Why Mr. Krugman is wrong - every time

Paul Krugman is a frequent columnist for the liberal New York Times.  He is also probably the nation's most prominent liberal Economist.  His most recent post is upside down.  I'll tell you why.

Paul is a "Keynesian".  "Keynesian" economists believe that every economic problem can be solved by the government printing and spending money.  They are named after John Maynard Keynes who tried to sell the strategy beginning in the early 1900s.  They use tricky words like "infuse" money into the economy to "stimulate" it.  They claim that food stamps give people the nutrition they need IN ORDER to work, implying that without food stamps they are too weak to work.  They claim that unemployment checks give a 2:1 return to the government because people who receive the money go out and spend it on goods and services at small businesses, then the small businesses grow and hire more people who then pay taxes on their money.

First of all, does this pass the smell test?  When Paul says that all we really need to do to get out of this recession is SPEND MORE MONEY, does that sound right to you?  Our debt was around $10 trillion when Bush left office.  Obama has now racked up more debt in 3 years than ANY President EVER before in ALL OF HISTORY!  Our debt is now nearing $17 trillion.  Did you know if you took the total combined wealth of the two richest men in America and put it towards America's debt, it would pay for 3 months of INTEREST on the debt?  That's it.  And has this massive spending helped the economy?  Unemployment is still higher than it was when Obama took office - and the spending began even before he took office when President Bush passed the first stimulus to "save the free-market system" - the biggest gaffe statement ever made by Bush.

Even if the Keynesian philosophy could work, is it worth the cost?

Cost:

1. More dependency on government.  People on food stamps and unemployment are dependent on the government for their lives.  They are victims of modern day slavery.

2. Inflation.  Printing money is not free!  Every dollar printed means less value of the dollar that you are holding.  And it is apparent in rising grocery and gas prices.

Big government, big spending solutions go against common sense and conservative principles.  So when will Paul Krugman catch on to common sense?  I suspect never.