Zicam is a product that has been marketed for some years now as being a cure for the common cold. The company claims that its product will stop a cold in its tracks — or, at least, lessen its severity and duration. The manufacturer recommends that you take Zicam at the first sign of a cold and continue taking it until the symptoms are gone. I tried it once and got sick as hell anyway; and they refunded my ten bucks when I complained. But the problem with this product is that there is no way to prove that it works; you can only state with certainty that it does NOT work if it doesn’t.
And in my case, it didn’t.
Which leads us to the economic stimulus plan that our infinitely wise leaders thrust upon our nation nearly two years ago. Politicians (Democrats) tried to sell the nation on the notion that, by pumping $787 BILLION into various public works projects, Americans would be put back to work immediately and our economy would flourish once again. The pork-laden bill passed Congress and was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009.
The government even has a website — www.recovery.gov — to tout the job that it is doing spending our (and our children’s and their children’s and THEIR children’s) yet-to-be-earned money. When this massive boondoggle bill passed, we were told of all of the “shovel-ready” projects just waiting to be started. The administration loves to tell the masses that the stimulus plan has helped to “create or save” umpteen million jobs. The problem is that no one can prove how many jobs were created and the notion of a “saved” job is as fictitious as Snow White. Notice that since the administration was called on the definition of “jobs saved,” that phrase has disappeared from the White House lexicon.
Had the economy gained its feet and started chugging again, the administration would have been pounding its chest by saying, “Look what the stimulus has done!” Well, they did that anyway. Does anyone remember this past summer of 2010? It was being hailed by the administration as the “Recovery Summer.” It has been six months now since the phrase “Recovery Summer” first hit the airwaves. And where are we now? We have experienced twenty (20) consecutive months of 9.0+ percent unemployment and the most recent numbers, for November 2010, show the rate at 9.8 percent. Congress is now extending unemployment benefits beyond the two years already paid — the intent apparently being to allow the unemployed to receive payments indefinitely. The fact remains that the unemployment situation has not improved in the past twenty months; it has gotten worse. As with my experience with Zicam, the stimulus has failed.
So, as you can see, the stimulus package really IS like Zicam. Even if it had worked, there would be no way to PROVE with 100 percent certainty that the stimulus (or Zicam) was the reason. You can only prove if and when it fails.
And, in America’s case, it has.
James Sharp is a middle-aged, middle-class, middle-management sales guy. He believes in a strong military, limited government and unlimited opportunity for all US citizens.