Government and the Uncertainty Trap

Senior økonom Thomas F. Siems, Federal Reserve Bank i Dallas, skriver i WSJ (7/8), at amerikansk økonomi ikke er fanget i likviditetsfælde, men derimod i en usikkerhedsfælde. Virksomheder, forbrugere og investorer mangler klarhed over fremtidige skatter og reguleringer i USA.


Siems konkluderer:

"It is plain that the government must now take much more seriously the effects of its actions on the general uncertainty and lack of confidence pervading the economy. Congress and other policy makers need to recognize that incentives matter, and that the potential for unintended consequences from interventionist strategies is not insignificant.

No amount of new legislation alone will prevent the next panic. But incentives that allow entrepreneurs and other investors the freedom to take risks and reap the rewards—and to also suffer the consequences of their actions should things not go as they planned—will ultimately drive better behavior and growth.

Policy makers also need to present a credible plan to deal with the national debt. Citizens are rightly concerned about the unsustainably high levels of deficit spending and the effects this will have on future generations. Taxpayers understand that there's no such thing as a free lunch.

Expanding bureaucracies and government control of industries and economic sectors (think health care, financial services, housing) are antithetical to the principles of free enterprise that foster industry and opportunity. They put our economic future at risk".