Oh, Good. Another Bailout

President Obama announced another bailout. It’s not likely to work, but he has to do something besides blame the “previous administration” for the economy.

Here’s why government spending won’t fix the economy: Government money has to come from somewhere.

1. Taxes. Taxes come from the economy in the first place, so the net effect of government spending from taxes is zero.
2. Borrowing. Sure that puts extra money in the economy, but because of the interest, each dollar spent is worth less than a dollar.
3. Printing. Each extra dollar printed reduces the value of all the dollars already in circulation. Thus, each dollar spent is worth less than a dollar.

Government spending doesn’t create new wealth or extra jobs, it just redistributes money from those who pay taxes (or loan the government money) to those who help politicians get elected. ¹I had a little help here from Glenn Beck’s Arguing With Idiots.