And From The Dept. of Social Engineering and Economic Illiteracy Comes This...

You want to know how stupid this is? Paul Krugman will love it. That's how stupid this is:

The Obama administration is planning to use the government’s enormous buying power to prod private companies to improve wages and benefits for millions of workers, according to White House officials and several interest groups briefed on the plan.

"Several interest groups"? Now who could those be?

By altering how it awards $500 billion in contracts each year, the government would disqualify more companies with labor, environmental or other violations and give an edge to companies that offer better levels of pay, health coverage, pensions and other benefits, the officials said.

What could make more sense than deciding - at a time of record government spending and deficits - to ignore the voodoo economics of hiring the lowest-cost qualified provider?

Did Barack Obama's shitty little deficit reduction commission come up with this, or did he think this one up all by himself?

Even more pathetic:

Because nearly one in four workers is employed by companies that have contracts with the federal government, administration officials see the plan as a way to shape social policy and lift more families into the middle class.

You can't make this sort of shit up. This is how the super-genius thinks he can right the economy and put Americans back to work.

We are in the hands of morons.

Comments

[JeffS]

Well, there is a bright side, Dennis. This particular brain fart will slow down the federal procurement process significantly, especially with all the background checks that would be required.

Given all the hoops and loops one must go through to award any Federal contract at this time, this requirement will probably increase the time to complete the award process by at least 25%. So it's likely that even fewer contracts will be awarded by the Feds. This assumes that O!bama doesn't simply award even more no bid contracts to his buddies, of course.

It's still a stupid idea, I hasten to add. The federal bureaucracy will get even more bloated, for one thing. Yays.

[David]

You know Obama fucked up on the "summit" yesterday when a publication as retarded (it's ok for me to say that, I'm Rahm Emanuel) as Slate declares them victorious.

Is there anything Obama can't fuck up? Anything? Bueller?

[Eric Blair]

I'm amazed at how dumb Paul Krugman is, sometimes.

[David]

That NYT piece on him was priceless. Nebbishy, socially awkward and having the personality of a petunia is no way to through life, Paul Krugman.

[Dennis the Peasant]

It is if you want to be worshipped by the Left.

[Randy Rager]

The Left do like them some FAIL, don't they?

[Simon]

Here's a 'view from your window' with inane caption from Krugman on his blog -

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/whose-woods-these-are-i-think-i-know/

This bloke will be taking it up the arse next.

[richard mcenroe]

And cue the law of unintended consequences:

Environmental regulation,healthregulation,tax law,equal opportunity regulation, et., have all grown so complex that it is literally impossible NOT to be in violation of something.

Who's left to bid?

[Arcadian]

Impeachment for simple dereliction of duty is looking better and better. Especially after November.

I wouldn't hire Obama to flip fucking burgers. He's not even capable of doing that right.

[TmjUtah]

So what publicly held company wants to join Government Motors and ChiselerDodgey as the keen bright edge of Government/Union partnership?

I believe that Emmanuel and Axelrod thought they'd get at least two election cycle's worth of Union dues money out of the UAW as a result of nationalization.

As it stands now, the UMW ("We'll kill coal")are already on record as iffy for 2010, and if the motor outfits keep hemorrhaging cash at the pace they are on right now, not even an Uncle Sugar willing to float Fannie/Freddie for another year or six will keep the factory doors open long enough for dues to be collected.

It's a coup. I refuse to entertain the thought that these people are this stupid. The object of the exercise is and always has been the destruction of the Republic.