Sluggish Car? Use Nitrous Oxide!

We grow familiar with our cars on an almost subconscious level. We do so, because this subtle learning is really a matter of life or death. If you don’t know how quickly your car can accelerate through a turn, you might misjudge your chances of making the next left through that gap in traffic, or you might brake too late to avoid a collision. Drive your car long enough and you can swear you know when something is wrong before the lights on the dash tell you so.

Let’s say that your car isn’t accelerating nearly as fast as it used too. If you’re not mechanically inclined, you might take that car to a trusted mechanic to figure out what was wrong. The reason you trust your mechanic is because he or she gives it to you straight. A good mechanic will point out what is likely causing the irregular behavior, and how that failure is causing this behavior. Once they make the fix, your car behaves normally, which is why you keep coming back.

If only our government representatives were like good mechanics. Unfortunately, when it comes to the economy they aren’t. Humans have a subtle understanding of their economy as they do their automobile. We know when things just aren’t right. Ask anyone if our economy is having difficulty, and you will rarely get a questioning look. However, the numbers to confirm that situation can only be analyzed after the fact. In 2003 our economy was having trouble maintaining its normal acceleration and the government made a sad attempt to fix it.

Without much explanation as to what the problem was, the government sought to deal with the symptoms that everyone recognized. Sluggish economy? Speed it up with a rapid infusion of cash! This “fix” was akin to strapping on some nitrous oxide tanks to give a momentary boost in acceleration. Of course giving money away will make the economy rebound, but how did anyone in government actually know if that would take away the problem that was drawing the economy down. The questions of “Does it stimulate the economy?” and “Does it repair the economy?” are two completely different questions.

Now the nitrous has worn out, and the normal decline in acceleration is happening again. Without so much as a cursory glance under the hood, the government is ready to charge up the nitrous oxide tanks. Didn’t the nation replace the mechanics? Can someone in government explain how they know this repair will be a permanent fix?