Comments for entry "Ignorance Will Save Us" at Dilbert.com Blog

Comment from RedSumpter

TuePMCSTE_Rthth

The question is whether the stimulus package will have the government hiring folks or they'll come in the form of private contractors, in which case we'll get ripped off. I read about it on www.jobscity.com

Comment from Oodoodanoo

MonPMCSTE_Rthth

Oh, I'm wrong. Object of the preposition.

Comment from Oodoodanoo

MonPMCSTE_Rthth

Scott Adams says: "us geniuses" Me genius, too! Grammar aside, perhaps this is payback for Adams and his coterie of brainiacs not stopping this slump when they could have. Or for not figuring out how to catapult that "lukewarm cadaver" (his words, not mine) through the window of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Comment from dwbh

MonPMCSTE_Rthth

According to the experts, this stimulus package won't directly stimulate much of anything in the short term, when we need it. Actually, in the final version of the bill, the White House successfully negotiated so that 75% of the $790 or so billion would be spent within 18 months after the bill is signed into law.

Comment from Oodoodanoo

MonAMCSTE_Rthth

"A fool and his money are soon parted." Take one stimulus package. Distribute it to as many fools as you can find. Success! Of course, a nation of nothing but fools will blow itself up, or spend it all on solid-gold toilets.

Comment from Vishanti

MonAMCSTE_Rthth

Again, this is not a 'Democrat' plan, or a 'Liberal' one, it is merely MacroEconomics 101, a Keynesian recovery plan for a recession. Obama didn't make it up, it comes right out the text books. Have a recession you: 1. Lower interest rates. 2. Have the government spend as much money as it can. Yeah is nice to spend it on stuff where you will have something for the spending afterwards but that is mrely nice. Look at the Republicans - when Reagan, and the 2 Bushes had recessions they did 3 things: 1. lowered interest rates. 2. gave out tax cuts as bright shinies to distract the population. 3. Did massive government spending on wars (Reagan - cold war, Bushes - middle east wars). Stealth stimulus packages that unfortunately give us very little as a nation in return for the spending. If you don't like Keynesian economic theory then just say so, but the Democrats won the election, they do believe it will work and there is no way to compromise when going Keynsian since if you aren't going to spend enough money you might as well not spend any at all. That's what annoys me about all these whiny discussions - a straight forward text book solution to a recession that is being presented as everything but what it is. There is no such thing as 'pork' in a stimulus bill - you could pay half the population to move a pile of bricks to one place and the other half to move it back and still get the Keynsian benefits.

Comment from korithestar

SunPMCSTE_Rthth

Why are you such a pessimist? Barrack Obama is trying to do good, and its people like you right now that make it harder for him to change this nation for the better. I love you comic strips, but I am dissapointed to read this. I think you, Scott Adams, should stick to comedy.

Comment from donnybot

SunPMCSTE_Rthth

You gotta undertand the derivatives market to make any sense of all this ... the economic crisis didn't start in the "real economy" it started in the world of crooked bankers ... I just wrote a pice on my blog about derivatives that is as concise as I could possibly make it, hope it helps someone anyway.. www.inmaxwetrust.com

Comment from Imatooner

SatAMCSTE_Rthth

Well as long as the clueless conservatives aren't in charge and deciding things then we will have a better than even chance of getting our heads above water after all their looney policies of the last decade. Pork, yeah right. Dunking your cookie in the Koolaid?

Comment from orwell

ThuAMCSTE_Rthth

!$%* - rhymes with pluck truck duck suck cluck puck schmuck tuck muck stuck yuck huck luck canuck buck and nyuck nyuck nyuck its all in the stimulus bill

Comment from kalirion

TueAMCSTE_Rthth

How would buying lottery tickets stimulate the economy? It's just handing money to the state, not private businesses.

