Jobs

Many of the talking heads on TV say that this election is about the economy or more specifically about jobs, jobs and jobs. I believe there is some misunderstanding about jobs. Some from the liberal side seem to feel that a government job is the same as a private sector job. Some conservatives say that the government cannot create jobs. In my way of thinking they are both wrong. The main difference between the two types of jobs is that while it is true that both can create jobs only the private sector creates wealth. The government uses the wealth created by the private sector to finance government projects and pay the salaries of government employees. There is one exception to this rule and that is when the government spends tax payer money on research and development. The government should invest in areas like the National Institute of Health, NASA and the military. They can also be instrumental in helping to finance large interstate projects like highways. In my opinion the government oversteps its bounds when it tries to tell the private companies how to use the results of its research. For example the government can research various types of solar panels and make that research available to private industry and if the private sector sees a potential for profit they will proceed to develop the industry. When research indicated the use of corn to make fuel some private companies looked into it and decided it was not a good investment. The government then stepped forward and announced a monetary incentive to encourage development of ethanol from corn and the result is a financial debacle. The same thing is happening in the electric car concept. When the government decided that poor people should have a shot at the American dream of home ownership they put forth incentives to get people into their own home and this turned into another debacle. Our history is replete with examples of the government good intentions leading to unintended consequences. The latest is the student loan program. There is direct correlation between the rise in availability of student loans and rise of tuition. This would not be unexpected by anyone in private banking but it came as a surprise to government. There is a proper place for government and it can be used for the common good but it can also be misused and that seems to be happening more frequently these days.