A question that hangs over this country is whether the policies out of Washington will help our economy grow.

Nobody really knows, of course. Students of economic history, I suspect, are not encouraged by what they see. A lot of them see the following cards stacked against the economy for the longer term.

1. Government stimulus packages have not worked well in the past. Our own Great Depression and Japan’s recent years in the doldrums are good examples of stimulus failure. Lots of studies show that most government stimulants stimulate little.

We, of course, are plunging deep into debt in launching stimulus packages. It is like you taking out a massive loan for a faulty business. The loan does not help the business grow. Meanwhile you have burdened it with more debt.

2. Massive indebtedness hurts economies. Huge deficits hurt economies. They slow down growth. They cripple economies with repayments for years ahead. There are mountains of histories of economies that underscore this point. We are suffering immense deficits and a mountain of debt.

3. Raising taxes in recessions is a bad move. History confirms this. Logic alone should tell us this is so. If a business was suffering, do you think it would make sense to raise the taxes it must pay?  If a household is struggling, is it wise to raise taxes on it?  Of course not.