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  Home Page » Opinion » Letters To The Editor » Federal Stimulus Will Delay Recovery

Federal stimulus will delay recovery

by Ron Gilley, Hesperus
Letter to the editor The artful misrepresentation of economic growth, as reported by U.S. government officials, is quite alarming. The third-quarter gross domestic product numbers were reported to show a 3.5 percent growth. This information was greeted by public and private economists as confirmation the recession officially was over.

I believe the celebration of the end of the recession is premature. The fundamental reason for the increase in GDP is almost entirely government interventions. Can you say "cash for clunkers" and "$8,000 credit for first-time homebuyers?" The third-quarter growth was driven largely by a 23 percent increase in residential construction and a 22 percent increase in durable-goods purchases - mostly automobiles - and a 2.3 percent increase in government spending.

The end result of the government "stimulus" will be to worsen the condition it is meant to cure.

We are only pushing the day of reckoning down the road. Until the American people, senators and congressmen learn to resist government stimulus as the cure for economic ills, genuine economic growth will never return.

Ron Gilley, Hesperus