Dear Keynesians -- show me the money!

http://www.foxbusiness.com/on-air/willis-report/blog/2013/01/31/766-trillion-your-taxpayer-dollars-gone?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

When a follower of Paul Krugman thoughtlessly tells you we have to spend more stimulus money, show them this list and ask them if they're crazy.

Who will be bold tonight?

Obama supporters are begging Obama to go big, bad and bold. I agree with them. If I upheld progressive principles, I'd urge Obama to go bold and big with the Jobs Act. Obama should full-throatedly call for Keynesian type stimulus -- the type of stimulus called for by Krugman. According to the stimulus theory, it doesn't matter what types of jobs are created, but if you're going to create jobs, go big. Propose the Infrastructure Bank and legislation that "nudges" corporations to help fund it. Create training centers to educate workers in transition so that they can handle the hi-tech jobs that are now being opened, and will open up even more with government help in emerging industries like green energy. Don't hide from Solyndra, embrace the green energy field, and let it be known that there will be costs, but it's something that has to be done. Acknowledge deficits and debt, but raise awareness for the long run plan of transformation. Admit that debt will rise for at least another decade, then the investments will have started paying off as employment rises and there are more people funding government through income taxes and sales taxes from increased consumption.

Romney should go big and bold and talk about free market principles and the power of the private sector when it's released to grow and prosper. Open up oil drilling as a large part of the new recovery that will also bring along green energy -- but first we have to meet present energy needs, and America could be a leading energy producer globally. Romney should talk more about ending corporate welfare, and how this will help small companies compete. The large players are making profits from government protection, but they aren't hiring or expanding at home. We need millions of small businesses to grow and hire. Romney could present a plan rolling back government interventions and fighting for a real free market with real limits on government power. Then let the people decide.

Up with Chris Hayes 10/13/2012 -- Oh, why can't advocates make a case?

On Up with Chris Hayes, the Leftist guests talked about how Biden took Ryan to the tool shed and how hypocritcal Ryan was on stimulus. The entire segment was biased toward Biden, and none of the problems facing Biden and Obama were brought up, and there are many. Michael Moynihan correctly said that libertarians have a problem with Republican hypocrisy when it comes to advocating small government yet always expanding government when they are in power. This is true, but it doesn't necessarily apply to the part of the debate when Biden called Ryan on a past request from Ryan for stimulus money on behalf of constituents. The Left thinks that this was a deadly blow, because Biden said he has letters showing Ryan requested stimulus money for Wisconsin.

I don't know why smart people like Ryan, who has at least learned the principles of libertarian political thought, can't make a case for what they believe and why they don't have a ready answer for specious charges of hypocrisy like the one Biden presented.

Our statist system forces a feeding trough on the American people, and in business there may be many business CEOs who would love nothing better than to not be bothered with lobbying government, and they might have principles which rebuke government interventionism, but if their competitors have highly paid lobbyists in DC trying to gain an upper hand, then all businesses have to go to the feeding trough in order to stay competitive. If government enforces a stimulus plan, and if people in Wisconsin would hurt themselves and their state if they refused the money while neighboring states accepted the money, then Wisconsin should seek the stimulus money. If individual political players and CEOs believe in limited government principles, then they should fight statism, but if they have to survive in the statist system in order to fight another day, this is not hypocrisy. It could be hypocrisy, if Paul Ryan secretly believes in stimulus and Keynesian economics, but I doubt this is the situation.

Ryan should have been able to defend himself against this charge, and, to be honest, the smart people on Up with Chris Hayes should know that just because Ryan has to play by the system's rules doesn't mean he's hypocritical -- even Ayn Rand made this point to her followers who were concerned when they were forced by the statist system to use government to survive -- Rand said don't worry, just keep fighting against it, but it's not rational to hurt yourself and your family if the system forces you to use it to survive.

So that we don't forget all government does for us

Thanks to Cato for this list of stimulus efforts put forth by government to "help" the economy. With help like this America might not last much longer.

#	Name	Stimulus (Billions)	Became Law	Public Law	Note
1.0	Economic Stimulus Act of 2008	$167	2/13/2008	110-185	A ”timely, targeted, and temporary fiscal stimulus.”
1.0.1	Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008	$5.7	11/21/2008	110-449	Extends unemployment insurance, using borrowed funds so as to provide stimulus.
2.0	American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009	$819	2/17/2009	111-16	This package of public works projects, tax breaks, unemployment insurance extension, and other spending would keep unemployment below 8%.
2.0.1	Cash for Clunkers Extension	$2	8/7/2009	111-47	Continues the subsidy for new car purchases that was first enacted as part of ARRA.
2.1	Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act of 2009	$44.7	11/6/2009	111-92	Extends and expands the homebuyer tax credit program.
2.2	Temporary Extension Act of 2010	$8.1	3/2/2010	111-144	Extends unemployment insurance, using borrowed funds so as to provide stimulus.
2.3	Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act	$17.6	3/18/2010	111-147	AKA the “Jobs for Main Street Act,” this “jobs bill” would ”spur job growth and strengthen the private sector.”
2.4	Continuing Extension Act of 2010	$18.1	4/15/2010	111-157	Extends unemployment insurance, using borrowed funds so as to provide stimulus.
2.5	Homebuyer Assistance and Improvement Act of 2010	$145	7/2/2010	111-198	Extends the deadline for submitting paperwork for homebuyer credit.
2.6	Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010	$33.9	7/22/2010	111-205	Extends unemployment insurance, using borrowed funds so as to provide stimulus.
2.6.1	United States Manufacturing Enhancement Act of 2010	$3	8/11/2010	111-227	Reduces or suspends various import duties.
2.7	Small Business Jobs Act of 2010	$85.4	9/27/2010	111-240	Expands SBA loan programs and provides other small business assistance.
3.0	Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010	$916.8	12/17/2010	111-312	A package of tax breaks, including a cut in the Social Security payroll tax, an extension of the Bush income tax rates, and an extension of unemployment insurance.
3.1	Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011	N/A	12/23/2011	112-78	Extends the Social Security payroll tax cut, extends unemployment insurance, and other provisions.
4.0	Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012	$167.6	2/22/2012	112-96	Extends the Social Security payroll tax cut, among other provisions.
SUM:		$2,433.9

Keep this list in mind when someone says there was “only” $800 billion in stimulus—or when someone says the only reason the stimulus failed is because it was too small.

Where's the plan?

Earlier stimulus efforts by the adminsitration did not work out as advertised, yet Obama, Democrat politicians, Paul Krugman, practically all pundits on the Left and even many GOP moderates are calling for another round of stimulus. This time, though, they say it should be done right.

If all of these stimulus promoters believe it's the right thing to do, and they have in mind the right amount and the right kind of stimulus, then we should see a plan showing how much money is needed and where the money will go, how long the stimulus will be needed and what type of transition is necessary to move from government spending to private sector investment.

It appears to me that the Left wants this issue as a political weapon but isn't serious about an actual plan that can be implemented and executed. The GOP moderates who clamor for stimulus are just sticking it to the Tea Party faction, hoping they will look even more extreme in their unreasonable obstructionism. It's hard, though, to say something is obstructed until something real and measurable is offered, promoted, explained, justified and defended. Is the call stimulus a ploy, or is there a real plan?