Election to Create Jobs?

Today is the almighty election day in the United States.  I call it the "almighty" because it is this day that signals the end of all political commercials for another few years.  I couldn't be happier about that as the same droll messages that have been trumpeted from radios and TV's, mostly highlighting an opposing candidates faults, have commenced causing a selective psychosis within me.   I just can't take it any more.  But that is hardly what I want to talk about today.  I just needed to get that off my chest before continuing.  As I was talking about jobs as they related to me yesterday, I want to continue the conversation on jobs and creating them in this country.  One of the big talking points as I mentioned yesterday amongst both presidential candidates and others has been about creating jobs.  Everyone running for some elected office is promising to create more and better jobs.  They want to get people working again by bringing jobs back.  What I want to know is since when did we start relying on the government to create jobs for us.  The only way that government can actually create jobs is either by increasing the size of government (which we definitely don't need at the expense of the tax payers) or to create incentives for companies to move work back to the United States (in which case they wouldn't actually be creating jobs, a corporation or individual would).  So how can these candidates talk about creating jobs when their ability to do so is minimal at best.  Last time I checked, it was the citizens of the United States that created jobs, namely by starting companies and hiring people or expanding companies through innovation and hiring people.  Government has no role, nor should it, in creating jobs.  It may help by creating a job friendly environment, but that is about the extent of government's role in this realm.  If it goes any further, we are in deep trouble.  Thinking about government getting to big and delving into the private sector to "create" jobs brings to mind a quote I read once that has stuck with me.  (The quote is not verbatim and I don't know who its from, but it is close)  "Any government big enough to give you what you need is big enough to take it all away."  Lets remember that as we commence election day to decide who will be our next "job creator". 

I guess my biggest issue with this talking point about jobs is that it is only being utilized because it reflects what people want to hear throughout the country.  If people are looking to the government to create jobs for them, then perhaps we have gone too far down the road of governmental assistance to turn back.  Lets all keep in mind that the politicians running for office are only talking about what the public wants to hear.  You won't hear the candidates talk about the childhood poverty rate in this country, which is atrocious, because people don't want to hear about it.  People want the government to do more for its citizens.  I want to know how much more the government can actually do without spiraling our country into bankruptcy and beyond.   Oh wait, we are technically bankrupt, we just call it our national debt instead.  If any single one of us were to rack up debt to the tune that the government has, we would probably be in jail by now.  So how do people expect the government to do more?   Whoever ends up in office needs to realize that they alone can not create jobs, either through a so called stimulus (didn't work) or through any other means.  If people were smart enough to realize the predicament we are in, they would be clamoring for the government to address its budget and the national debt, not on how to spend more money to create jobs.  While jobs are obviously important, it is up to the citizens of the United States to create them, not the government.   By all accounts, it would seem that we have lost some of our "can do" spirit in this country.  I call it "can do" because we used to be able to rely on ourselves to get where we wanted to go, to live how we wanted to live, to get the job we wanted to (and if not, create our own job).  There are still those who have that spirit, it just seems to be on the perpetual decline if you ask me.  We have reached a point in this country where it seems that the majority of people want life handed to them on a silver platter and if their fellow citizens won't provide it for them, then why not turn to the government?  I'll tell you why, because the more you ask for from the government, the bigger it gets, the more debt it rings up at our expense, and the harder it will be to recover.  Yet we can't pull ourselves away from it. 

This country was built on pioneering spirit, the one that drove people to explore new realms, to build the dreams they envisioned, and to create a life for themselves that they would be happy with.  There have always been obstacles whether it be a large government, corporate greed, employee abuse, etc.  However, up until this current day, we were able to persevere and get where we wanted to go.  As I see a steady decline in the innovators, the big thinkers, the inventors, and "pioneers", I see a decline in our country as well.  We aren't all the we portray ourselves to be anymore and it is saddening.  Don't get me wrong, there are still pockets of "pioneers" throughout our country, they are just diminishing in number with no one to replace them.  There is no sure fire answer to getting our pioneer spirit back.  You can't teach spirit in the schools, and the government definitely can't give it to you.  The only way we can bring back this pioneer mentality or spirit is to infect our children with it.  We must be the ones to embrace the pioneer mentality, the one that says we can do whatever we put our minds to, and show our children the value in it.  Without our embrace of the pioneer spirit and mentality, it will surely die out.  Many of those innovators that still persist in this country are not originally from this country anymore.  They came here with an idea and utilized our freedom that we espouse so dearly to pursue it and bring it to reality.  Where has that gone among the general population?  It has vanished for good and has been replaced with apathy and an extended hand waiting for hand outs.  My advice to everyone is to simply get off your buts and create the life you want to live.  I know its easier said than done, but if you have the will, there is a way.  There are still people out there creating the job they want to have, embracing the spirit that allows them to do that, and becoming successful as a result.  There is no reason we should be relying on government to provide jobs for us, we need to go out and make them ourselves.