How Do You Stimulate an Economy that No Longer Exists?

You don’t “stimulate” an economy by taking money from one part of the economy and giving it to another. Wealth must be created. It can’t be created in a totally shut down economy. You can’t stimulate a nonexistent economy.

At best, these stimulus bills will bring brief relief (days or weeks) to people at the expense of someone else who will be taxed for it–now, or later. That’s not how you promote economic growth. Why do you think the economy boomed after tax CUTS in 2017?

It’s like an alcoholic “stimulating” his mood with a drink. Nothing in objective reality changed during the spell of intoxication. It just bought the drinker a little time. Until the next drink.

Notice the compulsive parade of stimulus packages? Stimulus spending is an addiction. It’s a way for politicians to anesthetize us into believing they didn’t shut down all economic activity indefinitely. It’s a way for self-delusional people to anesthetize themselves into believing that there are no consequences for totally giving into fear and allowing hapless politicians to take total control over every last detail of our lives.

At some point, we will have to go back to work despite the fact the coronavirus will still be out there. We can’t drink away our sorrows indefinitely in government money.

 

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