Blind Prophecy

First, they wanted to take National Endowment for the Arts money out of the stimulus package. Of course, that money might have created or saved the jobs of artists and those who support the arts community, but conservatives are only concerned about “shovel-ready” jobs (i.e. unskilled labor jobs).

Now, RNC Chairperson Michael Steele tells George Stephanopoulus that government contract jobs aren’t really jobs:

STEELE: You’ve got to look at what’s going to create sustainable jobs. What this administration is talking about is making work. It is creating work.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But that’s a job.

STEELE: No, it’s not a job. A job is something that — that a business owner creates. It’s going to be long term. What he’s creating…

STEPHANOPOULOS: So a job doesn’t count if it’s a government job?

(CROSSTALK)

STEELE: Hold on. No, let me — let me — let me finish. That is a contract. It ends at a certain point, George. You know that. These road projects that we’re talking about have an end point.

As a small-business owner, I’m looking to grow my business, expand my business. I want to reach further. I want to be international. I want to be national. It’s a whole different perspective on how you create a job versus how you create work. And I’m — either way, the bottom line is…

STEPHANOPOULOS: I guess I don’t really understand that distinction.

STEELE: Well, the difference — the distinction is this. If a government — if you’ve got a government contract that is a fixed period of time, it goes away. The work may go away. That’s — there’s no guarantee that that — that there’s going to be more work when you’re done in that job.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Yes, but we’ve seen millions and millions of jobs going away in the private sector just in the last year.

STEELE: But they come — yes, they — and they come back, though, George. That’s the point. When they go — they’ve gone away before, and they come back.

Try not to let your head explode as Steele twists in the logic of his own argument.

So, as unemployment continues to rise, the Republican are squabbling about what is and isn’t a job. Such fine distinctions are probably really important to people who aren’t earning a paycheck at all right now.

So, here are some of the other things Republicans don’t consider to be jobs (based on the “compromise” in the Senate):

• Scientists
• Teachers and anyone in the field of Education
• Laborers and contractors who build schools
• Prison guards and administrators
• Makers of hybrid automotives

Maybe we should ask Mssrs Steele, Limbaugh, McConnell and Boehner to give us an approved list of jobs for Americans. That might speed things up a bit.

Filed under: news, politics by Jere Keys