economics, government

Yup, They Actually Said It: Agriculture Sec. Tom Vilsack on Food Stamps

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“I should point out, when you talk about the SNAP program or the food stamp program, you have to recognize that it’s also an economic stimulus. Every dollar of SNAP benefits generates $1.84 in the economy in terms of economic activity.”

Hard to believe an otherwise allegedly educated person would claim this. Using this logic, the economy should be absolutely booming. But we also have Nobel prize (economics, if you can believe it) winners claiming that WWII got us out of the depression, and that an alien invasion would be a stimulus, so who knows?

[UPDATES: 08.17.2011 5:30pm => Take a look at this post on stimulus as a concept. And give a listen to this podcast with economist Dr. Robert Higgs. And finally, the folks at Wizbang link to a wonderful Milton Friedman video.]

  • Joe Miller

    I can’t believe that some people have put a lot of their effort into creating businesses, hiring workers, and generating wealth. It’s so much simpler just to give out food stamps and extend unemployment benefits. Why, we all ought to be riding in the wagon and let it be pulled by the magical unicorns.

    This notion is a mixture of stupidity, denial of reality, and hope that nobody with any authority flat out laughs in their faces. Too bad that there isn’t a word for it yet. I’m going to think about it and see if I can coin one. How about “that’s positively unicornian!”?

    • http://pretenseofknowledge.com/ speedmaster

      Nicely done, Joe!  :-)