Originally posted at BIG Government
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has officially joined a prestigious list of Democrat economic geniuses that believe entitlement programs stimulate the economy.First there was Nancy Pelosi who said, “Now, let me say about unemployment insurance…this is one of the biggest stimuluses [sic] to our economy. Economists will tell you this money is spent quickly. It injects demand into the economy, and is job creating.”
Excuse me Nancy, isn’t cash obtained in a liquor store heist also spent quickly, and couldn’t theft be considered a job creator for cops, the courts, and prison personnel?
Even still, Mrs. Pelosi contends unemployment insurance “creates jobs faster than almost any other initiative you can name because, again, it is money that is needed for families to survive, and it is spent. So it has a double benefit. It helps those who have lost their jobs, but it also is a job creator.”
President Obama, the man who has also proven to be a fiscal whiz kid, concurs with Pelosi that the extension of unemployment benefits is “good for the entire economy.” Obama said “It’s probably the biggest boost that we can give an economy because those folks are most likely to spend the money with businesses, and that gives them customers.”
The President might as well say smoking cigarettes creates a need for cancer doctors, provides customers for funeral directors and “shovel ready” jobs for gravediggers.
In the same vein, Tom Vilsack believes that food stamps, an entitlement program that makes available the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to approximately 46,000,000 people and 22,000,000 households, also stimulates the economy. Apparently, the Secretary of Agriculture gets excited in “terms of job growth,” when talking about food stamps because he’s convinced SNAP puts unemployed “people to work.”
Out touting the administration’s new job-creation initiatives, Tom Vilsack was asked to address the problem of a growing population of unemployed and poverty-stricken Americans forced to live on food stamps. In response, Vilsack took the opportunity to promote the Pelosi and Obama Entitlement as Economic Stimulus agenda, saying:
When you talk about the SNAP program or the food stamp program, you have to recognize that it’s also an economic stimulus… If people are able to buy a little more in the grocery store, someone has to stock it, package it, shelve it, process it, and ship it. All of those are jobs. It’s the most direct stimulus you can get in the economy during these tough times.
What Mr. Vilsack didn’t mention was that SNAP recipients usually live in low-income urban areas known for being what Michelle Obama calls “food deserts.” Subsequently, the underprivileged are forced to purchase unhealthy foods with those economy-stimulating food stamps.
Although if one applies the logic of Pelosi, Obama, and Vilsack, the resulting health issues could end up being a win-win because while stimulating the economy, the unhealthy use of food stamps also provides jobs for health care workers and personnel to look after individuals disabled by diabetes, heart disease, and strokes.
Moreover, as an added stimulating benefit, money saved on groceries means poor, destitute people can then buy more frivolous things like jewelry, electronics, and designer clothes.
Therefore, Barack Obama’s detractors are wrong about him being clueless on the issue of jobs and the economy. The President does have a plan. The Obama administration is doing all they can to get as many people as possible on economy-stimulating government-funded entitlement programs like AFDC, housing assistance, school lunch programs, low-income energy aid, and of course unemployment insurance and food stamps, all of which promise to have the US economy and job market booming in no time.
