Stimulus Skepticism Makes You Stupid; Next Step: War Crime
Greg Mankiw (called out, among many many other folks who disagree with Brad DeLong, as stupid and/or ethics-free and accused of Republican hackery) points out Gary Becker's views on the impending large government spending-focused stimulus plan. My first reaction is how could DeLong have missed a chance to similarly label Becker? I mean, Becker is big game, wot with that Nobel Prize and all. To discredit him with the stupid, ethics-free, hackery charge would have been a coup - exposing this prominent economist for what he truly is would have dispelled skepticism of Obamanomics once and for all! DeLong either didn't see the target or held fire. Perhaps we'll never know. (Also, check out this insouciant disregard for DeLong's penetrating insight.)
My second reaction was to actually read Becker's thoughts and cogitate over them. Becker, despite his obvious hackery, makes a point worth noting - Obama's stimulus plan is heavy on stimulating energy, health, and education. Are these the folks who are out of work? Are we sure it is not hardhats, drywall guys, brick layers, rivet drivers, etc? Also, doesn't energy, healthcare and education require alot of schooling? Does your average unemployed John or Jane know his or her chemistry (carbon chains, butane, ethane and all that)? Healthcare? No schooling required there, no specialized knowledge there, everybody knows how to put in an IV or do a CAT scan. Education? The ins and outs of pedagogy, how children learn, the subtleties of competing curricula...basic stuff, anybody could do it. Don't forget "green" stuff. Millions of people are poised and ready to achieve new frontiers in chemistry that have previously been untrammelled by human progress, we just need to provide a little funding. Ok, the sarcasm was fun, but isn't the point obvious - these are highly technical areas or areas that require advanced training. The people who could do jobs in energy, healthcare and education are relatively few in number and likely already employed. FDR's New Deal paid people to dig ditches, which didn't make economic sense, but at least it paired the work with the skills of the folks who needed work. This stimulus doesn't pair the work with those who need the work, but it does pair money with those that need the money.
My second reaction was to actually read Becker's thoughts and cogitate over them. Becker, despite his obvious hackery, makes a point worth noting - Obama's stimulus plan is heavy on stimulating energy, health, and education. Are these the folks who are out of work? Are we sure it is not hardhats, drywall guys, brick layers, rivet drivers, etc? Also, doesn't energy, healthcare and education require alot of schooling? Does your average unemployed John or Jane know his or her chemistry (carbon chains, butane, ethane and all that)? Healthcare? No schooling required there, no specialized knowledge there, everybody knows how to put in an IV or do a CAT scan. Education? The ins and outs of pedagogy, how children learn, the subtleties of competing curricula...basic stuff, anybody could do it. Don't forget "green" stuff. Millions of people are poised and ready to achieve new frontiers in chemistry that have previously been untrammelled by human progress, we just need to provide a little funding. Ok, the sarcasm was fun, but isn't the point obvious - these are highly technical areas or areas that require advanced training. The people who could do jobs in energy, healthcare and education are relatively few in number and likely already employed. FDR's New Deal paid people to dig ditches, which didn't make economic sense, but at least it paired the work with the skills of the folks who needed work. This stimulus doesn't pair the work with those who need the work, but it does pair money with those that need the money.
posted by Donny Baseball at 10:01 AM
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