Reminding us that 49 of the 50 states have lost jobs since the Democrats' economic stimulus bill was signed into law, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the Republican Chief Deputy Whip in the House, told us in yesterday's blogger call that the GOP "didn't sit back--we wrote our own stimulus bill." The Republican bill created twice as many jobs--at half the cost of the Democratic legislation. "We're seeing, lo and behold, the truth," McCarthy explained, "that our scoring was correct--we could have created jobs. And our argument now, especially with the amount of the amount of debt the country has accumulated, is to redirect this stimulus to actually create jobs and (put us) in the right direction."
McCarthy then handed the telephone over to Bob Goodlatte of Virginia, who reminded us that while the cost of the stimulus bill is generally reported to be $787 billion, it is really over $1 trillion including the interest payments, "because all of this money is borrowed." And it has not created jobs. With the start of the fiscal year on October 1, Goodlatte said, "We're spending $1.2 billion starting October 1 of this year more than we are taking in because our federal budget is an astounding 3.6 trillion--we only expect revenue of $2.4 billion."
Which means one-third of money we will spend this year will be borrowed against the future of our children and grandchildren.The Democrats' health care reform bill will cost $1 trillion, and the economic impact of cap and trade, the national energy tax, approaches $1 trillion.
Even on Washington standards that is a lot of money.
Next on the call was Scott Jarrett of New Jersey. The Garden State is the nation's most taxed state. "If you follow the philosophy that you grown you can grow your way by raising taxes, that you can create jobs by raising taxes, that you can create a better quality of life by raising taxes--well, New Jersey has tried that." Its unemployment rate is almost 10 percent.
Garrett then turned his focus onto the stimulus bill, reminding us that it was rushed through--because, according to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer--it would create jobs. Well, it didn't.
And now the Dems are whispering about another stimulus.
Here's something that's been bothering me for months. Administration officials, from President Obama on down, boast about initiatives that have "save or created jobs." When my turn to ask a question came up, I queried if there is a way to differentiate the between a "saved" or "created" job.
I was encouraged to keep asking that question. I will--and if others follow my lead--that's even better. Hint...hint...
McCarthy got in a good rejoinder by quipping, "The saying around the Capitol is that you know in your a recession when your neighbor loses his job, you know when you are in a depression when you lose your job, and you know we are in recovery when Nancy Pelosi loses her job."
Okay, it's probably the saying about Republicans on the Capitol, but McCarthy has a good point--the midterm elections are 13 months away.
Another great GOP Whip Team Call...I'm eagerly awaiting the next one.
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