Obama's Job Creation Lie

By Douglas V. Gibbs

One of the liberal dreams is to put a high-speed train in California, connecting Anaheim to San Francisco. The problem is nobody plans to use it, the cost to build the train is turning out to be twice what was originally planned, and it will take 13 additional years to complete the project. . . all for a train nobody plans to ride.

There is no money for the project, and in California everyone prefers to drive. In fact, we don't even carpool. Many areas are doing away with their HOV lanes because of a lack of use.

And it is projects like California's bullet train that Obama is preaching will put Americans back to work.

When the project is complete, do these people then go back to the soup line?

Of course, it will all be okay, because the unemployment will be paid by everyone else, the money to fund the bullet trains will come from the taxpayers, and at least for a short time those construction workers got a chance to work temporarily because of the benevolent federal government.

In the real world, unfortunately for the President, that's not enough to sustain this nation. The real job creation occurs in the private sector, on marketable projects that people want to use, and somewhere a profit is being made.

Government jobs do not offer the same for the long term.

What the President is proposing is just another redistribution scheme through the federal government. Federal spending on these projects simply moves around monies and resources, but creates nothing.

“How do we sit back and watch China and Europe build the best bridges and high-speed railroads and gleaming new airports, and we’re doing nothing?” Obama asked.

If they jumped off a cliff, would you too, Mr. President?

Obama has been talking about investing in the infrastructure since his 2008 campaign. Record amounts of money has been fed into stimulus programs designed to invest in our infrastructure. He has been talking about our infrastructure all along. So, why hasn't anything been done up to this date? Why do we still need to invest in the infrastructure?

The stimulus money has yet to go into these projects because Obama never intended to invest in the infrastructure. The stimulus funds went to bail out Obama's corporate buddies, or into places that would bring him votes or funds for his next campaign . . . such as with unions.

Besides, it is not exactly as rosy in China, for example, as Obama says. China has been hit with severe power shortages affecting the country’s exports, an episode where 500,000 train passengers were left stranded for days, and outbreaks of violence where airplane travelers were left grounded without accommodation. And that’s not to mention the working conditions under which China builds its infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Europe, which heavily subsidizes its passenger rail systems, receives a poor return on its investment, as will the bullet train in California.

In Europe as a whole (EU-27), rail accounted for only 6.1 percent of passenger travel in 2007, including travel by air and sea. Buses accounted for 8.3 percent of the market, and air travel accounted for 8.8 percent. Despite Europe’s huge investment in passenger rail, its market share declined from 6.6 percent in 1995 to 6.1 percent in 2007. Over that same period, commercial air increased its share from 6.3 percent to 8.8 percent. By providing faster service and competitive prices, it took passengers away from rail, buses, and autos. In other words, it is the travel service using capitalism in the private sector that grew.

Besides, all of this has nothing to do with jobs. Obama simply wants to be able to say during his next campaign, "See the great trains I gave you. . ."

Jobs originate in the private sector, so Mr. Obama, instead of feeding our hard earned tax dollars into the black hole of federal spending, how about we just give everyone tax cuts across the board, and relax regulations - do that, and then have the federal government get out of our lives as much as possible, and in the end the economy will not only grow, but we'll escape the economic destruction caused by your presidency, and head into a period of prosperity in America the history books will speak fondly of someday.

Problem is, Obama's liberal left ideology would never allow him to do such a thing. He does not want jobs created, or prosperity in America. Obama is a Marxist, determined to destroy the existing system, only to replace it with a failing socialist system of authoritarianism, where he and his democrat minions rule in perpetuity.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Debunking Obama’s Latest Jobs Myth - Heritage Foundation