Stolen from the Gainesville Times

We’ve all heard the criticism lately about the stimulus plan advocated by President Obama. Will it work? Will it help the economy recover? Create jobs? Bolster consumer confidence? Or is it really just a Democratic power grab and spending clearing house?

These, however, are not the most relevant questions anymore. The bill is headed for the President’s desk very shortly and will become law. Questions about its efficacy are moot. The right question is not whether it will work. The right question is, will it work for you?

Think of the stimulus plan like a piñata at a child’s birthday party. Most partygoers are jumping around screaming with delight as the dizzy blindfolded cherub with his cardboard crown swings in the dark for something solid. Invariably, among the gregarious gaggle will be one or two precocious tots who 'get it'. They realize the one with the most candy at the end of this thing will be the one with the dirtiest knees.

And so it goes with the stimulus plan. Slithering around on the floor will be the handful of dirty-kneed opportunists who thrive in the vacuum created between exuberance and reality. Those who read the final version of the bill front to back, all 500 or 1,000 pages of it, and position themselves advantageously. Those who shun all politics except that of the omnivorous self-interest.

The opportunities will perhaps involve investing in companies which stand to benefit from government infrastructure contracts. In the job market, one might seek obscure employment opportunities in industrial sectors likely to receive government incentives for growth. In the entrepreneurial sector, businesses will be started with a focus on available government grants and entitlements. There’s close to a trillion dollars at stake here. That’s a lot of opportunity.

Of course, I’m obviously not speaking to the typical Democratic voter. Not the ones still basking in the warmth of victory and giddy from the anticipation of change. For them, it will be pocket change at best. Indeed, those who need the most help will wait in desperate futility while the buying power of whatever monetary token they receive is sapped by inflation. The bulk of the stimulus money will quickly find its way to capitalists and opportunists only to trickle down in lackluster dilution to the masses. You might say it’s the same as we’ve had the last 8 years. More like the last 200 years, actually. Sorry, but that’s how it works in practice, political rhetoric notwithstanding. The dealers change, but not the game.

So if it is your nature to scratch for every opportunity to better yourself under whatever circumstances might occur, rejoice! The stimulus bill offers great promise for you. However, if you think simply voting one way or another will enhance your station in life, I would suggest lottery tickets as a back up plan. With the lottery, at least you have some chance to win.


Reproduced with permission of the author, Mr. John Galt.

My thanks to you, Sir.