“Pass this jobs bill!”

Paul K. writes:

I listened to the president’s job’s speech. As always, I found his speaking style grating and mechanical, and the substance amounting to little beyond more government giveaway programs. What was odd, though, was his constant use of the refrain, “You should pass this bill right away,” which gave the speech the tone of an infomercial. (What do we get if we pass it right now—a free set of Ginsu knives?) I took the transcript and, between the beginning and the end, cut out every sentence (except for the first and the last) that did not include some formulation of “pass this bill,” and ended up with this text:

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and fellow Americans:

I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away….

You should pass this jobs plan right away….

Pass this jobs bill, and starting tomorrow, small businesses will get a tax cut if they hire new workers or raise workers’ wages. Pass this jobs bill, and all small business owners will also see their payroll taxes cut in half next year….

You should pass it right away. Pass this jobs bill, and we can put people to work rebuilding America…. You should pass it right away….

Pass this jobs bill, and thousands of teachers in every state will go back to work….

Pass this jobs bill, and put our teachers back in the classroom where they belong….

Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get extra tax credits if they hire America’s veterans….

Pass this bill, and hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged young people will have the hope and dignity of a summer job next year….

Pass this jobs bill, and companies will get a $4,000 tax credit if they hire anyone who has spent more than six months looking for a job….

At this time of prolonged hardship, you should pass it again—right away…. Pass this jobs bill, and the typical working family will get a fifteen hundred dollar tax cut next year….

Now is not the time to carve out an exception and raise middle-class taxes, which is why you should pass this bill right away….

Regardless of the arguments we’ve had in the past, regardless of the arguments we’ll have in the future, this plan is the right thing to do right now. You should pass it.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at September 08, 2011 09:19 PM | Send