This morning while reading my local newspaper, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, I was treated to a full page ad by the right-wing/libertarian/free-market fundamentalist "think tank" the Cato Institute on page A8. It is headlined by a quote from then-President elect Barack Obama on January 9, 2009 in reference to a stimulus package:
"There is no disagreement that we need action by our government, a recovery plan that will help jumpstart the economy"
The ad then goes on in really big letters:
With all due respect Mr. President, that is not true.
The advertisement further goes on to say (with talking points that we have heard for nearly 30+ years) that "more government spending did not pull us out of the Great Depression" nor did it "help end Japan's lost decade of the 1990s". It also lays out the same tired trickle-down mantra as it's main recommendation:
Lower tax rates and a reduction in the burden of government are the best ways of using fiscal policy to boost growth.
The ad is then signed by approximately 240-250 economists from across the country.
What I find galling about this ad is the fact that as the economy crumbles all around us and as our infrastructure deteriorates even further after decades of neglect, these people have the unmitigated gall to recommend EVEN MORE OF THE SAME CRAP that helped cause the mess we are currently suffering.
A kicker to this "unmitigated gall" is the fact that a significant percentage of the signatories of this ad are from PUBLIC, TAX-SUPPORTED UNIVERSITIES. If govenment spending is such a burden, perhaps these "public employees" can help reduce this burden by moving into the "superior" private sector. Lord knows they aren't good economists, if they were, maybe we wouldn't be in the mess we currently in.