Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Government Investment Fails


Lots of talk about government action in stimulating the economy, in spite of the fact we’ve always known it does not work... they say so themselves...

This paper from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), written in response to a request from the Senate Committee on the Budget, reviews the available data on the economic value of federal investments in infrastructure, education and training, and R&D. It focuses on empirical evidence produced since July 1991, when CBO last analyzed the issue in the study How Federal Spending for Infrastructure and Other Public Investments Affects the Economy.


And what did they find?

In short, the federal government's opportunities for making investments that yield economic benefits are limited. Of course, some do exist: by definition, federal investments that pass a careful benefit-cost test can contribute as much to growth as private investments. And some federal investments that are not justifiable on economic grounds may be desirable for other reasons--for example, if they advance the social goal of equality of educational opportunity. Nonetheless, there is ample reason to be skeptical that increased federal investment spending would increase the growth of GDP. 

To stimulate the economy we need freedom, not more regulation and taxes.


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