Harry's Gang: A stimulus now churns into debt fovever

It’s been called the “Overnight Recession” by some economists. Just weeks ago, the economy was humming along. Suddenly, stock values dropped; people are out of work; and economic uncertainty is scaring the pants off many.

So the government’s reaction to pump $2 trillion into the economy is an interesting tactic. It’s welcomed by most, which explains why the stimulus bill passed with huge support from both parties.

I am concerned. This is not some rich Uncle Sam handing out quarters to his nephews and nieces at Easter dinner. No, somehow, the stimulus money will need to be paid back.

What confuses me, though, is how quickly everyone decided spending $2 trillion was a good investment. For example, conservatives, who tout market forces when opposing a minimum wage, suddenly believe the government should prop up their businesses when times get tough. How can that be consistent? If market forces should dictate wages, shouldn’t market forces dictate which businesses survive or not? If some big corporations didn’t have the foresight to prepare for an economic downturn, why should the taxpayers bail them out?

Well, I happen to think that bailing out business is, in fact, the government’s job during an economic crisis. I also think the government should be protecting the working class during times of economic growth and prosperity. It should do both. But the conservatives complain when government helps the working class during good times (keep government out of my business) and liberals complain when the government bails out businesses during downturns (We just gave them a big tax break. Why don’t they use that?). We need the government to do both. Just not at the same time.

President Obama inherited a financial mess when he took office, and one of his first acts was to develop a stimulus package to get the economy moving again. He was right, and we saw economic growth that continued right up to last month ... when COVID-19 tanked it.

But we never got around to paying that 2009 stimulus back. The national debt rose significantly at that time, with hopes the stimulus would, among other things, eventually lower the debt. Then along came the tax cuts in 2017, and the national debt rose even higher.

The national debt is so big that we have no idea how to fix it. My 12-year-old son wanted me to explain the problem, so I told him: Imagine Joe Neighbor invites all his friends and family to Eskomo Pizza Pies for a big party. Pizza, chicken wings, beer and wine for everyone. Hundreds show up, eating, drinking and celebrating. Finally, about midnight, the last guests leave, and the manager approaches Joe with the bill. It’s huge. Joe looks at the bill and says, “I can’t afford this.” Mr. Neighbor suffers (he’ll pay as much as he has, as he’s an honorable man); the restaurant suffers (it’s not enough to pay the bills), and the people who ate and drank all night aren’t chipping in because they’re long gone.

Let’s hope this stimulus package turns out better than Joe’s metaphorical pizza party.

Pete Radosevich is the publisher of the Pine Knot News community newspaper and an attorney in Esko who hosts the talk show Harry’s Gang on CAT-7. He can be reached at [email protected].