-- Posted Tuesday, 17 February 2009 | Digg This Article
| Source: GoldSeek.com
Rick’s Picks
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
“Phenomenally accurate forecasts”
“They know that this bill is not stimulus. They know that this bill will not do anything to create long-term, sustained economic growth.” Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Illinois), quoted in the New York Times, referring to his constituents.
Is this so? Do voters in fact “know” what many politicians are evidently afraid to admit – that the nation is about to squander $800 billion of precious capital on the biggest piece of pork ever to work its way through Congress’s perennially irritable bowel? Our guess is that, yes, the average voter – even the voter who fervently supported Obama in the November election – is skeptical that the stimulus bill will put the economy back on track. But if Americans appear to have suspended their disbelief about this for the time being, it is only because the news media have set aside the legislation’s many unsettling details so that they might trumpet the President’s perhaps unrealistic goals with the same unquestioning zeal that they brought to his message of “change” and “hope” during the campaign
Could it have been just two weeks ago that the news media were zeroing in on such alarming facts as that each job created or saved by the bill will cost taxpayers $275,000? So much for yesterday’s news. Whatever misgivings we may have had a week ago, we are now being asked, simply, to believe. Although we doubt that Congress is any more believing than the voters, we can sympathize with the Democrats who had to enact the measure at the point of Nancy Pelosi’s gun. Virtually all of them voted for the bill, creating a legislative phalanx that shattered nearly unanimous Republican opposition. The bill garnered a total of three Republican votes, all of them in the Senate, but we doubt the Republicans risked much in opposing it. Theirs was a principled opposition, after all, and it was obviously commensurate with widespread public skepticism that has attended the bill’s passage.
Ironically, and despite the size of the stimulus, Democrats haven’t risked much either, since the voters understand that it was essential for the Powers That Be to at least appear to be doing something to get the economy moving. Fortunately for the Democrats, although it seems almost inconceivable that the stimulus will strengthen the economy over the long run, it is unlikely to fail in some dramatic or decisive way that would bring the wrath of voters down on Congress. It is pure political expedience, is all, but if there’s an upside, it will come with the epiphany that more Government is not the answer. The correct answer -- letting the banks fail --would have been a no-brainer for the likes of Adam Smith and David Ricardo. However, we’d have to concede that promoting such ideas to fruition might have gotten the likes of Smith and Ricardo lynched.
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Rick's Picks publishes a daily trading newsletter for gold, stock, commodity, and mini-index traders 240 times per year. Information and commentary contained herein comes from sources believed to be reliable, but this cannot be guaranteed. Past performance should not be construed as an indicator of future results, so let the buyer beware. Rick's Picks does not provide investment advice to individuals, nor act as an investment advisor, nor individually advocate the purchase or sale of any security or investment. From time to time, its editor may hold positions in issues referred to in this service, and he may alter or augment them at any time. Investments recommended herein should be made only after consulting with your investment advisor, and only after reviewing the prospectus or financial statements of the company. Rick's Picks reserves the right to use e-mail endorsements and/or profit claims from its subscribers for marketing purposes. All names will be kept anonymous and only subscribers' initials will be used unless express written permission has been granted to the contrary. All Contents © 2009, Rick Ackerman. All Rights Reserved. www.rickackerman.com
-- Posted Tuesday, 17 February 2009 | Digg This Article | Source: GoldSeek.com
