Glassman on Stimulus
James Glassman has this really insightful article on economic stimulus in the March issue (now online) of Commentary magazine (at commentarymagazine.com). Readers of Bastiat’s Bastions will note that Mr. Glassman is also a fan of Bastiat and references the same story “What is seen and what is unseen,” that we have mentioned here repeatedly, starting with the first post here in January of 2006.
-MC
February 28th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
1. Americans are too proud to do hard labor. I agree that there is work to be done everywhere.
2. The stimulus package is a good idea. I hope that the Americans use the money wisely.
March 13th, 2009 at 8:12 am
Jimmy,
Are you so sure the stimulus is a good idea. Can you be sure that we don’t just end up with more dollars in the system, followed by high rates of inflation, followed by extreme hardship of those on fixed incomes? This stimulus, like the Bush tax rebate stimulus packages are just attempts at buying votes to stay in power. People will credit the politicians for the goodies they get under stimulus or the jobs they get, but will follow those same politicians to blame businesses for raising prices when all that money starts getting spent.
Saying something is a good idea is not enough. You have to say why. Agreeing and hoping also is not enough. We have to dwelve into the “whys” of these questions. We surely cannot just accept the word of a politician here or an economist there. Recall the quotes at the top of the syllabus.
The point of studying economics is so as not to be fooled by economists. Joan Robinson
…or by politicians. Anon. (ok, that’s really me and my 2 cents worth)
BTW, is it that Americans are too proud or could it be something else or is it just easier to vote to spend other people’s hard won money.
-MC