Principled Pragmatism Prepetuates Unemployment Payments

President-Elect Obama is proudly pronouncing pragmatic members of his new administration and pragmatic principles upon which he will operate. In case you've missed it, http://www.change.gov/ is the web-site for the Office of the President-Elect, and there are many interesting features that "you've mandated".

On Nov 15th Obama called for the extension of employment benefits, and on Nov 21st announced that Congress had acted, saying that millions of Americans are lying awake at night not knowing if they can pay their bills or not. I guess they'll rest easier now. Extending unemployment benefits beyond the normal one-year period is apparently "what works"; the pragmatic solution. On a number of occasions President-Elect Obama has stated that he will govern with policies that work. In a 60 Minutes interview on Nov 16th he said ...

"I don't want to get caught up in a lot ideology ... my interest is finding something that works" - President-Elect Obama

While denouncing ideologues, Obama is espousing the ideology of pragmatism. Pragmatism does not know truth; it has no moral or ethical limits. Pragmatism is relative by nature and has roots in men such as Darwin and Dewey.

I must admit, I'm more comfortable with Obama's words now than during the campaign cycle. The Weekly Addresses are the same tired song, but some of the interviews reflect rationale objective logic over the resounding mantra of change. I'd love to see some federal programs obsoleted, as Obama has called for. He has slightly backed off from the Leftist supporters that got him elected. They are wondering what happened to their candidate, and when he's going to enact programs for their benefit. But while he targets elimination of subsidies to rich farmers, he wants to increase subsidy for long-term unemployment. Obama likes rewarding those doing good in the environment or public schools, and at the same time rewards those doing bad in the labor market. Someone please explain...

This Sunday, Nov. 30th, let's talk about pragmatism and unemployment benefits. How does pragmatism compare to other ideologies? Can it offer a principled approach to unemployment and other problems? Are American workers due an equivalent job and wages after being laid off? Obama claims the feds are on solid ground in providing jobs to the unemployed, and at the same time states that we're a free market economy. What do you think? What are the Constitutional and Biblical considerations for the federal government coming to the aid of the unemployed?

Oh, don't forget your pragmatic solutions...

God Save the U.S.A.