Stimulated Ignorance

Background: A local Democratic leader had a letter published singing praises about the "stimulus" bill. Economically, stimulus spending is a fool's game. But when have politicians ever avoided playing the fool?

A recent letter from the local Democratic Club chair Darryl Conliffe accuses Rocky Raczkowski of lying by repeating Republican dogma regarding the inappropriately-named American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Conliffe’s ignorance matches that displayed by Gary Peters, Nancy Pelosi, and the rest of Obama’s comrades in Congress.

Stimulus spending does not create sustained economic growth. It failed when tried by Hoover, Roosevelt, Ford and George W. Bush. It failed when tried by Japan in 1990s. Stimulus spending is based on the discredited theories of John Maynard Keynes which always make a comeback when politicians hold office during the downside of the business cycle and want to appear to be doing something to “fix” the economy.

Stimulus spending misdirects limited resources and wastes additional resources through an inefficient bureaucracy. Stimulus spending doesn’t even do what it purports - increase consumption. Any short-term gain in consumption is canceled out in the long-term when higher taxes or inflation decreases purchasing power.

Perhaps following this upcoming mid-term election beating, Democrats will learn that spending does not create prosperity. Let’s hope Republicans learned this from their 2008 defeat.

[Letter to the Editor - Farmington Observer. Published 10/21/2010.]