Congressman John Campbell

The Stimulus Masquerade

Monday, 28 June 2010 13:42

Would it surprise you to learn that as of right now job losses have returned to their pre-recession levels? Would it also surprise you to know that, in the 2001 recession, employers cut 3.1 million more jobs than have been lost at the same point in the current recession?  Both are true and the question I’m sure most of you have right now, is ‘how is that possible with unemployment numbers still so high and potentially rising?’ The answer lies in what the current administration and Congress are not doing this time around.

A report recently published by the Heritage Foundation makes the very point which my colleagues and I in the House Republican Conference have been repeatedly stressing to the current majority: Congress has a very real role and responsibility to this nation’s economic recovery by means of passing legislation that sets the tone for job creation.

Speaker Pelosi and Democrats on Capitol Hill believe that more government spending is the answer to fix rampant job loss and a shrinking economy. Since the economic collapse,  bill after bill has been passed into law all of which do nothing more than grow the federal government; this is the true meaning of each new commission established, and new spending programs for ‘stimulus’.  By masquerading as ‘stimulus’ these bills are working to not only edge out the private sector, and put them at a competitive disadvantage, but it is also replacing entrepreneurs with bureaucrats.  It’s no surprise that unemployment numbers remain high.  The history of economics has taught us that deficit spending, especially in order to expand the federal government, has never worked and it certainly will not work in this recession

Instead, Congress should be focusing on legislation which encourages investors to come off the sidelines and entrepreneurs to revitalize small businesses.  There was an opportunity to provide these kinds of simulative measures (Like a nation-wide wifi infrastructure) in the so-called ‘stimulus’ bill, but Democrats remained singularly focused on taking advantage of the situation.

Recovery will take hold, but we must change the direction of this Congress and enact policies which significantly reduce the federal government’s takeover of the private sector.

Rescinding proposed tax hikes found in a number of bills this year and cutting government spending across the board are two great ways to start.