Stimulus Funds Slow as Obama Calls for a "Ramp Up"; WSJ Examines "Progressive Governance"

Kinda gives the impression that the President doesn't have the first clue how to govern, doesn't it? This was, after all, the OMG PANIC FAST FAST FAST Spendulus program that was absolutely necessary to save us from a return to the dark ages.

Federal spending meant to jump-start the economy slowed last week, two weeks after President Obama vowed to "ramp up" the pace of that aid.

"If my boss came to me and told me to ramp something up, I'd do it," said Don Stewart, a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "If the president says it, you'd definitely expect something to happen, so I don't know why it isn't happening."

Obama says that stimulus spending will "create or save" 600,000 jobs this summer.

The editorial in today's Wall Street Journal says that the President's plan is the same one that failed in California, New York, and New Jersey.

It's hard to miss the irony that he's pitching this change in Washington even as the same governance model is imploding in three of the largest American states where it has been dominant for years -- California, New Jersey and New York.

A decade ago all three states were among America's most prosperous. California was the unrivaled technology center of the globe. New York was its financial capital. New Jersey is the third wealthiest state in the nation after Connecticut and Massachusetts. All three are now suffering from devastating budget deficits as the bills for years of tax-and-spend governance come due.

The Journal contrasts the amount of economic stimulus the three states have spent with their unemployment rates, tax burdens, unionization, and healthcare programs. The conclusion: progressive governance destroys the economy.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 11:45 AM

| Access Comments