There He Goes Again

Weird Willard is trying to sell himself as knowing economics and knows what it takes to create jobs. But he certainly doesn't know about policy. In countering the Obama campaign over his statements about not hiring any more teachers, policemen and firemen, he said it was "completely absurd" he would cut the hiring of police, firefighters and teachers because the federal government plays no part in these decisions.


This is the type of statement by an alleged politician that drives me nuts. Michael McAuliffe in today's Huffington Post comes to the rescue to show how absurd Romney's statements are. And I would add how out of touch the man is about policies that have been in place for years,including the time when he was governor of Massachusetts.


First off, the federal government pays 11% of the country's public school budgets. Under Title 1, which targets disadvantaged schools, which Romney obviously doesn't know anything about,there is $14.5 billion dollars, the bulk going to personnel costs. And the individuals with Disabilities Act is at $11.6 billion in 2012,much of which is devoted to the hiring of teachers.


Remember Bill Clinton crowing about his putting more cops on the streets? The Community Oriented Policing Services enacted in 1994 was a billion a year for its first eight years. In 2010, separate from the stimulus was $298 million for 1,388 officers. In 2010,$247 million for 1,000 officers, and for 2011, $111 million for 800 officers. As of January 2011, the Congressional Research Office claims that the COPS program paid for the hiring of 117,000 officers.


Now remember last year's fights about FEMA and whether President Obama was responding quick enough to the wildfires in Texas? In 2009 and 2010, FEMA had $630 million in grants to hire 3,400 firefighters and in 2011-2012 another $640 million. And I am sure the states of Colorado and New Mexico are using these funds today.


I have noticed Republicans have become abtuse to the policies they have voted on in the past and are no longer able to argue real-world policies. But I think if you are running for President and once actually sat in the governor's seat you should no the basics of these points. I may go over well with the tea baggers who seem totally oblivious to what government does for the general welfare but it is alarming that someone running for the President reveals he doesn't know. 


Romney's advantage is that he can message with tweet like notes as President Obama commented today. But the advantage for President Obama and the Democrats is they have a grasp of policy. Their job is to articulate it.