Okay, it's official. The inmates are not only running the asylum; they are fitting us all out in straight jackets and inviting us in to live.

This morning the President gave a speech outlining his administration's push to get Americans back working again. Trumpeting the "improvement" in the unemployment rate, which clocked in at the beginning of this month at 10% rather than 10.2%, Mr. Obama called this "welcome news."

Respectfully submitted, Mr. President, the numbers are as honest as the so-called 1.6 million jobs "created or saved" by the stimulus package. In other words, they're as phony as a three-dollar bill. No, strike that. They're as phony as the value of a dollar bill these days.

The real rate of unemployment is closer to 20% than it is to 10%.

Since 1947 the Bureau of Labor Statistics declines to count all unemployed. Consequently decisions are continually being made with bad numbers.

Even Wall Street is finally starting to take the monthly unemployment numbers with a huge grain of salt. When the 10% figure was unveiled last week, it should have translated into a huge market rally. It didn't.

But undeterred, the President waded in today with a four point speech to "further" improve the number of employed Americans.

Here's what he is proposing:

1. Help small business to grow by waiving fees on SBA loans and eliminating capital gains on business investment. To provide loans (since the banks aren't lending) TARP funds will be used.
2. Improve infrastructure by modernizing transportation and communications.
3. Cash for Caulkers and new clean energy jobs will be created.
4. Provide emergency relief to senior citizens and increase the duration of unemployment benefits.

Now we're not employment specialists, but the flaws in these proposals don't require an MBA or PhD to see.

We'll grant the President the point that helping small businesses to find money for growth, expansion or start-up is a great way to jump-start the job market. But funneling TARP funds through the SBA is NOT the way to go.

You might remember that the TARP money was initially given to banks to get the banks to lend, which they didn't do then and they're not doing now. Unfortunately, the SBA has a pretty poor track record lately in lending to small businesses as well. The small number of SBA loans that have been made this year pale when compared to the number of applicants looking for these loans; once again proving that government does a failing job of providing aid to those who need it.

As for the improvements to infrastructure, when the $787 billion stimulus package was passed at the beginning of the year only 5% was used for infrastructure projects. Why? Coupled with the fact that many of the jobs lost over the past year have been white-collar ones, how many stock analysts and bankers and lawyers are really going to be able, let alone want, to fix potholes and pave roads? And will these jobs be right to work or union only? It is likely that firms already in business will get these assignments saving some jobs but not creating a whole lot more.

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