By Robert Perrego, at 2:42 pm on March 6th, 2009
Patricia Cohen asserts that the ‘foolish’ economists will still not admit that the free markets do not work in this article in the New York Times (NYSE: NYT).
Yes, that’s correct – this woman wants people who actually studied economics to come around to her line of thinking because she watches the evening news and has made her own ‘astute’ conclusions.
Hey there Patty – did you miss the news stories about Hugo Chavez, 30% inflation, food shortages and his favorite Uncle Fidel?
Patty – maybe you may have noticed that the latest entrant to the free market arena – China – just announced a ’stimulus’ bill that actually created jobs and their market stabilized while the oldest free market player, the U.S. of A. passed a welfare bill and their market cratered.
Call me, let’s talk. I studied economics and I don’t get my opinions from MSNBC and Washington D.C.
Think.
By Robert Perrego, at 1:42 pm on February 6th, 2009
If the people you hired to tell you what condition your finances were in and to advise you on what to do told you that your plans are going to hurt you would you listen to them?
Obama has a bill that has risen to the $900 billion level waiting for a vote in the Senate. Two years ago the Democrats took control of the Congress and appointed the top accountants for the United States; The Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The legal minds that have been elected to write legislation for our country appointed the financial and accounting minds to analyze what they write and give them advice. This has always seemed to be a reasonable way to do things – let the lawyers do what they do best and let the bean counters do what they do best and together, they hopefully can pass good legislation for the good of us all.
This process breaks down when people do not listen to each other. Right now it seems the lawyers are not listening to the accountants. The Congress passed the ‘Stimulus’ Bill on to the Senate last week EVEN THOUGH the accountants said it was a bad bill.
Wednesday, the accountants once again said this ‘Stimulus’ Bill is not a good bill.
Peter Schiff, the President of Euro Pacific Capital and someone who gained notoriety by calling the top of the bubbles in U.S. housing and stocks has an even more precise definition for the effects of this bill. Mr. Schiff says it will be an ‘Unmitigated Disaster’. Let’s not mince words Pete.
While the accountants and finance people use terms such as ‘no good’ and ‘unmitigated disaster’, the most powerful lawyer in the country is not listening one bit. Obama states that not passing this bill is ‘inexcusable and irresponsible’.
Obama was heard to joke today that ‘everybody thinks they’re an economist’. Well, i guess that applies to himself as he is certainly not listening to his accountants and financial people – some people that may know a little more about the probable effects of this bill than a lawyer.
An earlier post on this site examined the $819 billion bill before it grew to $900 billion. The various pieces of this legislation were looked at with an eye towards how many jobs would likely be created by the different spending programs. The conclusion was that $104 of the $815 billion would most likely create additional jobs and that the other $715 billion would create very few. The accountants for the United States think so too.
So why is Obama the lawyer not listening to the accountants the Democrats appointed and pretty much everyone else?
