Stimulus Package
Bob Krum has this to say about why politicians are supporting the stimulus in the face of its almost certain doom:
“Why are they doing all this when they have to know that it isn’t going to work?” was the question my wife asked about the stimulus package. My answer to her: “It’s not about fixing the economy; it’s about proving Reagan wrong.” It’s about proving that an enlightened government is superior to a country led by tens of millions of individual sovereign decision makers.
While I doubt very serious Obama et al are simply trying to prove Reagen wrong, I think this is idea has a lot of rhetorical force. One might be able to build an effective campaign capable of challenging Obama in the next election by making extensive use of this rhetoric. It will be crucial to frame the argument as an elite groups of technocrats contemptuous of the notion that average American engaging in free markets principles will cause economic recovery. Framed this way, technocrats are placed on the defensive as to why their ‘education’ and ‘expertise’ are superior to ‘fixing’ the economy then simply letting the average American do the work of recovery themselves.