|
|
|
The $825 billion economic highly publicized economic stimulus packaged signed by President Barack Obama is not the best option for the county, according to an associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
Dr. Joseph H. Haslag spoke at Wednesday’s meeting of the Carthage Kiwanis Club and talked about the stimulus package and what it is designed to do and what, in his opinion, will actually do for the country.
The package has $550 billion in new spending, including $90 for Medicaid spending to states, $79 billion to support education and $42 billion for transportation spending. Only $275 billion goes toward tax relief, primarily changing the depreciation schedules for new capital investment.
Haslag said the basic premise of the plan is that increased government spending will produce more production, which increases the economy.
“But past history and evidence has shown that there is no correlation between government purchases and aggregate output,” said Haslag. “There are no productivity gains, there are future tax liabilities and no one can force people to spend.”
Haslag said he does not see much stimulated effect coming out of the bill.
“A bigger government is not the answer to our economic problems, “ said Haslag. “And that is what we have with this bill. The laws of supply and demand cannot be altered. That is a fact.”
The economics professor said business cycles happen. It is a part of life, he said.
“Little do people know that we could have come out of the Great Depression faster if we didn’t have all the government programs passed to solve the depression,” said Haslag. “I believe the best way is to have the country and government just purge itself out of this recession.
“Bottom line is that there are no simple answer,” continued Haslag. “Business cycles happen. Laws of supply and demand hold because they reflect people acting in their own interest.
Government intervention may not do anything in the near term. It could be deleterious if ‘fixes’ change the rules too much.”
Haslag and his wife, Sara, head up the Show-Me Institute market Solutions for Missouri. It is a research and educational institute dedicated to improving the quality of life for all citizens of Missouri by advancing sensible, well-researched solutions to state and local policy issues.
The institute’s scholars study public policy problems and develop proposals to increase economic opportunity for ordinary Missourians. The Institute them promotes those solutions by publishing studies, briefing papers and other educational materials which help policymakers, the media and the general public gain a better understanding of the issues.
FINAL PLAN:
The final stimulus package passed by the U.S. Congress in February totaled $787 billion including $575 billion in new spending and $212 billion in tax cuts.
The $825 billion economic highly publicized economic stimulus packaged signed by President Barack Obama is not the best option for the county, according to an associate professor of economics at the University of Missouri, Columbia.
Dr. Joseph H. Haslag spoke at Wednesday’s meeting of the Carthage Kiwanis Club and talked about the stimulus package and what it is designed to do and what, in his opinion, will actually do for the country.
The package has $550 billion in new spending, including $90 for Medicaid spending to states, $79 billion to support education and $42 billion for transportation spending. Only $275 billion goes toward tax relief, primarily changing the depreciation schedules for new capital investment.
Haslag said the basic premise of the plan is that increased government spending will produce more production, which increases the economy.
“But past history and evidence has shown that there is no correlation between government purchases and aggregate output,” said Haslag. “There are no productivity gains, there are future tax liabilities and no one can force people to spend.”
Haslag said he does not see much stimulated effect coming out of the bill.
“A bigger government is not the answer to our economic problems, “ said Haslag. “And that is what we have with this bill. The laws of supply and demand cannot be altered. That is a fact.”
The economics professor said business cycles happen. It is a part of life, he said.
“Little do people know that we could have come out of the Great Depression faster if we didn’t have all the government programs passed to solve the depression,” said Haslag. “I believe the best way is to have the country and government just purge itself out of this recession.
“Bottom line is that there are no simple answer,” continued Haslag. “Business cycles happen. Laws of supply and demand hold because they reflect people acting in their own interest.
Government intervention may not do anything in the near term. It could be deleterious if ‘fixes’ change the rules too much.”
Haslag and his wife, Sara, head up the Show-Me Institute market Solutions for Missouri. It is a research and educational institute dedicated to improving the quality of life for all citizens of Missouri by advancing sensible, well-researched solutions to state and local policy issues.
The institute’s scholars study public policy problems and develop proposals to increase economic opportunity for ordinary Missourians. The Institute them promotes those solutions by publishing studies, briefing papers and other educational materials which help policymakers, the media and the general public gain a better understanding of the issues.
FINAL PLAN:
The final stimulus package passed by the U.S. Congress in February totaled $787 billion including $575 billion in new spending and $212 billion in tax cuts.
