Posted on 12/16/2011 1:09:55 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Via CNS News and our friend and Townhall colleague Greg Hengler, Nancy Pelosi lectured America on macroeconomics yesterday by insisting that an extension of unemployment benefits would “make a difference of 600,000 jobs to our economy.” Greg recalled a similar claim from Pelosi about ObamaCare, and adds it to the end of Pelosi’s claim from yesterday:
“Christmas is 10 days away,” said Pelosi at a press briefing on Capitol Hill today. “The president and Democrats in Congress have been very clear. We’re not going home without enacting a payroll tax cut for America’s working families and extending unemployment insurance for millions of Americans.”
“The payroll tax cut that the president proposed would put $1,500 in the pockets of 160 million Americans,” she said. “The unemployment insurance extension is not only good for individuals. It has a macroeconomic impact. As macroeconomic advisers have stated, it would make a difference of 600,000 jobs to our economy.”
Pelosi did not name those “macroeconomic advisers.” She continued: “Again this is important because this is about the safety net not just for these individuals, but for our economic system that, in times of unemployment, we have a safety net and that is important.”
“Again, [not only] a safety net for individuals, but a safety net for the economy,” she said, “and again this money when received is immediately spent, it’s urgently needed, and injects demand into the economy, creating jobs.”
This is a fairly testable hypothesis. The last time Congress extended the jobless benefits was a year ago, in another crunch-time compromise between Republicans and Democrats on Pennsylvania Avenue. Since then, the economy has added about 1.5 million jobs — an average of 125,000 a month, which is only enough to keep up with population growth. Assuming that Pelosi’s correct and we subtract 600,000 from the 2011 numbers, the Obama adminstration’s economic policies would account for growth that falls well below that of population maintenance — at only 75,000 per month.
The number and the claim is absurd. Whatever short-term economic benefit arises from giving benefits to the unemployed is not enough to generate enough marketplace demand to create 600,000 jobs, nor would its absence be enough to eliminate 600,000 jobs, either. Its absence would probably force the long-term unemployed into part-time and low-paying jobs to maintain themselves, which would not only service much of that same demand, it would also not take capital from the future — where its absence will cost jobs. There are social and humanitarian reasons for providing unemployment benefits, but job creation and economic growth are not among them.
At least, though, we can say that the deal Pelosi makes here is much better than ObamaCare. That will cost $2 trillion in its first ten years, according to the CBO, which works out to five million dollars a job. Sheesh! Even Obama’s green-tech boondoggles have a better price-per-job than that. With the proposed extension of jobless benefits expected to add $44 billion, that works out to $110,000 per job … which is still a ridiculous figure, and shows why capital is used more efficiently when left in the marketplace.
Nancy’s delusional. She equates the government paying people as salaried employees.
You have to look real hard to find someone this stupid.
Well.....I’ll give her credit for surpassing the ridiculousness of “pass the bill to see what’s in it.”
Everytime her mouth opens a devil gets a pitchfork.
LLS
RE: You have to look real hard to find someone this stupid.
I thought San Francisco was the high IQ center of America with all of its high tech companies, etc.
How is it that they could vote her in year after year?
Nancy Pelosi is like Colonel Kurtz...
....”Every man has got a breaking point. You and I have. Walter Kurtz has reached his. And very obviously, he has gone insane.”....
“Yes sir, very much so sir. Obviously insane.”
This evil witch feels she is entitled to lie due to her advanced age. She will tell any damn lie she pleases. I have seen other nasty senile moonbats up close and personal...Power goes to their heads and they lie lie lie and they get intoxicated making unfounded accusations.
With age does not come wisdom....for some people. Even some relatives of mine.
This is like the woman who claimed she worked hard at standing in line to collect her welfare checks. That was her job.
I watched a snail crawl along the edge of Obamacare. That’s my dream; that’s my nightmare.
Well, in lib-speak, she makes sense.
If 1,200,000 eligible workers are drawing unemployment etc, that means 600,000 illegals can get a job, so in effect ‘we’ just say 600,000 jobs filled.
Much like WJC and his “There is no difference in Retired Military, Retired Government, Social Security recipients and people on welfare”.
They are all drawing a check from the government so quit picking on the welfare types.
AND
(one of his greats)
All you people that voluntarily enlisted in the Navy and Marines and Air Force in the 50’s and 60’s are actually draft dodgers because you didn’t want to face the draft.
Is this subhuman truly this stupid or is she simply counting on the ignorance of her constituents to propel her into office once more.
If it weren’t for the damage she manages to bestow on all our lives, you could color me amused.
This delusional idiot is the “Poster Girl” for how chronically ill liberals really are. It’s incurable, it’s debilitating, it’s dangerous to the rest of us. They belong locked up in a state mental institution which is where they’d be 50 years ago. They definitely do not belong in our government. Just goes to show you how bad it has become.
Sicko Nancy tying to make herself important.
Is Nancy smoking crack?
Frightening. That a woman of this vacuousness could rise to a position of “leadership” is frightening. A neutrino could enter her left temporal, exit her right temporal and encounter nothing in transit. It certainly speaks well of the Democratics. sd
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