Conservatives Have a Point
By Michael Shuman
I'm afraid I agree with Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and nearly all the congressional Republicans that the pork in the approved "stimulus bill" is nauseating. It takes the worst ideas in economic development – massive payouts to government white elephant projects and gigantic incentives to attract, retain, or otherwise bribe global corporations – and puts them on steroids. I'm not condemning every line in the package, but the careless and thoughtless way this bill was assembled, packaged, and shoved through Congress ought to give small-mart advocates pause about the priorities of the new administration. – read more
Comments
Re: Conservatives Have a Point
But does the lack of local business set asides render the stimulus bill any less effective at increasing *national* aggregate demand and *national* economic multipliers (as opposed to those in a particular community), assuming the "Buy America" provisions in the bill are sufficiently strong (which I'm not sure they are)?
I presume the assumption is that national businesses are more likely to spend more of their money abroad? But can that assumption be empirically supported--especially, again, given the Buy America provisions in the bill?
I suppose another assumption is that money takes longer to circulate on a national scale than on more local scales?
Any thoughts on this appreciated.
presques
Re: Conservatives Have a Point
No, Conservatives are just as dumb as the Liberals. The only point is on their heads. The only cure for a depression is a depression. The conservatives just happen to get lucky that whining about big government (well, when it isn't military missions which pad their yachts) is in conjunction with the government doing stupid things.
The solution to too much debt isn't more debt, and everyone knows that. The real problem is that everyone things their job comes from the economy, but we should be thinking in terms of the economy as a side effect of people doing USEFUL things. "Creating Jobs" is what gets the government into trouble. Stimulating THIS economy is like defibrillating a horse that you dug up out of a landslide. Some 90% of the things people have been doing DO NOT NEED TO BE DONE. The sooner we reduce the size of our System of Stupid Systems, the sooner we can look for a useful purpose for our species. Consumption is not a purpose.
Auntiegrav