In his latest attack on the free market and what appears to be a calculated political move to appeal to Michigan voters, John McCain wants to create a new welfare program for manufacturing workers.According to the Detroit Free Press, Senator McCain announced yesterday a plan to use federal dollars to make up the salary difference for workers who lose manufacturing jobs and are forced to accept lower-paying jobs until they find new careers.

“This is exactly the kind of plan you expect to hear from the Democratic candidates, not an alleged economic conservative,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “The government should not be in the business of guaranteeing wages. In a dynamic economy, wage and employment changes are inevitable and part of the normal process of economic growth and technological innovation.”

“In addition, McCain’s welfare program has the potential to unleash a series of perverse incentives, the worst of which is the disincentive to learn new skills and assume challenging new career paths. Why make an effort to learn new skills and take on a challenge when John McCain will make taxpayers pay your former wage for even a minimum wage job? The program also has the potential to be exorbitantly expensive as many workers opt to settle for low-paying jobs so long as McCain doles out taxpayer subsidies.”

“This is the latest evidence that John McCain doesn’t appreciate the normal dynamics of a healthy economy and lacks confidence in the ability of workers to forge a successful new career without government handouts.”

The Club for Growth

Just as I was beginning to warm up to the guy he goes and pulls crap like this out of his hat.  Is this his strategy for winning Michigan?  Hell, if I ever get laid off I’ll never go back to work again.  I won’t need to.  John McCain will just give me your money.

That’s what ARG says:

Sununu 52

Shaheen 41.

These numbers don’t make sense, but taken with some of the more recent polls, it does suggest that the race is much more competitive than most thought it would be.  The improving situation in Iraq probably has done the most to help Sununu, but Shaheen’s husbands statements about Obama’s drug use likely helped him a bit as well.  Democrats who thought they had this one in the bag will be sorely disappointed.