The government is not a business, and shouldn't run like a business

Reader comment on: A Statistical Anomoly

Submitted by ben (United States), Feb 5, 2010 12:07

The government is not a business. Calculating job losses/gains is an immensely complicated thing. Of course there will be adjustments as more information is learned (this happens under R's and D's). Should nobody attempt to capture major economic indicators, even if they are slightly off or need to be revised in a small way. In a country with 130 million people in the workforce, being off by a factor of tens of thousands is pretty accurate. What is futureofcapitalism's alternative? Don't monitor unemployment, GDP, imports/exports, or any other macro-economic indicator?

The government is also not a family. Making analogies to either is counterproductive (Obama: "when families tighten their belts. . . ). In bad times, the government SHOULD spend to make up for a drop in consumer spending. In good times the government should pay down debt.

Note: Comments are moderated by the editor and are subject to editing.

Comment on this item