Stimulus Didn't Work : Gov Spending A Failure

History is a funny thing, it has a tendency prove what went wrong with an idea, or what went right. As the saying goes, failure to heed the past will ensure failure in the present.

Obama's failure to heed past mistakes have ensured failure for our country. But it isn't just our past history he has failed to recognize, but he has decided to continue the failed history of Europe as well.

Fundamentally changing our country from a Republic, market based, freedom based society to a socialist nightmare from decades ago, has proven destructive for us all. How did this happen?

Stimulus Spending Facts and Myths
Source: Veronique de Rugy, "The Facts about Stimulus Spending," Reason Magazine, July 8, 2011.

Veronique de Rugy, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center, dispels three myths about federal government stimulus spending.

Myth 1: Stimulus spending can jump start the economy and fix unemployment.

Fact 1: Recent experience suggests stimulus spending won't help.
The unemployment rate started at 7.6 percent when President Obama took office and peaked at 10.2 percent in October 2009. Since the enactment of the stimulus bill in February 2009, the unemployment rate has not approached pre-American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) levels, even though $382 billion has been made available by government departments and agencies (on top of tax credits and other tax-related items).

In fact, unemployment recently edged up, from 9 percent in April to 9.1 percent in May.

Myth 2: Additional infrastructure spending is an effective way to stimulate the economy and create jobs.

Fact 2: In theory, infrastructure spending injects more money into the economy than other types of government spending. In reality, however, politicians rarely include infrastructure spending in stimulus bills. Instead, they spend money on items like transfers and tax cuts.

Only 3 percent of the last stimulus went to infrastructure.

Myth 3: Tax rebates will stimulate the economy.

Fact 3: The evidence says they don't. First, people usually save the extra money.
Second, even if tax rebates did increase consumption, companies don't hire employees or build new plants because of a one-time boost.