What a week for good economic news. The business media has been reporting record stock market and employment gains, more people in the US are now employed than ever before, and it is likely that this quarter’s GDP growth shall exceed four percent. They also report that more good news seems to be ahead. For example, CNN Money reported that there are six million jobs still unfilled, indicating even more employment opportunities remain. As one commentator noted: “There is no longer an excuse for any healthy, working age, adult in to be sitting on the sidelines.”
In the midst of this great opportunity, Democrats have decided to oppose reasonable work requirements as a qualification for welfare benefits. Rationalizing that it is inappropriate to expect the healthy, working-age, unemployed on welfare to assume a modest responsibility for themselves, they opposed the Republican effort to enforce the requirement that food stamp recipients be doing at least one of the three following: (1) seeking employment, (2) attending training to prepare for employment, or (3) actually working – even if only part time.
The Democrat’s attack on personal responsibility was also proved during the last budget debate, when they demanded expansions of almost all welfare program spending – despite the data and common sense demonstrating there are now fewer Americans in need due to the many more now earning wages. And the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that those wages are higher than in the past.
What’s going on?
It has become easy to conclude that the Democrat’s negative attitude toward America’s current economic boom is a growing fear that an informed public shall realize that although many are still in need, for many others being unemployed is now a matter of choice.
MSNBC, NYT and CNN seem sympathetic to that concern, as demonstrated by their modest reporting of our country’s good financial news. But word is leaking out. And what must be most scary to democrats, those that are benefiting the most are core groups within the Democrat party base. As reported by CNBC, “The biggest job gainers from America’s current economic success have been groups that have historically suffered from stubbornly high levels of unemployment, including younger workers [53% for Hillary], blacks [89% for Hillary], and Hispanics [66% for Hillary].” As CNBC summed up, “Friday’s monthly employment report was great news for anyone looking for a job in America – unless they happen to be a Democrat running for Congress.”
Democrats have responded by identifying new “sympathy groups” and new government programs. The leaders of this strategy are the same as those for the old strategy, Bernie Sanders, Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, and Elizabeth Warren. However, lacking any other plan, other Democrats followed their lead and campaigned in this week’s primaries for two new programs: (1) a “flat monthly wage for every American,” including those unemployed even by their personal choice, and (2) those with college loan debt. College students with student loans learned that the Democrat party now considers them a disadvantaged class. If you took classes that taught you nothing that others will pay for, it’s somehow the taxpayers’ fault.
America is at a crossroads. The Democrats believe economic success and personal responsibility are bad news for their vision of what makes a successful nation. As long as that philosophy continues, we must never again trust them to run our country.
