their faces and agree with that.
Since working class whites didn’t vote him (much) why shouldn’t he stab ‘em every chance he gets?
Good points
Johnson’s Great Society betrayal of the working class male, Nixon’s wage-and-price-freeze betrayal of the working class male, Carter’s Cabinet-level Department of Education betrayal of the working class male, Reagan’s immigration amnesty betrayal of the working class male, old Bush’s “read my lips, no new taxes” betrayal of the working class male, Clinton’s broken-promise middle-class tax cut betrayal of the working class male, GW’s amnesty attempt because illegals will take the jobs Americans just won’t do betrayal of the working class male, what else would you expect?
Since when is anybody entitled to a job????
I can’t go to a gathering where there isn’t at least half of the people complaining.
My best friend’s husband who owned a grading company for 30 years is now begging to drive a tractor trailer for anyone. He was quite successful, and with all the ‘roads and bridges’ projects, he was optimistic on his business picking back up. Needless to say, he is more than dissapointed but downright pissed.
Unfortunately, they are also taking down those of us who didn't vote for the zero. I assure you, it is not a pleasant place to be.
Most American men are feminine now...idiotic, isn’t it!
Ask them how that Hope and Change is treating them.
Yes, it was supposed to be unicorns, rainbows, gumdrop forests, lollipops would fall from the sky.
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