Feds Giveth Jobs & Cars, Then Taketh Away Again

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Tad DeHaven, budget analysttdehaven@cato.org:

The bad news this morning on the impact of both the federal stimulus and the Cash for Clunkers program should not come as a surprise to anyone who has paid attention to the history of government intervention in the economy.

New data that the jobs created by the stimulus have been overstated by thousands is compelling, but it's really a secondary issue. The primary issue is that the government cannot "create" anything without hurting something else. To "create" jobs, the government must first extract wealth from the economy via taxation, or raise the money by issuing debt. Regardless of whether the burden is borne by present or future taxpayers, the result is the same: job creation and economic growth is inhibited.

At the same time the government is taking undeserved credit for "creating jobs," a new analysis of the Cash for Clunkers program by Edmunds.com shows that most cars bought with taxpayer help would have been purchased anyhow. The same analysis finds the post-Clunker car sales would have been higher in the absence of the program, which proves that the program merely altered the timing of auto purchases.

Once again, the government claims to have "created" economic growth, but the reality is that Cash for Clunkers had no positive long-term effect and actually destroyed wealth in the process.

Right now businesses and entrepreneurs are hesitant to make investments or add new workers because they're worried about what Washington's interventions could mean for their bottom lines. The potential for higher taxes, health care mandates, and costly climate change legislation are all being cited by businesspeople as reasons why further investment or hiring is on hold. Unless this "regime uncertainty" subsides, the U.S. economy could be in for sluggish growth for a long time to come.

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