(p. A15) The passage of the $787 billion stimulus bill has so far failed to stimulate anything but greater market pessimism. This suggests to us that the strategy behind the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act is wrong — and worse, that the weapons it is using to fight the recession are obsolete.
Just as generals are notorious for fighting the last war, Congress and the White House seem intent on fixing an economy of hidebound and obsolete companies and industries, while ignoring the innovative ones rising before us and those waiting to be born.
Missing from this legislation is anything more than token support for the long-proven source of most new jobs and new growth in America: entrepreneurs. These are the people who gave us everything — from Wal-Mart to iPhones, from microprocessors to Twitter — that is still strong in our economy. Without entrepreneurs, we will never get out of our current predicament.
For the full commentary, see:
TOM HAYES and MICHAEL S. MALONE. “Entrepreneurs Can Lead Us Out of the Crisis What Are the Odds of a Depression?” Wall Street Journal (Tues., FEBRUARY 24, 2009): A15.
(Note: ellipses added.)
Sounds a lot like trying to save the horse and buggy industry after Ford’s proliferation of cheap automobiles. The government should work more on standing out of the way of innovation and individual motivation than on job and dependency creation!