Civil Candor

political cynicism for turbulent times

Bob Prokop, the author of Civil Candor

Federal Infrastructure Bank: Cash For a Jobless Tomorrow

Last update December 9, 2017

Chris Dodd is not seeking reelection, but he is not through with us just yet. If President Obama has his way, the senator’s legacy will include an expensive new entry on Washington’s list of handouts to organized labor.

Mr. Obama’s newest election year sop to the unemployed is a $50 billion scheme to fund public works projects with an infrastructure bank.

Does Skills for America’s Future Confirm Our Decline?

Last update November 26, 2017

If the United States is to meet the President’s goal of once again having the highest college attainment rate in the world by 2020, community colleges must lead the way.

President Barack Obama [1]

Proclamations from Washington containing the words “if” and “must” are never a good thing. 

The Small Business Shutdown Obama Doesn’t Discuss

Last update December 31, 2017

Despite the job loss resulting from the forced shutdown of General Motors and Chrysler dealerships, the auto industry bailout is still a focus of the president’s self-congratulatory stump speeches:

Now, the worse thing about it is that if we had done nothing, not only were your jobs gone, but supplier jobs were gone and dealership jobs were gone, and the communities that depend on them would have been wiped out.[1]

Federal Hiring Freeze? We Need Civil Service Reform

Last update June 18, 2017

We will impose a net hiring freeze on non-security federal employees and ensure that the public sector no longer grows at the expense of the private sector.1

A Pledge to America

The promise sounds good, but even if the GOP has the opportunity to fulfill their pledge to freeze federal hiring, it will freeze too little and come much too late.

Special Interests: Are Obama’s Bigger?

Last update September 1, 2015

So, America may be speaking out, but Republicans in Congress sure aren’t listening. They want to put special interests back in the driver’s seat in Washington.

President Barack Obama [1]

The decisive influence of special interests has made a mockery of our representative government.

Want to Work? Work for a Union.

Last update September 1, 2015

Now, let me tell you, another thing we’ve done is to make long-overdue investments in upgrading our outdated, our inefficient national infrastructure. We’re talking roads.  We’re talking bridges. We’re talking dams, levees.  But we’re also talking a smart electric grid that can bring clean energy to new areas.

Tricked Again: Obama Ignores the Middle Class

Last update March 4, 2018

The strength of our economy can be measured by the strength of our middle class.

President Barack Obama  [1]

Washington adores the middle class, and politicians seeking reelection are making a special effort to convey the middle class’s bedrock importance. The president began fighting for the middle class even before he assumed office:

As president, Obama will fight to modernize government policies to secure and expand the middle class.