What “Works”? We Just Don’t Know
A big meme from the right wing has been that “stimulus” spending in the United States “didn’t work” (as proven by the continuing high unemployment numbers) and should therefore be presumptively rejected as an option going forward.
An equally big meme from the left wing has been that austerity in Europe “didn’t work” (as proven by the continuing sovereign debt crisis in Greece and other Eurozone countries) and that budgetary discipline should therefore be rejected as an option going forward.
The problem is that neither side’s confidence is warranted. The truth is, as Megan McArdle points out, that we just don’t know what the real long-term effects of the tentative, partially-implemented, and extremely complex policy response to the global economic downturn since 2008 are.
Perhaps the best thing that could happen to the continuing fight over fiscal and economic policy in the United States would be for both sides to drop their absolutist certainty about the policy effects of recent past actions, about the intelligence and moral character of their opponents, and about the future effects of proposed ideas. Instead, we should all insist that political and policy leaders offer specific proposals instead of vague talking points and name-calling.
If we continue to just participate in the game of false certainty, we will have only ourselves to blame for the continuing gridlock.
3 Responses to “What “Works”? We Just Don’t Know”
Overall an honest and balanced piece. Good job.
Nice piece, two thumbs up.
There is a fantastic talk on where he talks about trial and error and the God complex. He makes an excellent point when he says all our leaders make a stand and tell us they have all the answers, then we elect a new set of leaders who do the same after the previous one failed. He wishes to see a candidate that stands up and says “I don’t know” but I have good ideas and were going to try a bunch of them and see which ones work best. People love confidence so I can’t see this working but for producing the best policy decisions I really can’t imagine a better way to run a country.