Otherwise Known As Economic Stimulus

As someone who is at least nominally considered to be conservative, I am really really (and I do mean really) annoyed by this. I understand the philosophy of it. People have money to spend, so they buy things. Someone has to make these things (or at least drive the truck that brings them to the store) and therefore has a job that pays a salary. Now this person wants to buy things and well the economy grows. Or the pie gets higher. Or something…

Of course the government doesn’t have any extra money to toss into the economy and it’s not a conservative thing to be using government expenditures in such a manner anyway. Tax cuts and rebates on the other hand, that is conservative, so that’s what they call it. From my viewpoint though, it looks like a government spending program not a tax cut. The truth is in the stated intent of the program, economic stimulus.

If You’re Going To Do It Do It Right

The problem with tax rebates as stimulus is that people do economically inefficient things with the money. Like saving it. Or by stimulating the criminal parts of the economy that you’d really rather be left alone. Some percentage of the money doesn’t get to where you want it to go. If you want to dump 170 Billion (with a B) dollars into the economy, then dump 170 Billion dollars and stand by it. I won’t like it, I’ll disagree with it and think it’s a bad plan, but at least I can respect and appreciate the intent. This way though, it takes 170 Billion dollars to get something less than 170 Billion worth of stimulus. Maybe we should change what we print on our money to “Doing Less With More…”

Don’t expect me to give it back though…