The Fredericksburg Free-Lance Star’s editorial page is deeply offended [1] by George Allen’s remark that government doesn’t create jobs, sniffing that this is little more than “shibboleth-slopping of the simple-minded.”
While I appreciate alliteration as much as the next person, it is the unsigned editorial writer who is showing his or her simplicity. To help ease the writer’s way out of economic illiteracy, here’s a brief, handy video — filled with easy to grasp graphics — explaining the point Mr. Allen, like unnumbered thousands before him, was making:
After the writer has reviewed the above video a few times, and then had a nice nap and a refreshing snack, he or she might possibly be ready to tackle some stronger stuff, like this snippet from Milton Friedman:
Watch it as often as necessary. Feel free to take notes and ask questions afterwards. And then, perhaps, the writer might be ready to dive into the deep end and wrestle with the foundational argument behind the videos and Mr. Allen’s remark: Frederic Bastiat’s “That Which is Seen, and That Which is Not Seen.” [2]
Only after completing this economic primer will the writer then be allowed to write about what governments can and cannot create.