72,000 Stimulus Checks Went to Dead People, Economy Has Been Sinking Since April of 2006, and Greenspan on Fear Produced by Bad Government Policies
Arnold Kling: labor capacity utilization is at its lowest level since the recession began. [This implies] the economy has been sinking since April of 2006 and continues to sink, with the decline only interrupted by temporary Census Bureau hiring earlier this year.
Greenspan: fear, produced by bad government policies is undermining the recovery. Same point made by yours truly here.
Doctors: Smartphones with medical apps are not enough; you also need us. “There’s never a time where I would base a clinical decision on solely what I find on one of these apps.”
Bad economic policies (both real and imagined), along with the perception of a non-business friendly Administration (and Congress) has many investors worried. The economic uncertainty has many businesses afraid to invest. It will probably take some time before firms are willing to expand and boost the labor market utilization.
Taking $250 from some people and sending it to other people (and calling it “stimulus”) is bad enough.
But taking $250 from some people and sending it to dead people must do some measurable harm to the economy, no?
No surprise that the stimulous money was wasted. What did you expect?
Sending stimulus checks to dead people is a good example of a misdirected economic policy. It’s pretty hard to boost a dead person’s demand – even with free money. Rather than stimulate dead people, why not create a pro-growth, tax policy where businesses want to hire unemployed workers. A job would increase demand for goods and services more than sending $250 checks to dead people.