Summer in Illinois is construction season. No surprise there. So, roads are closed, squeezed, shifted and crumpled, to allow the pouring of nice, fresh pre-cracked concrete all along your route.
As you drive to and from your fireworks, parades, tea parties, and barbecues this weekend – remembering to watch your speed limit and your full stops at red lights in this era of greedy video cameras – you’ll see a new breed of road sign popping up everywhere: "Project Funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."
Never mind that the ARRA (the trillion dollar stimulus package we passed to keep unemployment under 8%) usually only funds ten or twenty percent of these projects, with the rest of the funding paid for locally…
And never mind that ARRA came with huge conditions, like mandating the prevailing (union) wage, which usually raises the cost of the project by more than the ARRA funding provides.
And never mind that ARRA participation often pushes other far worthier projects off the table, because legislatures often feel pressured to prioritize the projects with federal funding so they don’t get yelled at by their local papers for turning down "free" federal money.
And never mind that ARRA money often commences an obligation that will be harder than ever for the state to afford in future years, when the ARRA money is spent but the project, once begun, must still somehow be finished.
No, all that the driver sees as he drives by is the advertisement: "look here," it shouts to the rooftops, "see the federal stimulus package having a positive impact in our community." The casual observer, as he drives by, sees real construction workers employed, real concrete being poured, real improvements being made. The driver may be frustrated by the traffic congestion, but when he hears of economic activity, he’s likely to give some credit to the Obama administration for the tangible results of this bill.
What he won’t see is the financial impact of this spending, for which he and his children, and grandchildren, and great-grandchildren will be taxed until the end of time (or possibly longer).
And he also won’t see what could have been done with that money instead – the new businesses that might have been built, or the existing ones that might have been expanded, over that period, if only these dollars had remained free for the private sector to invest and nurture.
He just sees the sign. Paid for by ARRA. Courtesy of Obama, Reid and Pelosi, saviors of our economy and our infrastructure.
How many more millions of people prospered, how many hundreds of thousands of jobs were created as a result of the Kemp-Roth tax cuts championed (and signed into law) by Ronald Reagan in 1981? More houses were built, more businesses were established, more wealth was created as a result of those corrections to the tax code than the feeble accomplishments of FDR’s and Obama’s profligate spending.
But people don’t know. Economics isn’t taught in the schools. Capitalism is derided, never explained. Supply-side economics is an insult line in Democratic talking points, rather than the rigorous study of current and future voters.
All those houses and businesses, those storefronts and malls – having grown up in the post-Reagan tax climate, which might never have had a chance before he signed that bill – never, ever bear a sign that reads "Another Successful Business Made Possible by Republican Tax Cuts." Their owners and proprietors don’t give enough credit to the few wise visionaries – from Alexander Hamilton to Ronald Reagan – who understood government’s role in reducing the tax burden and unleashing the invisible hand of capitalism.
So, the public always sees the Left take credit for the activity they create on roadsides and bridge-building; they never see the Right take credit for the far greater activity that conservative policies foster.
Whether after Kemp-Roth 1981 or the Bush tax cuts of 2001, nobody’s ever driven past a thriving shopping mall with a sign saying "This Recovery Brought to You by Conservative Tax Cuts."
Maybe it’s high time they did.
John F. Di Leo is a Chicago-based Customs broker and corporate trainer. He has been a recovering politician for twelve years and two months now.
Funny...every time I see one of these stupid signs...there is absolutely no construction work going on anywhere around it!
Lies, lies, lies, tell me some more of these lies!
Posted by: Illinois Patriot | Sunday, July 05, 2009 at 11:53 AM