Here is an excellent Real Clear Markets piece by George Bittlingmayer, Arthur Havenner and Thomas Hazlett explaining that the so-called stimulus package of 2009 has been a complete flop in its proclaimed mission of getting people back into useful jobs.
I just love the concluding paragraph: “Like a rain dance that produces no clouds, we are now into our fourth round of federal deficit creation — the automatic ‘stabilizers’ followed by the Bush (2008), Obama I (2009), and Obama II (2010) versions. With each dry day, the deficit dancing intensifies. When the rain finally falls, we will be told that the recovery is a tribute to the Keynesian Gods. But it’s already clear that something has gone wrong: the ‘stimulus’ chant has fallen silent. Our dance on a fiscal cliff has lost its theme music.”
The great Obama stimulus did exactly the opposite of what we were told it would do. Anyone want to bet that the great ObamaCare bill to give everyone affordable, high quality health care will turn out differently?
