We Could All Use A Few Billion Dollars Now And Then

Shamelessly pinched from American Digest

Thomas Sowell on "jolting the economy."

Amid all the political and media hysteria, national output has declined by less than one-half of one percent. In fact, it may not have declined even that much-- or at all-- when the statistics are revised later, as they very often are.

We are not talking about the Great Depression, when output dropped by one-third and unemployment soared to 25 percent.

What we are talking about is a golden political opportunity for politicians to use the current financial crisis to fundamentally change an economy that has been successful for more than two centuries

and

Whatever the merits of trying to shore up some financial institutions, in order to prevent a major disruption of the credit flows that keep the whole economy going

--which Sowell was for on the condition it be done quickly, before individual Congressmen had time to sink their mitts in--but now, he sees bi-partisan disaster (much worse than partisan disaster) looming:

Too many people who argue that there is a beneficial role for the government to play in the economy glide swiftly from that to the conclusion that the government will in fact confine itself to playing such a role.

In the light of history, this is a faith which passeth all understanding.