MORE ON THE JOBS ISSUE

I received an email response to my last post from a dear friend. Here's her email and my reply:

One question,  how does the current administration think they can create jobs other than within the government?  That is the place where the jobs have been created in the last two years, which is why D.C. has the lowest rate of unemployment.   The majority of the current administration have never had a job other than professor, politician or employment by a tax-exempt organization.  I would never trust them to know how to create a job outside of the government…

Okay, let's take one example from the real world. Early in the run up to the invasion of Iraq the Bush administration, by way of the DOD, let contracts to private firms to provide security for diplomats and other civilians who would soon be in the war zone. One of those companies was Blackwater.

Blackwater (now Xe) built their headquarters in Camden County, NC on a tract of over 3,200 acres and started hiring, and training, former military personnel.

Our real estate office was less than 20 miles from Blackwater in an area where 20 miles is a short hop. We saw, by way of the Multiple Listing Service, that these new people in the area bought and rented homes. We saw that they bought cars and trucks from local dealers. Heck, we even saw unmarked Zodiac boats full of healthy looking men in unmarked black outfits tying up at the waterfront restaurant that we went to for lunch. In they'd come for a good, hardy meal.

See the point? Federal dollars, spent by the Department of Defense, passed down the chain to the employees of Blackwater who then spent those dollars in the local economy. The money was then re-spent by members of the local economy to pay cooks, Realtors, car dealers and others. Did the government create jobs? Not directly, but clearly the indirect effect did create jobs. The same is true across the country.

The second point I should make is, if you're correct and the "I've created thousands of jobs in my industry" candidates are the better choice for voters, how the heck can THEY create jobs after they're elected? Your side's position is that they CAN'T create private sector jobs, isn't it? What do you expect them to do, then?