Unintended Consequences! Inevitable? Only a Fool (Or Politician) Believes Otherwise!
The liberal, idealistic, campaign-issue and simplistic view is that Global Warming is true (a generation ago, "science" predicted the opposite, a possible ice-age on the horizon), human-caused and bad; that the US must show the world what and what-not to do about it (whether-or-not any other country goes along); that "greening" of America is good; reduction in petroleum-product-emissions is good; and thus spending public funds to shift from gasoline-powered automobiles, which pollute our atmosphere, to clean, non-polluting electric-battery-powered vehicles is good.
And so complex idealized legislation, like the "Stimulus Bill" was passed - almost a year ago - by the liberal-dominating Congress and Senate - too bulky to be read before voting of course - however, urgency necessitated and justified the immediacy of action.
Thus time passes, months and months, and gradually the ponderous machinery of government begins implementing the numerous clauses and commitments (government - the only place of rising employment; small businesses however, the employer of 65% of Americans, is still hemorrhaging jobs).
And "Cash for Clunkers" has its day for awhile, makes a ripple in the car market, a fraction of the populous trading in efficient family automobiles for government financial inducements - a few billion dollars later it is over, and the bleakness of the financial slowdown settles back down, essentially unchanged.
And of that "stimulus" bill - well, it's ten months later, and only about 15% of the "supposedly-shovel-ready" jobs have been funded - and, of course, have gone to the states with the least need (but politically powerful), while states with overwhelming unemployment - well they're on the list.
And what of that electric-powered vehicle stimulus? Well now, it turns out that wealthy golf players can now get an electric golf cart - the US government (add-on to the public's monumental debt) chipping in perhaps $5000 on a $7500 sticker price.
If the Senators and Congressmen are too busy saving the world to read what they enact in complex legislation - well, special-interest people do - and smart golfers also, Students of the marketplace and its sometimes predictable (sometime not) consequences, point out - for example: the effect of a dramatic increase in the public's appetite for (say) ice cream - on (say) professional baseball's catcher's mitts and fielder's gloves.
Why should the latter prices go up if people eat more ice cream? Consequences: as demand for ice cream shoots up, so does the market for milk, ergo the demand for cows (milk-producers) - and ergo, a diminished supply of cow-hides for baseball's leather gloves.
Sigh!
And so complex idealized legislation, like the "Stimulus Bill" was passed - almost a year ago - by the liberal-dominating Congress and Senate - too bulky to be read before voting of course - however, urgency necessitated and justified the immediacy of action.
Thus time passes, months and months, and gradually the ponderous machinery of government begins implementing the numerous clauses and commitments (government - the only place of rising employment; small businesses however, the employer of 65% of Americans, is still hemorrhaging jobs).
And "Cash for Clunkers" has its day for awhile, makes a ripple in the car market, a fraction of the populous trading in efficient family automobiles for government financial inducements - a few billion dollars later it is over, and the bleakness of the financial slowdown settles back down, essentially unchanged.
And of that "stimulus" bill - well, it's ten months later, and only about 15% of the "supposedly-shovel-ready" jobs have been funded - and, of course, have gone to the states with the least need (but politically powerful), while states with overwhelming unemployment - well they're on the list.
And what of that electric-powered vehicle stimulus? Well now, it turns out that wealthy golf players can now get an electric golf cart - the US government (add-on to the public's monumental debt) chipping in perhaps $5000 on a $7500 sticker price.
If the Senators and Congressmen are too busy saving the world to read what they enact in complex legislation - well, special-interest people do - and smart golfers also, Students of the marketplace and its sometimes predictable (sometime not) consequences, point out - for example: the effect of a dramatic increase in the public's appetite for (say) ice cream - on (say) professional baseball's catcher's mitts and fielder's gloves.
Why should the latter prices go up if people eat more ice cream? Consequences: as demand for ice cream shoots up, so does the market for milk, ergo the demand for cows (milk-producers) - and ergo, a diminished supply of cow-hides for baseball's leather gloves.
Sigh!