The fix is in:

Monday – January 24, 2011

The fix is in:

I thought about the quote that I ended Fridays FORUM with: Thomas Jefferson wrote to John Taylor in 1798: “ It is the old practice of despots to use a part of the people to keep the rest in order; and those who have once got an ascendency and possessed themselves of all the resources of the nation, their revenues and offices, have immense means for retaining their advantages.”

Jefferson also wrote to Spencer Roane in 1821: “Time indeed changes manners and notions, and so far we must expect institutions to bend to them. But time produces also corruption of principles, and against this it is the duty of good citizens to be ever on the watch, and if the gangrene is to prevail at last, let the day be kept off as long as possible.”

In Fridays FORUM, I reported on Steve Cohn, a Democrat Congressman, indicting the Republican Party as Nazi’s and if you tell a lie long enough people will begin to believe it. This comparison of one party using a notion like the one Congressman Cohn used is the gangrene that Jefferson referred to in 1821.

Jefferson also referred to the corrupt taking the resources of the nation to retain their advantage.

President Obama announced on Friday that Jeffery Immelt, General Electric CEO, will chair a new council on Jobs and Competitiveness. The President and Mr. Immelt want to grow the economy and invest in clean energy. When Mr. Immelt took the reigns from Jack Welch at GE the stock was trading at $40.00 a share, good dividends for stock holders. Today the stock is trading at around $20.00 a share.

This alliance between the White House and GE has grown into a complex relationship that will pick winners and losers. Wanting to create jobs and growing the economy is a noble thing. It is the right thing to do for America. However, when you say that you want to create jobs and grow the economy you better have a plan. The President made a big point in announcing on Friday that part of this deal will include selling generators to India creating 400 jobs. This is great, but it is not immediate.

I can’t think of one policy or one single act that this president has created or presided over that will create immediate jobs in the sluggish jobs market. I don’t believe a President creates jobs. I would never say this about a Republican president either. But a president must create an environment that jobs can be created. This President has done nothing that will improve or build on the environment to create jobs.

If you look at Mr. Immelt’s record you will see the same. GE grew under the principled leadership of Jack Welch. I would have given the President kudos if he enlisted the services of Mr. Welch because Mr. Welch knows hoe to grow business. Mr. Welch also knows the difference between the earth’s environment and the environment that is needed by business to grow the economy.

A little known fact, there are approximately 1,000 advisory panels in existence that the president can rely on. They employ or use the talents of 74,000 people. In 2000 they cost the tax payer 215 million dollars to run, in 2010 the budget is 386 million dollars. In 2011 the President will spend over 400 million dollars to run. I believe that this is what Jefferson meant when he said: “those who have once got an ascendency and possessed themselves of all the resources of the nation, their revenues and offices, have immense means for retaining their advantages.”

The President will now use these resources to create the vision that jobs are being created and that we have professionals working hard to find ways to create jobs. If a professional that is appointed to one of these counsels has lost half the wealth of a prosperous company in four years then I think we should be asking some questions.

The government and GE have created this unholy alliance and it is one that we should pay close attention to. I have written in the past about how the Corporate Industrial Complex when linked to the government can and will rob the economy of the necessary wealth in brain power, capability and necessary elements in job creation. In Jefferson’s own words he warned: “It is the old practice of despots to use a part of the people to keep the rest in order.”

The President will address the both Houses of Congress, his government and the citizenry of the State of the Union tomorrow night. He will speak about the necessity of binding us under one system of government and he will appeal to us to use our better sense in civility. He will speak of his efforts to create jobs he will use the environment to speak about clean energy and the jobs associated with it. He will ask us for patience and he will act as if he is one of us. If he were to forget about all of what I just wrote about and concentrate his efforts to be one of us he would then see the environment we live in and the environment we need to create jobs and to go look for jobs.

The theme of the night will be “Winning for the Future.” He will speak about a centrist agenda. Remember one thing if you ever run for office or want to run you win by acting like a conservative. He will act like a conservative and talk about deficit reduction he will; say we will have a vigorous debate. However, the one he can not escape from is that government is still growing and the deficit is still ticking away like a time bomb. This speech is only the beginning of the set for the 2012 election. The fix is in and the lines are being drawn. The players are in place and the president will have the platform for two more years.

Gregory C. Dildilian
Founder and Executive Director
Pinecone Conservatives

A footnote: The fix is in – the question is will it be one that creates the win for our future.