Maggie's Farm

There’s nothing like a crisis to play on the public’s insecurity and expand the reach of government. There’s nothing like a serious financial crisis to get economists of all persuasions on board.

Opportunity in Crisis

“In this crisis lies an opportunity to create the jobs that America needs, doing the work that America needs,” said Larry Summers, Obama’s top economic adviser, at a press conference yesterday.

The best intentions face a stark reality: There may be more money than opportunities.

It’s one thing to spend money to improve and update crumbling infrastructure. It’s quite another to find projects on short notice. There’s a limit to how fast even our profligate politicians can get money out the door.

What is defined as a "crisis" is quite subjective, if not entirely trumped up and manipulated for political purposes. The "opportunity in crisis" is, indeed, to expand the reach and control of government, whether it's war, recession - or manufactured crises like "health care." That's been the Statist tactic since FDR, and I resent it.