As the President admitted in today’s installment of “Lie to You”, the ranks of the unemployed are continuing to grow. According the official reports, another 539,000 jobs were lost in the month of April, keeping the overall unemployment rate at its highest level in more than 25 years.

For the hardest hit by the recession, the unemployed – many still adrift in uncertain economic waters – Obama mans the signal light of the USS America to send a message of hope. Speaking in a press conference Friday, using his standard verbal mash of generalities, he promises to make it easier for unemployed people to get benefits while attending college or technical school, or even participating in an apprenticeship to retrain into other careers. President Obama said:

“In the weeks to come, I will also lay out a fundamental rethinking of our job training, vocational education, and community college programs.  It’s time to move beyond the idea that we need several different programs to address several different problems — we need one comprehensive policy that addresses our comprehensive challenges.”

That’s all well and good, and will do as much to help individuals in the midst of suffering as telling the people of New Orleans, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina’s devastation, to just stay put and wait for help to arrive.

The Obama administration’s vision of government as an economic Medic One, Johnny-on-the-spot to patch up any financial injuries suffered by “average Americans”, is an illusion that comforts those who believe in the myth of the New Deal’s efficacy. It is a nightmare to those who know better and see the promises of the President as hollow, self-serving, and destructive to the system of values that have made American great.

Should the federal government even be assuming the role of “rescuing families”, as President Obama said when speaking earlier this year about the administration’s reverse-incentive plan to refinance home mortgages? Is the economy best served when companies that have mismanaged costs, and failed to provide competitive and appealing products to market, are given billion dollar bailouts? Or do these interventions separate the behavior of actors in the economy from the consequences of bad actions? More to the point, to these measures pre-empt the kind of resurgence of entrepreneurship and industry that is required to get companies back into a position to begin hiring again?

Consider the parable that follows and how Obama’s compassionate platitudes, made while he stands on the necks of banks and the creators of jobs – corporations – might be viewed later as a preface to an economic Katrina that will have far more devastating effects on American families.

***

A charming young entrepreneur, Ron, following the most profitable and successful year of his life, decides to take a dozen of his closest friends and their guests on a two-week vacation to a private island getaway in the Caribbean and charters a 78-foot yacht for a luxurious and comfortable voyage.

Included on the guest list is his brother, Joe, a gentle soul possessing his own brand of charisma but not blessed with ambition or luck in the absence of it. These differences had never stopped Ron and Joe from enjoying each other’s company immensely, so they and the other twenty-four passengers boarded the luxurious yacht under sunny skies. The vessel departed with a fusillade of popping champagne corks and the festive sounds of steel drums playing topside.

The yacht sailed through calm waters. Guests danced, mingled, and splashed in the pool atop the rear promenade. A good time was being had by all.

After two days of uneventful sailing, the ship drew within sight of its destination. The island paradise was visible on the horizon when a terrible sound of wrenching metal was heard from below the waterline. Poor navigation had driven the yacht onto a reef and – since the vessel moving at cruising speed – the hull was gashed in several spots along the yacht’s entire length. It would be only an hour or less until the multi-million dollar luxury craft would be underwater and the Coast Guard estimated more than three hours to reach their remote location.

Ron and Joe worked quickly to quell the rising panic, pointing to the island in the distance and reminding everyone of the two dinghies that the ship carried for use in just such an emergency. The craft would be just enough to carry all hands to the island, but each dinghy would be full to capacity. Joe and Ron agreed that with time running out they would split the entire group and each of them would prepare and coordinate the evacuation of their assigned party.

While Joe busied himself managing the distribution of life jackets and rationing of supplies, he glanced over at Ron’s group and was immediately confused. Half of Ron’s group was busy splashing around in the swimming pool, while the others were doing the same tasks as Joe’s team. After ten minutes, those in the pool hopped out and took over the work of their drier counterparts, who took the opportunity to jump in the pool themselves, all under Ron’s watchful eye.

Joe was baffled, having always respected Ron’s knack for organization and rationality. But there was no time to question his brother’s methods; Joe had his own hands full preparing his party for a trek of several miles across ocean waters. He calmed his own anxiety by visualizing the Coast Guard helicopters that were, even now, rushing across the Caribbean to their rescue.

As the yacht sank dangerously low in the water, the lifeboats were lowered and all parties loaded into them. Meanwhile, the skies became crowded with black clouds, and the two dinghies motored with some anxiety toward the safety of the island.

The storm intercepted their small craft. Winds howled, rain pounded down, and the boats pitched perilously in high swells. Less than a mile from shore, the weather overcame the boats and they capsized, one after another, and their passengers thrown into the water. Joe attempted to find the members of his group and his brother, but in the driving rain and tempestuous seas they could not be found.

Clutching his life jacket for reassurance, Joe kicked toward what he thought was the direction of the island. He kicked for what seemed like an eternity until the storm departed and he could see that he was actually close to the island. Swimming ashore, Joe lay on the beach among the palm fronds and seaweed that had been scattered on the sand by the storm.

As he regained his energy, he waited for other members of his party to arrive on shore. After hours, with the sun hanging low in the sky, Joe walked down the length of the beach in the hope the survivors had landed elsewhere.

After a short while, he noticed a rising column of smoke in the distance and ran to find his brother and a dozen of their friends and relatives gathered around the bonfire. Ron ran and embraced Joe, relieved to know that he had survived the harrowing ordeal.

“We thought you didn’t make it,” Ron said. “The others from your lifeboat are either missing or their bodies have washed ashore.” Ron gestured at a set of seven mounds in the sand, which Joe painfully realized were graves.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Joe looked at the people around the fire. All but two of Ron’s party sat, shivering, but alive.

“I don’t understand,” Joe said to his brother. “So many of your party made it ashore, but all of mine have perished. I thought I was preparing them to survive by making sure they had life jackets and supplies they might need. Yours spent half of their time swimming in the pool.”

Ron’s complexion went pale. “Joe,” he said, “I was making sure they could swim, or at least tread water, and would know to remain calm. I also told them to keep note of the direction of the wind in relation to the island to increase their chances of making it shore. I wanted them to have the tools to keep themselves afloat.”

Joe sank to his knees in grief. “I expected the Coast Guard to show up and save us when things got bad.”

Ron placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I prepared them to survive if they didn’t.”

***

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