I just read the best article I have ever seen explaining how government stimulus doesn't work and why. I think it is very understandable for most people.
www.heritage.org/Research/Economy/bg2354.cfm
The only thing I would add is to comment on why politicians are infatuated with Keynesian stimulus programs instead of things that work in real life. It's really, really simple. They are politicians, drunk with power and not too concerned about the future. Stimulus and fiscal policy in general involve very publicly handing out money to people (who now owe you). The other choices are monetary policy, which has to do with open market operations, interest rates, YAWN. Then there is tax policy, which sometimes can be sexied up so people understand they owe you. Overall, it's a no-brainer if you're a politician. The only thing that could make it better is if they gave you truckloads of cash to shovel off the back of a truck to likely voters. It's almost the same, but it would be nice if people could physically watch you do it.
Of course, when you give the trillions to bankers, unions, Fortune 500 companies, and various scuzzy friends of yours instead of regular citizens, there's a question what benefit there could possibly be. Do I want to know?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment