The Cost of "Stimulus"

An article on the Fox News website, posted October 8, got my attention this morning. See Plant that got $150M in taxpayer dollars to make Volt batteries furloughs workers.

This article was a perfect illustration of why government "stimulus" will nearly always be a bad idea.

I commented on the economic issues involved in this story on my campaign blog. See Case in Point at may campain site.

The increasing polarization of America politically is dividing the nation into two categories containing two positions each. Under the "Economy" category, we are asked to choose between "nanny-state welfare" and "corporate welfare." Under the "Social Policy" category, we are asked to choose between heavy-handed "conservative" policies or ideological "progressive" policies.

This polarization is made possible by a common mindset among American voters. We tend to vote for the lesser of the devils because of "electibility" in hopes that we won't "throw away our vote" or inadvertantly cause the election of the worse devil by failing to support the lesser devil.

It's time for Americans to consider some entirely new options. In particular, it is time for Americans to discover the Libertarian Party that agrees on minimizing the role of government and allows its members to agree-to-disagree on social issues that are best debated and resolved in the private sector and the public square rather than in the halls of governmental power.

Jim Hanson
Libertarian candidate for State Representative, Indiana House District 84