printThe Royal “We” is unwarranted; and it’s not only me. The following statement was signed by more than 200 academic economists, and posted by the Cato Institute. The Wall Street Journal buried the statement among a list of economists touting the stimulus package–and the “principle” of printing and borrowing the country out of a depression:
“Notwithstanding reports that all economists are now Keynesians and that we all support a big increase in the burden of government, we the undersigned do not believe that more government spending is a way to improve economic performance. More government spending by Hoover and Roosevelt did not pull the United States economy out of the Great Depression in the 1930s. More government spending did not solve Japan’s ‘lost decade’ in the 1990s. As such, it is a triumph of hope over experience to believe that more government spending will help the U.S. today. To improve the economy, policymakers should focus on reforms that remove impediments to work, saving, investment and production. Lower tax rates and a reduction in the burden of government are the best ways of using fiscal policy to boost growth.”
Update I (Jan 30): I always give credit where it’s due. Michelle Malkin is the only conservative writer that I know of who’s consistently protested the bailouts and assorted ‘stimuli’—not only the porky parts. And not because she is familiar with the Austrian Business Cycle Theory (ABCT), but because she is a true fiscal conservative. Good enough:
Stimulus Slush Fund for Housing Entitlement Thugs
The UAW’s Money-Squandering Corruptocracy
The Paulson Putsch: Time For A Fiscal-Conservative Counterinsurgency
Update II (Jan 31): Malkin’s moniker for her party: The Bend Over Republicans (BOR).
Malkin has incurred my libertarian wrath, expressed in “Internment Chic.” However, she deserves the credit Ann Coulter undeservedly gets.
The Canadian conservative writer Kevin Grace captured the core of Coulter’s “craft”:
“The secret to becoming a successful right-wing columnist is to echo the mob while complimenting yourself on your daring. That’s all there is to Ann Coulter’s craft, the rest is exploitation of the sexual masochism of the American male—he just can’t get enough of the kitten with claws.”
Or, as I’ve put it, “The secret to success is to keep the masses euphoric, moronic, and pheromonic.”
Coulter is an attractive GOP cheerleader, who has never opposed The Party in any meaningful way. When matters get heated, she further escapes into her formulaic, “Liberals This; Liberals That.” A recipe that works well for her.
In truth there are thousands and thousands of economists who oppose the Keynesian psychosis. As with Global Warming, mainstream media defines and controls the gates of the nuthouse.
By the way your tribute to George Reisman is excellent. Mr. Reisman, who is naturally not a Keynesian, writes the most valuable economic blog on the internet. I believe he was a student of the great Ludwig von Mises. His blog posts, though infrequent, are priceless.
I swear by all of Saddam Hussein’s nuclear arsenal that government spending can create “Green” jobs out of thin air with no “invisible” price! Whenever it comes to expanding government, the so-called “experts” are always in “agreement” – so it seems to the media. Later (in hindsight if Obama’s ratings plunge) the media may apologize – but you already mentioned the schlocky media in your “death of newspapers” blog. The “all in agreement” argument reminds me back in 1988 at a “intelligence modeling” meeting when I dissented from the “consensus” and stated that forecasting “detailed engineering diagrams” of what weapons “the Soviet Union” would field in 2050 was absurd and that we couldn’t begin to forecast technology breakthroughs 62 years in advance and we didn’t even know if there would be a Soviet Union in 2050 … – the debate was ended when some big authoritarian colonel got up and told me to “shut up”. The media want their access to Messiah Obama and his flunkies and so they pass on the Gospel (Global Warming, Economic Stimulus, etc.) and know when to “shut up”.
Bob, I believe that the Reismans were students of Ayn Rand, before the schism. I wonder why that hasn’t been noted here. [You have just noted it here.–IM]
Ms Mercer: I salute you for being big enough to give credit to another blogger’s (Ms Malkin’s) consistent stand against the bailouts/stimulus packages. Too often in the blogosphere people pretend that others do not exist — sometimes to the detriment of getting the truth out. (Not that Ms Malkin has ever done the same for you — at least as far as I am aware.)
[You are right; she hasn’t. With few exceptions, party Republicans have ignored me since the Iraq War.–IM]