Once again I find myself asking, “Why is everyone so surprised?” I refer to the latest economic data which shows that after a very brief slowing of job loss, it has now recaptured a full head of steam. Just as I said six months ago, no matter how much money the government throws at our economy it will do nothing to kick start growth. The lesson of history was that FDR tried just that remedy and he found that he couldn’t spend the money fast enough. The brief hiccup we experienced from July and August has now returned to the hemorrhaging of jobs and investment.

            The proven way to fix an ailing economy is no more complicated than the elementary fact that in order for economies to thrive you have to be producing something and repairing the interstate highway system is not the way to do it.

            Another much ballyhooed federal fix was the famous, “Cash for Clunkers” program. It is hilarious to me that a mere two months ago this was being touted as an unqualified success since so many hundreds of thousands of old “bombs” were taken off the roads in favor of “greener” cars. The problem only took a matter of weeks to materialize but now new cars are selling slower than ever. The reasons are very simple and totally predictable. Firstly, the incentives amounted to a third or more of the sticker price. Now that the program is over, the automakers are still offering incentives but only at a fraction of what the government offered. And now buyers are spoiled at paltry (by comparison) incentives being offered by the manufacturers so the cars sit collecting dust in the showrooms. To not only make matters worse but to add insult to injury, many of those who bought the “environmentally friendly” cars are finding that they hate the ugly beasties and are experiencing buyer’s remorse and turning them in on autos much like the ones they traded in originally.

            Secondarily, the plan was that the old clunkers would be removed from the highways but there was a loophole big enough to fly a 747 through and most of them are now back on the roads.

            So why is everyone so surprised when the federal government makes a big belly flop whenever they throw tons of money at a problem and all that happens is that a lot of pockets are lined but the problem is no better than before and probably a lot worse. All I can say is I told you so…AGAIN!