Obama and those like him will never get it when it comes to the economy. They view the economy as something to be toyed with in order to engineer some kind of social order to their liking. I recall Obama in one of his numerous speeches where he said, “So we can manage the economy.” Here lies the problem. Obama in his delusion actually believes that the economy can be managed, and he just the guy to do it. He’s certainly not the first to live this delusion. Herbert Hoover in his delusion turned a recession into a depression with his desire to manage the economy, and then FDR in his delusion turned Hoover’s depression into the Great Depression with his attempt to manage the economy. This managing the economy delusion has been tried over and over the world over, and it never works, never. Think about this for a moment. The President, 535 members of Congress, and a hand full of bureaucrats actually believe they can manage the billions of economic decisions that 300 million Americans randomly make on a daily basis. Does that seem possible?

I know that many see the economy as something so complex that it can be understood only by those who have numerous letters after their names and years of education and training so that when they speak about economics it sounds like a recipe rolling off the lips of Julia Child or Emeril Lagasse. It really isn’t that difficult however, if you stick to the basics and keep in mind exactly what the economy is and why it exists. Let’s start with basic number one. It helpful to remember that economies have existed for thousands of years when life was much simpler so don’t get caught up in only thinking about it in today’s terms. The economy is very simply the result of each and every person existing, meaning being alive and kicking; and the resulting consumption that takes place in order to stay alive and kicking and enjoy some of the niceties of life. Basic number two: There is only so much stuff, meaning there will never be enough stuff to satisfy all of our wants, and so the market in which we must pay for the stuff we want is a rationing process that will insure our needs can be met. For instance, if a grocery store priced all of its products free, the shelves would always be bare and new stocks would disappear as soon as they were put on the shelf. This would create shortages, and many would have to go without, so price rationing insures that individuals get only what they need, which leaves some for others.

Much about economics is merely theory, such as the belief that government spending can stimulate the economy and that each dollar spent by the government has a multiplier effect on the economy. The multiplier theory posits the notion that for instance $1.00 of government spending creates say, $1.50 in economic growth, because that $1.00 is then spent by the person receiving it, and it is then spent by the next person in line, and so on. Sort of like the ripples created by throwing a rock in a pond. This really is just theory for there is no way in heaven or on earth to know if there really is a multiplier effect, because the multiplier is merely a contrivance and a self serving tool used by the big government types to justify their big spending desires.

Another silly notion by those who believe they can manage the economy is the pump priming theory. Just prime the pump with a few dollars, crank away on the handle, let the multiplier effect take hold, and voila! jobs galore. Those who support this silliness believe that flooding the economy with money stolen from the citizens and money plucked from the money tree will boost consumer spending which in turn will create jobs. This is where the “manage the economy” notion falls flat on its face. The human beings mentioned in paragraph one cannot make individual citizens want and need more than they want and need. This theory really has less to do with creating jobs than it does with making those who advocate for it, feel better about themselves; the pat me on the back syndrome.

Another thing that must be discussed is the GDP, and how it is manipulated. The GDP is calculated with the following formula: GDP = private consumption + gross investment + government spending + (exports – imports). Private consumption, gross investment and export/imports are all activities that are the result of Americans making spontaneous personal and business decisions independent of one another. The government spending input of the GDP makes the entire GDP figure bogus, because this input is easily manipulated by a hand-full of individuals in Washington D.C. by merely increasing government spending. If they don’t like the GDP, they only need to spend money like it grows on trees and then they can brag about how their economic policies have cause the economy to grow, when in fact it isn’t growing, because the economy will only grow as a result of consumers spending their money on things they want.

When politicians talk about the economy, all they talk about are jobs, jobs, jobs. The problem with this focus is that an economy can exist without jobs, because it has in the past. The economy is not the result of jobs, but jobs are the result of the economy, so if politicians want the economy to grow they must become consumer oriented, which means a free market, instead of employee oriented. It is said by the big government types that the recent economic meltdown was caused by the free market. Well, the market hasn’t been free since the Federal Reserve was put in place in 1914 and in particular the heavy handed intrusions by Herbert Hoover into the economy. A market completely free from eugenics is the only market that will reach its most efficient state, a market economy that is allowed to meet the needs of the consumer first and foremost.

The economy is too complex to be managed by a handful of human beings in Washington. These are individuals who are little different from you neighbor. So, would you trust you neighbor to manage the economy. All of the problems that exist in the economy today, such as high health care costs, the housing meltdown, the Great Depression, gasoline shortages, high education costs, and on and on and on, can be traced to federal government policies. As C.S. Lewis put it, “those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” God help us!