About That Jobs Bill...

Here's the way a bill like this works using a real-life example. During the Carter administration the same tactic was tried while I was working as an optician. My former manager, also a licensed optician, had been fired from his job and was receiving unemployment.  A large box store needed a manager for its optical department.  I'm sure many, many qualified opticians applied for the job.

However, since the government was handing out a tax credit for hiring someone who was receiving unemployment, guess who got the job?  Was he qualified?  Sure, as far as having a license he met the qualifications.  Was he the best person for the job?  Probably not.  He was a poor manager, lax in his work habits, and none too honest.  Did the company care?  Nope.  They made their decision based on that tax credit.

The next thing to realize is the company in question would have hired someone regardless of any credit offered.  In most states the manager of an optical store must have a license.  It's a case of a business reaping a reward for something they were going to do anyway.  No business is going to hire people they don't need and can't afford just to get a tax break. 

This is nothing more than the people form of Cash for Clunkers - reward a company or an individual, with our money,  for something they were going to do anyway. 

Update:

By way of Memeorandum:    Senate passes $15 billion jobs bill on bipartisan vote

Related:

• Bungalow Bill: Senate Passes $35 Billion in More Stimulus: Jobs Bill Escapes Senate Thanks to Repubicans 
• Hot Air:   CNN: The Obama disco-jobs bill