All things being equal... I understand. The point is well-made.

But... what if all things aren't equal?  Here’s the rub – there is more going on here than meets the eye.

All the newspaper outlets ran the exact same story. Here's a Google search just to make the point. The Obama Administration views this as a “Jobs Bill.” Here, in the Klamath watershed, everyone is aware of the "KBRA = JOBS" media campaign and Salazar’s charter is do to his boss’s bidding. He will fervently promote the jobs side of this story without allowing any questions about its cost or the impact on our basin's future.

What does the cost-side of the story look like?

For any business or individual to create a job, or supply a benefit, they must have the financial resources to do it. The hamburger shop must charge enough for their burgers, pickles, lettuce and tomatoes to pay the counter-person, cook, janitor and accountant. All of these positions could be the owner or hired-help but there must be enough incentive for the worker to continue to show-up. Maybe all it takes is a cup of coffee and an extra donut, but there must be some incentive.

What does the government sell to cover their operating costs? Nothing!

Where do they get the trillions of dollars for their enormously complex system for supplying benefits, regulating businesses, defending the shores, destroying dams and the like? From taxpayers! It all comes off of your plate — and your children's plate (remember 40% of all Federal Spending is on borrowed money).

In the simplest terms, to put a donut on a government employee’s napkin, I first need to take that donut off of your plate. This is redistribution.

Wait... In this illustration the economy hasn’t been harmed one bit. You still have your job, the government worker has his, the donut factory is still selling donuts at the same rate... What’s wrong?

Indeed, some people might not see the problem that this Great Donut Caper (GDC) presents. It is a fundamental private property rights issue. If the donut belongs to you then it ought to trouble you to think that it could be legislated to someone else. However, if your okay with the ethical and moral implications of this seemingly small infringement, let me point out some other unseen implications.

The transfer of the donut from the private sector to the public sector yielded no net gain — there are still the same number of donuts in the economy. No new donuts were created. Likewise, to create a job in the public sector necessarily requires the extraction of the equivalent resources for that same job from the private sector.

In other words, in the same way someone lost a donut, someone will lose a job. The resources must come from somewhere — and it all comes off of your plate. This helps explain why our economy is suffering despite all of the newspaper hoopla about government efforts to create jobs.