Comment from sig_UVA

TueAMCSTE_Rthth

"Let us be thankful for fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed." - Mark Twain

Comment from phb

TueAMCSTE_Rthth

@Charlesfunnish: you are cute ;-) Thanks for the typo on my user name (phd vs. phb), you brought a smile to my face. The funny part is that you have me so absolutely wrong in referring to me as Rahm Emanuel as you scold me for my typo! Maybe we should all go hang out with Michael Phelps and do a bong together, brother?

Comment from backslash68

TueAMCSTE_Rthth

"Every economic boom is powered by the clueless" this is priceless...

Comment from kriggs

TueAMCSTE_Rthth

Wow, you have a low opinion of people who live off food stamps and where every single purchase decision they make requires a thorough analysis of pros and cons. Sure government takes advantage of them and their bleak prospects with lottery tickets for example, but that's not bozo. Bozo is rich people getting gigantic air-pumped Halloween and Christmas decorations.

Comment from callcopse

TueAMCSTE_Rthth

risingstarlp, that's a bit harsh to dilgal, I was amused. And of all places this is surely the one to make idiotic comments? I don't have any insight as to the best stimuli, but I thought I would share this analogy. The demand for stimulus is as if a builder, having accidentally semi-demolished your home by removing a vital RSJ, comes to you and says "That's going to cost a fair bit to put right. You'd better pay me now while you still have some money."

Comment from yarel

TueAMCSTE_Rthth

Perhaps ignorance fueled the financial crisis, but whose ignorance? One scenario: 1) Our consumption and greed led us to outsource manufacturing (aka creation of wealth) to India and China and Eastern Europe. 2) The new manufacturing resulted in prosperity and excess cash accumulating overseas. 3) To thank us (and to put that cash to work), much of that cash was invested in US, European and Japanese markets. We were winning with both low cost goods and inflows of cash from overseas. 4) However, in the absence of manufacturing, consumer spending became a larger and larger component of the GDP. How consumer spending ever became a "product" in the first place mystifies me. Anyway, we encouraged consumer spending and associated consumer debt, because it makes the economy "grow" -- as measured by GDP. 5) Warning signs (declines in the savings rate, increased bankruptcies, increased home foreclosures . . .) are ignored and regulation is discouraged because action on either would interfer with the current "prosperity". It should be mentioned that those benefitting from the outsourcing of manufacturing and the cash inflows from overseas (a minority of the population representing a majority of the wealth) were having a totaly positive economic experience thoughout this. 6) Somebody (or somebodies) discovered that we cannot sustain an economy based on consumer spending alone . . . or did they? Maybe I'm getting ahead of the story. My point is, the ignorance that did the damage appears to be at the top of the food chain. Regardless, we need jobs that produce wealth (tangible goods) and we need to rein in debt (even at the expense of living within our means). It would also be laudable to punish those that worked so hard builting this house of cards.

Comment from mabehr

TueAMCSTE_Rthth

By me, there are a lot of bargains out there that I'd be willing to stick my neck out for, but I've been holding off since I knew the rules were going to change. The best thing that the government could do now is declare victory and pull out. In the campaign, both candidates promised to "fix the economy." We all know that it's difficult for the gov't to do anything, let alone fix a broken economy, but we did know that the new president would do SOMETHING. I'm glad the something is getting done soon, but once it's done, the government should STOP DOING ANYTHING. That will allow us to survey the field and figure out where we figure the least risk is.

Comment from MOGGYCAT

TueAMCSTE_Rthth

Bit mean ... we're all in this together from the top cat to the mingiest looking alley cat foraging the bins for fish bones and scraps, have a heart pal. Rock on Obama, get the wheels in motion, you never know, maybe some of that money will be spent on something useful , like saving the planet from oil.

Comment from zjgould

TueAMCSTE_Rthth

We already had a stimulous package in Australia of $1000 per child and I don't know if it helped the economy or not but most of it went on the poker machines apparently, however they're still going to give us another one of about $2500 for some families. It will help us finish up our renovations if it doesn't get blocked by the opposition. They're also giving us up to $1600 for insulation for owner occupied uninsulated homes to save families money on their heating and cooling bills and also do something towards our carbon footprint long term.