The New New Deal: The Hidden Story of Change in the Obama Era

[AnotherMcIntosh]

9. Why bring in a straw-man as to what might have happened. It was signed into law. To be consistent

with an announced goal of having a recovery, maybe it would have been a good idea to take action consistent with that.

Here's an analogy. If the driver of a North-bound taxicab in Chicago at State and Madison told you that he would take you to State and Wacker but then turned West instead of driving four blocks North to Wacker, you might have an idea that the driver did not have a primary goal of taking you directly to State and Wacker but was interested in running up the cab fare.

If you already got into the cab and were already enroute, the logical thing to consider is whether it would have been better to travel directly to your destination at State and Wacker rather than talking about not going at all.

None one raised the issue of whether it would have been better to not sign the Recovery Act. The issue is whether it would have been better to act in a manner consistent with have a goal of having a recovery.