New jobs come from entrepreneurial insight into new ways of profitably producing goods; they are paid for with investments. After a bust, old ratios of prices and wages cease to work, requiring time for entrepreneurs to refigure. But capitalism’s basic scenario — savings, investment, productivity gains, trades — still applies.
Some folks prefer to short-circuit all this, simply robbing Peter to create a job for Paul.
They’re known as politicians.
President Obama proposes spending an additional $447 billion to create jobs, even though our economy is already gummed up with debilitating debt. The Cato Institute’s Dan Mitchell argues that taking money from the economy’s right pocket (taxes) and putting it in the left pocket (spending) doesn’t create economic growth or long-term employment, but, for those who happen “to be sitting in the left pocket … [i.e.], a state or local politician that’s getting money from the so-called stimulus,” they think “it’s a good thing.”
Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D‑Illinois) says that the “only way out” of our current mess is to offer every one of the 15 million unemployed Americans a $40,000-a-year job … with the federal government.
Most Republican presidential candidates pitch their (quite mythical) job-creating skills, too.
The Republican presidential candidate banned by the national news media — no, not Ron Paul, the other one, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson — put it best. “The fact is,” he said at the only debate he was allowed to appear in, “I can unequivocally say that I did not create a single job while I was governor.”
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.