The Conservative View: Darkest Before Daybreak

This week's Conservative View, by Adair County Commissioner and conservative activist Russell Turner (R-Stilwell).

The Conservative View
by Russell Turner

Darkest Before Daybreak

I have been told that the night is the darkest just before daybreak; I feel that that analogy can be applied to the economic situation that our country is currently in. I keep hearing some bureaucrats from various governmental agencies claim that the worst of the economic crisis is behind us and all will be fine in a short period of time. I guess that we could be inspired by their optimism, but I have learned that the main difference between an optimist and a pessimist is the pessimist usually has more and better information.

There are some facts that we Americans need to take into account before we start letting our guard down. For a true economic recovery, only the private sector can create the wealth needed to bring our country out of the financial mess we are in. For those who think that the government is the answer, we need to remember where the government gets the money it spends. That money only comes from the taxpayers of this country. The so-called economic rebound since March 2009 was bought with unprecedented fiscal and monetary stimulus. There has not been a real, market-generated recovery. Even with all of the money that our government has thrust into the system through bailouts and stimulus, the recovery is still weak. We need to remember that at least 80 percent of this huge stimulus program has been used up. There isn't much left to keep the economic engines running.

For any economy to grow, the people must have enough faith to be willing to borrow money and take a risk in order to make money. Today it seems like the only borrowing going on is what our government is doing. Strong recoveries have always been driven by credit growth. The labor market has not recovered and thus consumer spending is also down. Even the housing market could experience more problems with mortgage debt defaults which would result in falling home prices.

We Americans seem to have forgotten that our economic system relies upon each of us to do all that we can for our own well being. Granted, government has a place, but it should only be used for as short a period of time as possible. If our government does not stop the practice of printing more currency and using it like monopoly money, our economic night will continue to grow darker and darker. 

If you wish to contact Russell Turner, or want to subscribe to his email loop, email him at rdrepublican@windstream.net.