Misguided Generosity

       There is something intrinsically wrong with  enacting legislation to fix economic problems because  economic problems cannot be fixed with political solutions. The results always carry unintended consequences because those enacting the legislation are acting from a flawed worldview.  Taking money from people who one thinks do not deserve it and giving it to those who one thinks do deserve it is not compassion,  it is cheap generosity .  Worse yet, it is outright theft.
        In a Biblical worldview, yes, we are supposed to care for the poor, but it is not the government's responsibility to do so, it is the responsibility of the church.  When government intrudes on what is not its rightful sphere two things happens.  In this case, the church abdicates its responsibilities and the government usually makes matters worse.
        The recent mortgage crisis is a case in point of good intentions gone awry.   The Fair Housing Act was  a nice idea, but based on a flawed premise which was the idea that  everyone who wishes, should be able to have a house, whether they can afford it or not.  So what did congress do?  Led by Rep. Barney Frank and Sen. Chris Dodd , they enacting legislation to force lending institutions, to abandon sound lending practices  and lend to borrowers who would not have ordinarily qualified.  The quasi-government institutions, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, major contributors to the Democrats,  then put  then bought these  "sub prime" mortgages from the banks giving the impression that the mortgages were government backed, which encouraged the banks to continue the practice.  Of course other factors came into play and I am not absolving the banks of wrong doing,  but congress was the major catalyst.  The result was a massive bailout of the banks with taxpayer money, Frank and Dodd denying all responsibility, the banks taking all of the blame and the mortgagees getting off with no penalty.
         Now congress is at it again.  President Obama is touring the nation blaming the continuation of the current recession on the refusal of businesses to hire while sitting on massive amounts of cash.  Unemployment hovers around 10% and stubbornly refuses to come down despite massive infusion of taxpayer dollars.  No one stops to think that maybe congress, once again offering political solutions to economic problems, has contributed to the problem of non-expansion by business.
        It works like this.  Employment benefits have traditionally been given for 26 weeks.  Congress has responded to the recession by extending them another 73 weeks.  Think about it.  That is almost two years worth of benefits for not working.  Once again, congress has taken money from some and given it to others with unintended consequences.   In Pennsylvania, 73 weeks of unemployment translates to $2260 a month or $41,245 over the 73 week period.  Why  would anyone work when they can make more on the dole and many have reached that conclusion.  Small businesses that would like to expand can't for lack of workers willing to take the entry level positions available.
        If Obama wants the recession to go away, he only need to look to himself and his party for the reasons.  Democrats played a huge part in creating this mess and they are playing a huge part in its continuation.