Government Does Create Jobs

My husband's letter to the local paper ran Saturday. http://www.jsonline.com/news/opinion/letters16-5l5phb0-159253585.html (Scroll down to his letter--three or four letters down.) It rebutted an earlier letter that contended that only the private sector can create jobs. I would add to his remarks that were it not for the federal government, Boeing and Haliburton would be so small they would qualify for Small Business loans -- except that those loans are provided by the federal government. My own brother and his wife who consistently vote Republican, which is all for eliminating government jobs, held only government-provided jobs their entire adult lives. Go figure. Here's my hubby's letter:

Government does create jobs

Letter writer Don Gableman is wrong on many counts in asserting that government can't create jobs ("Only private sector can really create jobs," Your Views, June 9.)

One is, "the recession will last a long time." The recession ended more than two years ago, and the economy has been growing since, albeit slowly thanks to adversarial political impediments.

Second, government spending not only creates jobs (think military, police and fire protection, defense contracting, infrastructure building, environmental protection), but many successful businesses benefit directly and indirectly from government aid in the form of subsidies, grants, tax breaks and laws the private sector lobbies for.

Economically strong countries have strong government involvement. Germany, for instance, has the most robust major economy. It also has strong unions.

Former President George W. Bush's eight years in office defy Gableman's contention that lowering taxes makes the economy stronger. Bush's massive tax cuts, along with other budget-busting actions, facilitated an economic disaster, which President Barack Obama has being trying to salvage ever since, with no help from an obstructionist Congress.

Finally, rather than wanting to raise taxes, Obama has cut taxes, and spending during his administration has grown at a far slower rate than it did under Bush and other Republican presidents.

Hilbert H. Hayslett Jr. 
South Milwaukee