Semi-News/Semi-Satire ^ | 16 Nov 2012 | John Semmens
Encouraged by the recent election results, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev) boasted that “the Republicans’ contention that excessive government regulation causes increased unemployment has been convincingly refuted by voters.”
“Of course, the GOP’s arguments were ludicrous from the beginning,” Reid maintained. “If we pass new regulations the government has to hire more people to enforce them. That means more jobs. Companies have to hire more people to ensure they comply with the regulations. That means more jobs. The regulations are kind of like a scissors cutting into unemployment from both sides.”
The possibility that more regulations could boost the cost of doing business and, thereby, lead to cuts in the number of persons employed was derided by Reid. “The cost of the regulations are just passed on to the customers,” Reid explained. “They don’t come out of the employers’ pockets. So how could it hurt?”
That passed on higher costs might deter customers from purchasing products was similarly disposed of by the Majority Leader. “If consumers really need a product they will buy it no matter what the cost,” Reid said. “If a slightly higher price dissuades them from buying it means that they don’t really need it. To the extent that we are eliminating the purchase of unneeded products we are improving the true efficiency of our economy.”
As Reid sees it, “money that isn’t spent on unneeded products could be better used on infrastructure projects like roads and bridges, or to invest in education or green energy. There’s no shortage of ways in which the government could more effectively deploy our nation’s resources.”
