You Want A Stimulus?

So, a basic idea of John Maynard Keynes is that, when times are bad, the government should spend money like crazy, even running up huge deficits if need be, to hold off a depression. This includes putting people to work doing relatively meaningless tasks if need be. Sounds like what we did in the Great Depression and sounds like what Washington is up to today, right? Incidentally, I disagree strongly with this approach, but let me tell you, that here at NAS Whidbey Island, we’re already spending your money in frivolous ways! First, the Navy pays a company well over a million dollars to build a beautiful new gate at the older of the two bases here on the island (where most of the housing is), only to pull all the gate guards off duty at that base less than a month later. Also, at the gate I enter every morning, the Navy spent more than a few bucks putting in nice 3 to 4 foot tall planters carefully lined with stone that serve to slow down and direct traffic in an s-curve. Unfortunately, the lanes are now too small, leaving the drivers of large pickups and SUVs to very carefully creep through the curve. So last week, here comes the landscaping company to tear down their work and try again! Now we have nice wider lanes while still appreciating the beauty the planters provide. So, to recap: we build that which we don’t need (the brand-new gate) and tear down that which we do need (the s-curve for security) because we did it wrong the first time, only to build it up again. Yep, I’d say that our government is operating at peak efficiency out here in WA and is doing just fine in stimulating our local economy…