Ted, > Nearly every major country in the world put together a stiumulus package when the economic crisis threatened.
No politician is ever rewarded for "doing nothing." That's why every major government power out there has to do something, because otherwise their respective constituents will kick them out of office for inaction.
The luxury of being an economist means never having to deal with the politics, which are often arbitrary, irrational, and motivated by self-interest. By not having to worry about the politics, the economist is free to examine the effects of government intervention on economies, which are often very complex and the results mixed.
Hence when someone defends government intervention on the notion that "almost all economists, left, right, and center" agree on it, I have to call B.S. That says a lot about the arrogance of the guy making the false generalization.
Bottom line: If we're going to do something, I'd rather have people intelligent enough to know this, rather than people so deluded by arrogance that they end up making the situation worse. Unfortunately, I see LOTS of evidence of the latter.
Tenchusatsu |
