Key To Joblessness -- The President's Response

In a July 9, 2011, Los Angeles Times news story, this is what President Obama said was the key to solving record unemployment:

• more spending on high-speed rail, roads and bridges; 
• improvements to the patent system; 
• free-trade agreements; and, 
• extending a one-year payroll tax cut that is expected to provide an average benefit of $695 per worker.

With regard to high-speed rail, roads and bridges -- that's already been tried, and even the President joked there are no shovel-ready jobs. Talking about "spending on high-speed rail, roads and bridges" won't change anything before the 2012 election.

With regard to the patent system: you have got to be kidding. Exactly how soon would new jobs materialize even if the patent system was improved overnight? I didn't even know it was broken; the companies suing Apple are doing very, very well. Of all the things he could mention, why the patent system? Which company/industry has his ear on patent protection? Google, GE? Probably both.

Free-trade agreements? Hmmm. It ain't gonna happen, and if it did, we wouldn't see results for months, if not years. My hunch is the free-trade agreements have nothing to do with "free trade" at all, but rather, protecting union jobs in the US.

Payroll tax cut? Another $700/worker/year -- divided by 50 weeks, that amounts to about one McDonald's meal out for a family of three each week. And it's the seniors that don't work that need the money. Heck, just send everyone $700 on November 1, 2012, for walking-around money.