The older we get, the more jaded we become when it comes to party-line toeing apologists for our nation’s two largest political parties. It inevitably comes down to, “We’re right, they’re wrong, blah blah blah.” Perhaps the only other thing that’s dumber is the Republican civil war in which a group of tightly-wound, ideologically-bound people view anyone who don’t adhere to the orthodoxy as “not Republican.” But, we digress. Back to the matter at hand.

Today, as has been widely reported, national unemployment numbers topped 10 percent for the first time in 26 years. All year, the nation’s sagging economy has been laid at the feet of President Barack Obama by conservatives. The disorganized liberal base points the finger at former President George W. Bush and GOP congressional leadership. But, hey, what about 1983? Will the same conservatives attacking Obama say that the sainted Reagan should be blamed for the conditions of ’83, when he’d been president for over two years, or will they look further back to Carter? At the same time, will liberals give Carter a total pass and unload on Reagan?

It’s nuts. In reality, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Barack Obama get way too much credit, pro and con, for the economy — it’s the same with every president. OPEC’s oil embargo was a more than significant contributor to the economic problems of the ’70s and early ’80s. Historians have written that Richard Nixon probably wouldn’t have been impeached if the economy was doing better. It’s why Carter beat Gerry Ford, and a major reason of why Carter wasn’t reelected. We have our own reasons to dislike Reagan. While he was making sure the rich got richer, our parents, with college degrees, couldn’t find work for a decent amount of time during that ’83 slump. Then there were the S&L scandals, bailouts, &c. that sent our family around the South and us to six different elementary schools in five states. Again, digressing.

The point is, with the exception of starting wars without declaring a state of war, executive orders and general directives to agency heads, the president can’t have that much impact in a short amount of time. If a Republican was in the White House right now, Democrats would be losing their heads over the unemployment rate, burning up DailyKos‘ bandwidth and the like. And so, Republicans are going to rip on Obama. But, it’s all so much bullshit.

There is such a thing as the business cycle. Maybe you’ve heard of it. Since the Depression, the government has done an OK job of managing the system to where the peaks and valleys aren’t that extreme. However, there are no short-term solutions, and any solution won’t come out fully-birthed with a donkey or an elephant emblazoned on it.

We need help.

As was reported today, South Carolina’s unemployment rate hit 11 percent, which still puts our corner of the South second nationally, behind the captain of the Rust Belt, Michigan.

We need new ideas, infusions of capital, something, anything to get people back into work and companies growing, not closing down. And, there lies the rub. With apologies to some of our elected officials, we need the stimulus dollars coming to the Palmetto State, because, and it should be blatantly obvious at this point, South Carolina needs to be stimulated.

Our economy is like a man on a gurney who is coding. He has heart issues. He may be a tad overweight. He could be a smoker. But, when he is coding, you do not deal with dietary restrictions and pamphlets on smoking cessation. You grab the paddles and shock the system back into a regular beat.

Austerity measures are not going to help. Paying down the debt will help, but not immediately. People need jobs now. People need to pay bills now. People need to provide for their families now. They do not have the luxury of waiting for policies to have an effect two, three, four, five years down the line.

Gov. Mark Sanford has that luxury. Families like mine do not. We did not have that luxury in the early 1980s, when the economy was as bad as it is now, and my parents, who both had college degrees, could not find work.

Let’s shock the system. Let’s get people back to work. The lives of South Carolinians are more important than being wedded to an economic ideology. When times get better, as they did in the 1990s, then we can go back to a trim and a haircut when it comes to budgeting. But, we are in a crisis right now, and we need to, frankly, chill the hell out and be pragmatic about it.

The House Labor, Commerce and Industry Committee announced today two days for hearings to listen to testimony from small businesses on the “Small Business Red Tape Reduction” bill. The intention of the bill is to reduce barriers for small businesses in South Carolina so that the businesses, and the state’s economy, can be more successful.

“We want to give those individuals who are driving our state’s economy the first opportunity to have a voice in this debate,” Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell said in a statement. “With an unemployment rate approaching 10 percent, government should be looking for ways to help economic progress that will lead to job growth. Their hands-on knowledge of how over-burdensome, red tape regulations hinder growth and make their jobs more difficult will be invaluable in the drafting of this bill.”

During debate on several bills in the House this session, representatives have testified that there needs to be legislation brought to the floor that will encourage job creation. The red tape bill is one of those efforts this year.

“Participation from the business community will be a key factor in creating a successful red tape reduction bill,” LCI chairman Bill Sandifer said in a statement. “Without their guidance, it will just be a case of government blindly dictating to businesses what is best for them and could potentially do more harm than good. Our state’s business leaders will help us target and eliminate the red tape that is holding back their growth.”

The hearings will be on March 25 at 2:30 pm and March 26 at 9 a.m.