In an Op-Ed in the New London Day, Former Congressman Rob Simmons asks, Is This A Stimulus For The Government Or For The Economy?. It might have been an interesting rhetorical question if it didn’t present false dichotomies. Mr. Simmons seems to be working from the false assumption that Government spending cannot be good for the economy. I hope he is never back in Congress because I suspect many of his former constituents benefited greatly from the Government spending on submarines.

He goes on to ask,

How did Congress conclude that spending hundreds of billions of our tax dollars on thousands of pet projects will stimulate our consumer economy?

Perhaps, it is because of looking at projects like Government spending on submarines and how the money paid to workers at Electric Boat was spent by them, as consumers, in the local economy. He continues his line of questions by asking,

If consumer spending is the goal, why not give every American taxpayer a debit card worth $10,000 with six months to spend it on consumer items.

Hopefully, however, consumer spending isn’t the sole goal. Hopefully, we have politicians that are willing to put country first and commit to projects that will make our country stronger and more secure. This strength is likely to come not only from submarines built in Groton, but also from having better roads to make transportation more efficient, from better schools to make our future workers and leaders more competitive, and from more efficient use of renewable energy to decrease our dependence on oil from instable regions.

Yes, such spending will also have the benefit of putting people to work and giving them the means to increase their own consumer spending, further strengthening our economy, but that is not, and should not be the sole goal.

He then goes on to complain about the amount spent not being enough to “even pay to replace the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge”. It sort of reminds me of a joke from an old Woody Allen film. Two elderly people are at a resort in the Catskills and one complains that the food is horrible. The other chimes in, agreeing, and complains that the portions are too small as well.

So, what is it Mr. Simmons? Do you have any real ideas about how to make our country stronger, or are you going to just complain that the servings are horrible, and too small as well. Or, to borrow another line from years ago, “Where’s the beef?”