Government spending is saving our economy

I appreciate that Marty Sixt's accomplishments including founding two companies, but he is no economist. In his Dec. 21 guest column, he criticized economic stimulus spending. He's wrong.

Economists say that government spending is exactly what is needed during times of great recession and depression. Economist Paul Krugman, in the Aug. 10 New York Times, said: “What saved us from a full replay of the Great Depression? The answer, basically, is Big Government. The government has played a crucial stabilizing role. All this has helped support the economy in its time of need, in a way that didn't happen back in 1930. And yes, this means that budget deficits - which are a bad thing in normal times - are actually a good thing right now.”

We are not out of the woods yet. We need to create jobs. We need more stimulus.

When an emergency strikes, you must spend what is necessary to fix the damage.

George Hewland

Cedar Rapids