We Need To Stop Talking About The Government Creating Jobs
There is one irritating talking point that permeates politics, which is the idea of government creating jobs. We hear politicians endlessly talk about job creation. This policy will create x number of jobs, etc., etc. Both Republicans and Democrats do it, and they do it because the economy is (rightly) one of the things voters care about most.
But it’s based on a false assumption. Government doesn’t create jobs.
This weekend I was invited by the New Jersey chapter of Americans for Prosperity to attend their statewide summit. I was on a panel discussing energy issues, including hydraulic fracturing, and I got to hear a lot of great speakers including Dinesh D’Souza, Michelle Malkin and Jonah Goldberg. But perhaps the best speaker I heard all weekend – or, at least, the one who said something that really stuck with me – was Steve Lonegan the state director of the NJ AFP chapter.
During his address to the crowd, Lonegan said: “”We don’t need jobs, we need freedom. Give us freedom, and we’ll create jobs.”
That’s it in a nutshell. We don’t need the government to give us jobs. We need the government to get out of the way so that we can create jobs for ourselves and others.
This is something Republicans need to keep in mind. The idea that government creates jobs is a big-government premise, and when conservatives buy into it, the debate on economic issues becomes who can implement the government program to create the most jobs. Not only will that not result in a lot of real job creation, but it’s hardly conducive to conservative policy-making.
Tags: Economy, jobs, Stimulus
