Is the Recession Really Ending?
My answer is “no” in the San Diego Union-Tribune. I’ve gotten some hate mail on this one. My favorite so far was a guy telling me to read up on the Great Depression so I’d see the beneficial effects of government intervention. An excerpt:
The government and media analysts should stop talking as if the “success” of these programs [TARP and Obama stimulus] is self-evident. A simple look at the facts suggests that the interventions have been abject failures. Instead of cheerleading a bogus rescue, media analysts should tackle the obvious question: If this weak performance doesn’t cause proponents of massive deficit spending and corporate handouts to doubt themselves, what would?
Would a more free-market approach have yielded better results? Americans don’t know because neither the Bush nor Obama administrations considered that option. The next administration to tackle a recession should look to the market more than intervention. There is still time for the Obama administration, because the current recession, contrary to news reports, may not be over after all.
