I Got Yer Stimulus Package Right Here!

I apologize about the lame joke, but seriously, I couldn’t pass it up. Anyway……

At work, there has been some talk about the money the government will be giving us for the “Economic Stimulus Package”. There are those who think the package will work and those that don’t. It’s those that don’t that I found the most interesting. Their reasoning, oft repeated in the media, is that the plan will do more to stimulate the Chinese economy rather than the American economy. This is because in order to fund the plan, the government (being already in debt), will have to borrow money in order to give it to us. This “borrowing” often comes in the form of selling Treasury Bonds, often to foreign countries. According to the Treasury website, China (as of Dec 2007) was the second highest possessor of those Treasury Securities. Alongside that issue, is the fact that many of the products purchased will be manufactured in China. Ergo, the government will be further indebting us to China, in order for us to buy things from China which will somehow magically help us.

Also, there is the question of whether or not the idea is fundamentally flawed. I can’t put it better than Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute, so I’m just going to quote him, “The first problem with this theory: People aren't that stupid. The idea is that, if Washington gives people money to increase their consumption, it will prompt businesses to expand their production and hire more workers. Thing is, while producers might notice an upward blip in sales after the rebate checks go out, they'll know it's temporary — with sales destined to fall back once the checks are spent. Businesses just don't hire more employees or build new factories in response to temporary blips in demand…Producers wouldn't increase production, so we'd just have more dollars chasing the same amount of goods. That's the recipe for higher inflation."

Now, I’m no economist, so I have no idea if the plan will work or not. Frankly, I’m not too interested in it anyway. What captured my attention was how these people that lamented how buying things was going to ultimately aid China, were the same people that scoffed at my anti-consumerism a year prior. When I talk about sweatshops and making moral decisions about where to spend my money, I’m regarded as a freak. Anybody that would give up the convenience of shopping at Wal-Mart, must be some sort of anti-American nutjob (unless you are rich, at which point you stop buying goods from Wal-Mart and instead buy shares of Wal-Mart). Actually, now I remember, I was told I was in a cult. Yeah, I’m in the cult of Fuck You. Don’t fucking complain about how everyone’s going to buy Chinese made merchandise as you sit there in your Chinese made clothes. Plus, stop using the vague, all-encompassing word “people”. It’s not ‘The stimulus package won’t work because people are going to buy Chinese crap.” What you should be saying is ‘The stimulus package won’t work because I am going to buy Chinese crap.” Take some fucking responsibility for your actions and their consequences, Asshole.

In other news, I’ve found religion finally. This video depicts the Reverend that I follow. Godspeed, Rev. Billy, Godspeed.