Central planning and the parasites it creates

A dollar spent by the government perverts the entire economy, says Bill Bonner.

Bill is away until 17 April. In his absence, we bring you some of his most insightful, caustic and witty observations from the last 14 years. This article was first published on 24 February 2008.

Not all economists are charlatans. At Harvard is Robert J Barro, who just computed the net costs of the government's 2009 stimulus program. It was originally expected to cost $787bn and is now estimated to come in with a final price tag of $862bn.

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