72. When More Failure Is Better

When More Failure Is Better
Bob Komives
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My ideas and questions on the fantasy pursuit of balanced federal budgets were already well developed in 1987 when they got a boost from an unexpected source. President Reagan gave his State of the Union address to begin his last full year in office. Measured by his speech, despite a collapse in the stock market during 1987, the economy was in an especially good state. Yet, he had entered office seven years earlier saying two things had to be done to have a sound fiscal policy: 

      (1) balance the budget; and
      (2) reduce government spending

(thereby eliminating new deficits and reducing the old deficit). Measured by his own goals he had presided over the greatest fiscal failure of all time. Federal government grew in absolute terms and shrank little if any relative to the total economy. Its deficit would triple during his presidency.
This trend was apparent for each of his seven years. Yet, each year he and his supporters repeated their two big goals and then lauded the economic progress of the country.

I heard nobody ask the obvious question:
    If years of unprecedented failure bring good,
    would not more failure bring better?


I heard nobody voice the obvious idea:
    Mr. President,
    I think your goals must be irrelevant.

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:: Bob Komives, Fort Collins © 2006 :: Plum Local IV :: 72. When More Failure Is Better ::
With attribution these words may be freely shared, but permission
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