Another stimulus

W.C. Fields said, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then give up. No point being a damned fool about it." So on the basis, maybe we should give another shot of federal stimulus to the taxpayers a second chance.

But that's when it seems at least to make sense to begin with, which the theory behind the federal stimulus doesn't. John Maynard Keynes said many years ago that the most effective way for a government to stimulate was to spend. That guaranteed economic activity. If the same amount is simply passed back to the taxpayers, if they are frightened, many of them will just pocket it.

Keynesianism was born from the Great Depression and held sway in economics until around 1979. There is some talk that is has been embraced again in 2008, because governments are using tax money to try to avoid another depression. But they are doing it in a way that Keynes would have argued strongly against.

In fact, we've really already given the money-back-to-taxpayers strategy its best chance, with the Reagan and Bush tax cuts, which have eviscerated federal revenues over the past three decades. Part of Keyesianism is to put money away during good times, which is anathema to both right and left, it seems.

My guess is that there will be a further stimulus package and it won't stimulate much. What will happen when the dust settles and we're a couple trillion farther in debt, I have no idea.