The following is an excerpt from OpinionJournal.com’s “Best of the Web” written by the editor, James Taranto.
Answers to Questions Nobody Is Asking
“What a Defense Secretary Does”–headline, The Weekly Standard, March 4 issue
Bottom Stories of the Day
- “2nd Local Not Picked to Win Oscar”–headline, Dayton Daily News website, Feb. 24
- “Quebec Language Minister Calls for Moderation”–headline, Quebecor Media Inc. Agency, Feb. 24
The Cultural Contradictions of Keynesianism
This blog post by Jon Talton, who writes about economics for the Seattle Times, got us thinking:
The sequester, on the other hand, has the potential to shock a slow economy back into recession. The slow recovery is already partly the result of federal austerity. These cuts will do even more damage. Austerity is not working in Europe. It won’t work here. To be sure, we need to make the transition from Military Keynesianism to a peacetime economy and invest in America rather than in blowing things up and making more enemies overseas. We need to get control of health costs, which are the long-term threat to the budget.
Unlike Talton, this column rejects the Keynesian premise that government spending boosts the economy. But assuming for the sake of argument that Keynesianism is true, it seems to us that Talton has exposed a serious contradiction.
There’s no inconsistency between Talton’s adherence to Keynesianism and his aversion to what he calls “Military Keynesianism.” The premise that spending in general is economically beneficial can easily be reconciled with the premise that the noneconomic harms of military spending make civilian spending preferable.
But if government spending is good for the economy, why aren’t high health-care costs a blessing?
For more “Best of the Web” click here and look for the “Best of the Web Today” link in the middle column below “Today’s Columnists.
