Gov’t Stimulus Boosts Gov’t Power at Everyone Else’s Expense

Today’s Greensboro News & Record included my letter to the editor discussing government stimulus schemes:

A recent editorial discussing the federal government’s stimulus funds declared, “There shouldn’t be any argument that benefits have accrued” (“Those stimulus funds provide modest relief,” July 28).

True, the specific recipients of the funds have benefited. Many government workers and contractors are still working who may well be unemployed without the federal dollars.

But at whose expense? It is important to note here that government stimulus benefits accrue most heavily to those closest to our political rulers. And because government has no money of its own, every dollar it dedicates to protecting the jobs of the politically connected necessarily is removed from the productive, private sector.

Employment data here in North Carolina clearly show the benefits of the stimulus have been enjoyed almost exclusively by the political class. Since the passage of the stimulus bill, government jobs (local, state and federal) have grown by 5.8 percent in North Carolina. Conversely, private-sector jobs have contracted by nearly 3 percent.

For economic recovery and true job growth to occur, there is needed a replenishment of capital in the private sector to spur investment. Government stimulus schemes, however, can only consume resources and reduce the economy’s much-needed pool of capital required for job-creating, productive investment.