Democrats in Disarray on Trillion-Dollar "Stimulus" That Isn't Working

Millions of American jobs have been lost in 2009, even though the Administration promised unemployment would not rise past eight percent if the Democrats’ trillion-dollar “stimulus” spending bill became law. But unemployment is now a staggering 9.5 percent, and middle-class families and small businesses are asking: Where are the jobs?

Democrats are all over the map about why their vaunted “stimulus” is not creating the jobs the Administration promised. Vice President Joe Biden said they “misread the economy,” but President Obama said that wasn’t true. President Obama said “there’s nothing he would have done differently” on the “stimulus,” but the Vice President has already admitted that “Some people are being scammed already” by the legislation.

And what about the prospect of a second “stimulus”? Democrats are deeply divided on that question too, as Bloomberg News reports:

“Democrats who control the levers of power in Washington are divided over whether to push for more deficit spending to end the recession and stem job losses, complicating the possibility of a second stimulus bill.”

A story in this morning’s Politico further highlights the deepening Democratic divide on their trillion-dollar “stimulus”:

“President Barack Obama says there’s ‘nothing’ he ‘would have done differently’ about his economic stimulus plan, but one of his top outside economic advisers says the plan was ‘a bit too small.’”

“Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri says the idea of a second stimulus is a ‘non-starter,’ but Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island says it ‘should be on the table.’”

“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says there’s ‘no showing that a second stimulus is needed,’ but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) says Congress needs to be ‘open to whether we need additional action.’”

“Democrats are all over the map on the stimulus and the possibility of a sequel, and it’s not hard to see why: When it comes to a second stimulus, they may be damned if they do and damned if they don’t.”

“‘Right now, every headline across the board is the stimulus isn’t enough, states are in bankruptcy, states aren’t paying their bills,’ says Wendy Schiller, a Brown University political scientist. ‘This is really deadly for the Democratic Party, because what it suggests is the Democratic Party cannot run the country.’”

The fact is government spending doesn’t create economic growth; small businesses create economic growth. And if the Democrats in charge of Washington want to take another shot at “stimulating” the economy, they should start by scrapping the job-killing health care and energy bills that are being rammed through Congress this summer, and work with House Republicans on better solutions that encourage investment, savings, and job creation. Instead, it appears that Democrats will continue to stubbornly push legislation to raise energy costs on every American, pave the way for a government takeover of health care, ship millions of jobs overseas, and drive our children and grandchildren into even deeper debt. All the while, the American people continue to ask, “Where are the jobs?” They deserve answers – and better solutions.

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