The headline for a front-page article in today’s Wall Street Journal: “Calls Grow To Increase Stimulus Spending.”
Who’s calling? “Some economists.”
What’s worrying “some economists?”
Unemployment.
Why don’t those people just find jobs so “some economists” can quit worrying?
Here is an excerpt:
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Some economists are pressuring the White House to enact a second round of stimulus spending or find some other way to avert a prolonged job and wage slump. But the White House is in a tough spot. Officials want to give the $787 billion stimulus package passed in February time to work — only 10% of the spending is out the door so far — and there is little appetite in Congress, particularly among Republicans, for spending more money at a time of record deficits.
The Generational Theft Act of 2009 (the so-called stimulus package) was not written to stimulate the economy — that was bilge water used to wash down the lie. The Generational Theft Act of 2009 is the biggest pork project and payola scam in the history of politics, and we’re all on the hook while watching the skyrocket’s red glare. (See the July money supply graph from the St. Louis Fed, and weep.)
No appetite for spending money? Ha. Cap’n Trade and Obamacare require oceans of money. If Senate Democrats vote down Cap’n Trade, if Congress refuses to enact Obamacare, then there will be evidence of federal lawmakers climbing on a tight-budget bandwagon.
As a sucker punch to the economy, the federal minimum wage will rise from $6.55/hr to $7.25/hr on July 24th.
From personal experience, I can tell you what happens when such a mandated wage hike occurs: fewer people have to cover more hours. That is a bad kind of increase in productivity, because the workers get stretched too thinly. In service sector jobs especially, it would be better to have more people: five guys swarming your car means your car is done faster and details are checked better than if three guys are working. Working conditions become harsher because fewer people share the load.
Businesses don’t have extra money sloshing around to cover the extra wage cost. That means either fewer hours to keep the cost down, or higher prices — not a welcome suggestion with consumers all across the country closing their wallets.
Tags: barack obama, Business, Deficit, fiscal policy, minimum wage, monetary policy, Politics, unemployment, United States Congress, Wall Street Journal
