Stop Me Before I Vote Again

it is the State of the Union speech 1971:

"We must do better for workers in peacetime and we will do better.

To achieve this, I will submit an expansionary budget this year--one that will help stimulate the economy and thereby open up new job opportunities for millions of Americans.

It will be a full employment budget, a budget designed to be in balance if the economy were operating at its peak potential. By spending as if we were at full employment, we will help to bring about full employment.

I ask the Congress to accept these expansionary policies--to accept the concept of a full employment budget. ..."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
much is made of this typical kold war macro objective :

"It will be a full employment budget
a budget designed to be in balance
if the economy were operating at its peak potential."

clinch line :

By spending as if we were at full employment, we will help to bring about full employment"

indeed that passage contains a gallon sized jug of pragmatic non system threatening
" samuelsonian keynesianism "

the usual commentary on the quote goes on to lament the direction of" GOP think " since

where's the shrewd sanity of the old fox from san clemente ?

where's the deeper broader society wide moves
made by that lonely anti hero
after gazing drunkenly intoa blazing white house fire place ?

actually all now is in practice just as then

in a moment of decision
A Santorum or a Romney will be prepared
to follow the devil's hand book if necessary
to reach "the guardian class's " objectives

-----------------------

ya times have changed considerably for the worse if you're a job chaser

and why ?

for one
today there's no kold war competition for "woikah allegiance "

today the un employment rate is something you manage with a more cavalier hand
and with corporate global concerns not only upper most but almost exclusively
and
--add emphasis here ---
the "YOU" here in " you manage "
goes fully bipartisan
both mr dembo potus and mr gop unitary prez

that is
give or take maybe one point of official unemployment

1.5 million jobs ...tops
not insignifigant but not the promise of the post Roosevelt paradigm

------------------

today unlike 1971
system versus system metrics need not apply
'cause ..again unlike 1971

there is no up and running "other system"

we jobbling many
must rely on the one and only system's emergent contradictions
to drive any reactive - progressive reforms and programs

we of course can't be the sharpeners of those contractions
let alone creators

but we can
each in our way and place
attempt to be little swingers of a class blade
when like now
the opportunities arises all around us

--------------------

ps the purest nixon line lies outside the quote here of course:

"We should take no comfort from the fact
that the level of unemployment in this transition
from a wartime to a peacetime economy
is lower than in any peacetime year
of the sixties."

ever the thrusting at JFK

i'll leave that for u to savour