Spending to Excess isn’t Stimulus
Friday, January 23rd, 2009 By Marc Kilmer
Over at Reason magazine, Steven Chapman has a good critique of the current “stimulus” mania:
We all know how we got into this economic mess. We spent too much, borrowed with abandon, and acted like the bills would never come due. So what’s the prescription for getting out? Spending more, borrowing more, and acting like the bills will never come due.
When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. This alleged cure deserves special scrutiny because it invites our policymakers to redouble the very policies that caused the crisis. Congress and the new administration are all too eager to abandon restraint so that we can overcome the consequences of excess.
Read the whole thing here. Unfortunately, our federal policymakers are unlikely to pass up the opportunity to say they are stimulating the economy (I stress say, since it’s hard to believe their plans will accomplish anything). Why pass up the chance to put out press releases saying that you are working on a fix, even if that “fix” only makes the problem worse?
Tags: Economy, federal government, Spending, stimulus
