US Stimulus Bill - a clear shift
From the archive (2009): the stimulus read as experiment, not allegiance — hypothesis, scale, result; the habit of mind is the asset.
Editor’s note (2026): A 2009 read of the US stimulus as a live test of Keynesian doctrine. Kept as a record of judging policy as experiment — hypothesis, scale, result — rather than as tribal allegiance. That habit of mind is the transferable asset. See About the QeRN Archive and Knowledge That Benefits.
The 787-billion economic stimulus bill has to be praised for its audacity, and the confidence that it will work. In any case, it will be a test case of Keynesian economics for some time to come.
At the policy level, there are two clear and welcome shifts:
- The government will run the economy. Not to dis anyone, but Wall Street simply does not have the broad interest base and intellectual depth to run the economy.
- The long-term standard of living of the US citizen is tied to his/her output and efficiency, and the US will embrace emerging technologies and industries, where the US worker can add the most value — even at the expense of existing industries. The US auto industry of today is the steel industry of a few decades ago: if it goes, so be it.
The sheer boldness and policy shift of this bill ensures its success at some level, if not all.