CHARLES LANE: Another Job-Killing Obama Proposal:

President Obama did not mention it in his speech last night, but his American Jobs Act contains one really bad idea that will probably destroy jobs in a misguided effort to save them. I refer to his call for a ban on what some are calling “unemployment discrimination”: the alleged practice by which some companies refuse to hire applicants because they are unemployed, or even announce in their job postings that they don’t hire applicants who aren’t currently working. . . .

Subjecting companies to the risk of job-discrimination litigation is justifiable in the case of pervasive, historically rooted evils such as race or gender bias. But burdening the private sector for this dubious new purpose, in these difficult times, would be a big mistake.

“I agree that there are some rules and regulations that put an unnecessary burden on businesses at a time when they can least afford it,” Obama told the Congress. So why the heck would he create another one?

The most charitable explanation revolves around ineptitude.