Hope and Fail

February: Only government can end unemployment. Today: Only the private sector can end unemployment

At the opening of today’s “Jobs Forum” at the White House, President Obama admonished the business leaders gathered, saying:

While I believe that government has a critical role in creating the conditions for economic growth, ultimately true economic recovery is only going to come from the private sector.

Well, back in February, while stumping for the stimulus package during his first press conference, the president said something similar, but he reversed the roles of government and the private sector.

It is absolutely true that we cannot depend on government alone to create jobs or economic growth. That is and must be the role of the private sector. But at this particular moment, with the private sector so weakened by this recession, the federal government is the only entity left with the resources to jolt our economy back to life … It is only government that can break the vicious cycle …

So which is it? Is it “only government that can” bring back the millions of jobs lost during the current recession, or is it “only going to come from the private sector?”

Or perhaps the president is flip-flopping on this because, all of the claims of the government’s stimulus tracking Web site aside, the massive increase in government spending during his first 11 months in office hasn’t resulted in the jobs recovery we were promised.

Additionally, if new jobs are “only going to come from the private sector,” why didn’t the president invite the Chamber of Commerce or the Federation of Independent Business to the forum? Are they not vital members of the “only” sector that will create jobs?