When I listen to Obama and his cohorts discussing the merits of their stimulus plan I feel as if I am watching a terrible re-run. A similar recovery plan was tried in Japan, which not only failed to end their economic malaise, but resulted in the quadrupling of their national debt. So, if you are in the mood for a re-run, watch the A-Team instead; the action and dialogue are far more intelligent than anything coming out of the White House. And as Mr. T would say "I pity the full who don't learn from history!" To view the full article scroll down and click on the link.
Japan's 'Lost Decade' Argues Against Obama's Policies
By Sean Rushton
February 14, 2009
During this period, the Japanese government engaged in numerous, mammoth infrastructure spending projects, meant to increase “aggregate demand.” The result was a nation of bridges to nowhere and empty superhighways, as The New York Times reported recently. A telling quote: “Economists tend to divide into two camps on the question of Japan’s infrastructure spending: those, many of them Americans like [Treasury Secretary Tim] Geithner, who think it did not go far enough; and those, many of them Japanese, who think it was a colossal waste.” That is, citizens who actually lived through it think the spending was ineffective, but outside theorists like Geithner know better. Meanwhile, the ‘90s stimuli quadrupled Japan’s national debt, driving it to more than 180 percent of GDP.
http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2009/02/japans_lost_decade_argues_agai.html
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