STIMULUS
Leading economists say the way to stimulate the economy and get us out of the recession is to print a boatload of money and ship it out to the people so they can spend it, support businesses, and pay taxes. President Biden wants to “go big” and is supporting a 1.9 trillion package that would address COVID relief and put money in the pockets of people. He also wants to increase the minimum wage to $15/hour, but that looks unlikely to pass in the senate.
Conservatives say the price tag is too high, but where were they when major tax relief was given to the rich, consequently exploding the debt and deficit? Seventy-five percent of the people support Biden’s package. Conservatives need to read the tea leaves.
So, I guess we’re all Keynesians now. Or at least hurting enough to demand federal help. I remember in college my econ. Instructor, an unrepentant Keynesian, said that the economy would be better off even if we built rockets and shot them into space. His theory? Stimulus creates prosperity. Sounds rather counter-intuitive to me—print money to make money—but what do I know? I’m no economist.
Speaking of stimulus, I am stimulated to be relieved from this pandemic purgatory, as we all are. I’m still waiting to be notified as to when it will be my turn to get a vaccine. It is confusing. The trends look promising, but the mutant variants are looming. Mutants? Reminds me of dystopian sci-fi.
In the meantime, we are all hunkered down waiting to be stimulated. Whoopee!
Bad Randall 