Many stereotypes have some basis in truth — and in the case of economists, we can, and often do, change our minds about things. But we try not to do it on a daily basis. Yet the events in Europe, the gyrations on Wall Street and the fickle nature of reports on the economy have many of us doing just that. That, as much as anything, should tell you that all is not well with the economy these days. It’s not a second recession — not yet — but the situation is certainly disappointing given the expectations voiced a year ago.
One of the few virtues of the federal government has been its inefficiency. With functions spread out across different agencies and duplicated powers and responsibilities, it has often proved unable to harm the economy as much as it could owing to power games and competition among agencies. Now the president wants to change all that. He wants a ruthlessly efficient government to intrude in all aspects of our lives without internal checks and balances. An efficient government might have been a good thing 30 years ago, when the government was spending much less per person. Now that it's spending over $30,000 per household, the prospect is terrifying.
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