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Economic Stimulus--Political Response
Dec 24, 2001
MARINA DEL REY, CA--It is just as well that the battle over President Bush's economic stimulus package fizzled out because it was about political advantage not economic growth, said Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute.
"The plain truth is," said Dr. Brook, a former finance professor, "that neither Republicans nor Democrats are willing to consider, let alone accept, the simple idea needed to attack the root cause of economic strangulation: massive repeal of taxes and regulations--in other words, freedom and respect for individual rights.
"Instead, the battle was all about what looked best to the voters, not about economic reality," said Dr. Brook. "Mr. Bush was desperate to be seen stimulating the lagging economy in the middle of a war and not following his father's footsteps to election defeat. (Remember, 'It's the economy, stupid?') But his chief opponent, senate majority Leader Tom Daschle, was even more desperate to appear as the liberal savior of the poor and disadvantaged and not be seen as the calculating politician, sacrificing the growth of the American economy for his presidential ambitions."
"A massive repeal of taxes and government regulations," said Dr. Brook, "could guarantee perpetual growth of the economy and of our standard of living. But freedom and individual rights, especially in economic issues, are becoming a thing of the past in America. The profit motive is considered an evil--albeit a necessary evil. And more government controls are always being foisted on us to ensure that each individual acts as his brother's keeper. So the political battles go on forever, and the economy will probably stumble to 'recovery' on its own, feeding on the remnants of freedom and individual rights left to us."
############# ########### Dr. Yaron Brook is available for interviews. To interview Dr. Brook or book him for your show, please e-mail media@aynrandcenter.org
For more articles by Yaron Brook, and his bio, click here.
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