"government spending cuts in a recession is unwise"

Newspaper in Kansas, Staff Editorial from the Winfield Daily Courrier "Tea Party economics?" Sept. 16:

The Tea Party is having an impact beyond its numbers.

Its cry for smaller government and more liberty resonates with many Americans.

But let’s admit something.

The Tea Party’s economics are nuts.

First of all, calling for government spending cuts in a recession is unwise.

That call makes sense for the long term, but it can only cost jobs in the short term.

Secondly, blaming regulations for the recession is nonsense.

Almost all the same regulations we have today were in place during the booming 1990s and the recovery after 9/11.

The financial crisis of 2008, if anything, came about because of inadequate regulation.

Thirdly, the idea that a president or a governor gets credit — or blame — for prosperity or lack of it is politics, not economics.

Ours is an economy of cycles.

The Libertarian Tea Party mantra that less government somehow makes more private sector jobs ignores this basic reality.