Reid signals government jobs must take priority over private-sector jobs

[The Northerner]

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Wednesday indicated Congress needs to worry about government jobs more than private-sector jobs, and that this is why Senate Democrats are pushing a bill aimed at shoring up teachers and first-responders.

"It's very clear that private-sector jobs have been doing just fine; it's the public-sector jobs where we've lost huge numbers, and that's what this legislation is all about," Reid said on the Senate floor.

Reid was responding to recent comments from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who accused Democrats of purposefully pursuing higher taxes as part of the teacher/first-responder bill, S. 1723, so that Republicans would oppose it. McConnell said the bill was meant to fail in order to give Democrats an issue to run on in the 2012 election, but Reid said the Republicans are simply trying to defeat President Obama any way they can.

The legislation Reid is defending is part of Obama's jobs package. Vice President Biden was in Pennsylvania, an important election state, on Tuesday to push for the administration's plan on increasing the number of teachers.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/188443-reid-says-public-sector-jobs-must-take-priority-over-private-sector-jobs

[CarmanK]

1. If the private sector jobs kept up, govt jobs wld be paid for!

[girl gone mad]

6. You've got the relationship reversed.

If government jobs/spending keeps getting cut, private sector jobs will vanish.

[Cali_Democrat]

2. He's right

If you look at the last several BLS employment reports, it's the public sector that has been shedding jobs dramatically. Also, it's not necessarily about priority, the government can't force the private sector to create more jobs. Private companies are sitting on a large amount of cash anyways.

[jdlh8894]

3. Who pays for the govt. jobs?

People working private-sector and paying taxes - that's who!!
If you work for the govt. and pay taxes on your salary, you are essentially paying yourself!

[LiberalFighter]

4. How many of those jobs are also needed that provide needed resources

so jobs can be created in the private sector? Elimination or reduction of some government jobs can delay or halt the creation of private sector jobs.

[jdlh8894]

5. Answer the question,please!

Who pays for the govt. jobs?

[girl gone mad]

8. The federal government pays for government employees..

with the sovereign fiat currency it is solely authorized to create.

Answer this question: where does the money you use to pay your taxes come from?

[jdlh8894]

10. Where does the fed govt get its money?

TAXES !!!!

[girl gone mad]

11. No.

You've got it totally wrong.

Government spending comes first. No one would have money to pay their taxes if the government didn't spend the money into existence in the first place.

Taxes don't fund spending. When you pay your taxes, the money you mail or transmit electronically gets destroyed.

[jdlh8894]

14. "Taxes don't fund spending."

I feel sorry for you.

[girl gone mad]

16. It's the simple truth.

In a fiat system, taxes don't fund spending. Borrowing doesn't fund spending.

When the federal government spends, it simply credits accounts. It doesn't need to collect taxes or borrow from China to do this.

Taxes are what give our fiat currency its value. Raising taxes increases the demand for dollars, lowering taxes decreases the demand for dollars. Aside from also being useful for social engineering purposes, that's about the extent of the significance of taxation at the federal level.

[jdlh8894]

12. Answer this question: where does the money you use to pay your taxes come from?

Not from the govt.
I work for a living.

[girl gone mad]

15. I hate to break it to you..

but it does come from the government.

Taxes have to be paid in US dollars and the only entity which issues US dollars is the federal government. Every dollar in your pocket, every dollar in your bank account, every dollar you earn from working was created by the federal government.

[jdlh8894]

17. Is your paycheck signed by the govt?

If not,according to you, it is worthless.

[girl gone mad]

19. I never said anything of the sort.

I do know that the money I earn was originally created by the government at some point in the past.

The government has to issue money before there can be commerce and before anyone can pay taxes. If the government spends less than it collects in taxes, our economy will shrink. There will be less money and commerce in the private sector.

[jdlh8894]

20. There was commerce and TAXES

WAY before the fed started issuing currency.

[girl gone mad]

21. Of course there was commerce.

But as of the year 2011, we live under a sovereign fiat currency regime. Unless you want to overthrow this system and start again, you need dollars to buy goods and services. Dollars are spent into existence by the federal government and taxed out of existence by the government.

[girl gone mad]

7. Wrong!

Taxes don't fund anything.

[Better Believe It]

9. Senator Reid: " private-sector jobs have been doing just fine" Really .... according to who?

[IndyPragmatist]

13. This is one of the oddest quotes I've ever seen

First, the private sector is not doing just fine. More than 10% of the population cannot find a job. Who in their right mind could argue that the private sector is doing just fine.

Secondly, you have to have a strong private sector to have a strong public sector. The tax revenue has to come from somewhere. Sure, good ol' Ben can "inject" more money into the economy, but we have seen how well that works out.

Seriously, was Reid drunk when he said this? It makes absolutely zero sense.

[Hydra]

22. Backwards

You're quite right about the private sector not being fine. Reid was blowing smoke. On the other issue though...

You need a strong public sector for a strong private sector. The private sector absolutely depends on Gov't services from police and courts to firefighters to road maintenance. That's where the real "confidence" they talk about comes from, and that's also where it's gone.

Taxes simply control who has what and how much money is circulating. The dirty secret of fiat currency...but also our salvation if we decide to take control of it.

[blm]

18. The Hill ALWAYS spins against Dems, esp in headlines. That's why RepubLibertarians love the The Hill

and their anti-Dem view of Congress.