GOP Topic #1: "Talking Jobs"

The Republican party has realized that their agenda priorities have slipped.  Senate Republican Conference Committee Chair Lamarr Alexander admitted yesterday that the GOP drumbeat on spending cuts may not be addressing the real concerns of Americans outside the beltway and the halls of state capitols, namely jobs.  As Republican legislators travel to their home districts during next week’s recess, Alexander says, “…you will hear us talking about, No. 1: jobs; No. 2: debt.” 

As a counselor in recovery programs for the past decade, I know that “breaking denial”—admitting you have a problem—is the first step to recovery. The GOP is admitting they have a problem both nationally and in the states, as party leadership awakens to the reality that most people are not connecting the dots between obsessive cuts in government spending and lowering unemployment.  Kudos on this first step, Republicans. 

Too bad about the mistake on what your next step should be.

Like most folks in recovery from their misguided choices, Republicans are the last to notice the undesirable outcomes of their actions.  Polling trends have indicated for months a growing majority of people who are clear that they see no improvement in their own situations as their local, state, and federal governments slash budgets.  And why should they?  Corporate profits in many sectors have risen to record levels since the 2008 recession; meanwhile, hiring is essentially flat.  More Americans each week see that while corporate tax rates are cut along with government services and support for education, so many individuals languish in prolonged unemployment.  The only folks getting overtime, it seems, are the ones printing the pink slips. 

Republicans have produced no compelling evidence that their budget “slash and burn” actually results in increased hiring, but the talking points coming out of their caucus are to exactly that. “We will talk about, #1: jobs”, as if the creation of jobs has actually flowed from the spending cuts.

That is the extent of the plan—talking. Charlie Sheen’s approach to sobriety—“I closed my eyes and made it so!”—at least suggests some effort on his part. The conservative approach to economic recovery sounds more like, “We will close our eyes, and business will make it so!”

In recovery, we do not evaluate success by what the client is talking about, but by the evidence of outcomes.  I have one overarching question in my work in recovery and changing a life direction: “How’s what you are doing working out for you?”

How's it is working? In a very predictable, though not helpful, way: The reasonable motive of a corporation in “de-tax and deregulate” culture is to get the most productivity out of the fewest people, not to hire an optimum number of people to do the work well. There is no incentive to hire if the goodies roll in whether they increase payrolls or not. Meanwhile, unemployment—and deficits—are made persistent by ideological attacks on the supports for middle and working class income: unions, mortgage and credit regulation, civil service employment, and tax policy based in evidence instead of ideology.

When the country doesn’t just spin around to the conservative line because of the GOP talking points this spring, please don’t blame us for asking, “How’s that working out for me?”