David in D

The Recovery Was Too Expensive

Nice article Chris. I'm curious though, your metaphor of taking a pay cut then borrowing to fill in the gap seems a bit simplistic here. The borrowing, in the case of the nation, comes from itself. While I agree that the fiscal crisis will probably not lead to serious reform, and while it probably cost more than it needed to, I think it is hard to quantify the downside of a crisis. In other words, it is easy (as you admit in your Monday morning quarterback comment) to sit back and say "we are really getting only limited value from this bailout" but this is really an impossible statement; isn't it? How do you know what might have happened if the fed's actions hadn't been taken?

In general, I'm in agreement with you. But I get a little annoyed on Seeking Alpha with all the "ditto heads" and permabears and really, perhaps Bernanke deserves some real kudos. Who knows, my point is we cannot.

We are but fallible humans (actually meaning-making animals) seeking to do the best we can for ourselves in our social contracts. I think it's better to live in gratefulness for what has been done than perenial cynicism.