Obama Picks Public Union Employees As Favorites In Jobs Bill

When the latest jobs bill surfaced, after months of putting it off until after summer vacation season, President Obama said that it had to be passed as is, not breaking it up. When the immediate backlash of that demand was sounded by both Democrats and Republicans in Congress, President Obama backed down. Now he is again making demands - this time for Congress to pass the jobs bill in increments.

The President now claims that the jobs bill has failed to be passed by either the House, where it has no Democratic co-sponsors, or the U.S. Senate, because it must have been too complicated for the members of Congress to understand. He used it as a joke, you see, because making his opponents into punch lines is something he enjoys doing.

In an admission that the bill must be voted on in pieces, this week the President will tour the swing states of North Carolina and Virginia in taxpayer purchased buses - there are two of them for him and the entourage - and try to make his case that first he will insist Congress vote on a package to put public employees back to work in states short on cash. He once again chooses union employees over ordinary working people. With tens of millions of unemployed Americans not in public worker unions, this is an incredible slight.

And, it is a short term solution.

Cities and states taking federal money to re-hire laid off workers - teachers, fire fighters, police - will see short term relief. By taking federal money, they will be beholden to the government to make employment demands. They will have to agree to the length of employment and, therefore are stuck with the additional employees when the money runs out. The money runs out in a year or so and then the problems return. The city or state is still faced with budget shortfalls if the necessary reforms are not made, if the city or state simply takes the money and continues on with business as usual.

It is one reason why the original stimulus bill failed - simply tossing money at a bad situation doesn't work well. It sets the local government up for failure.