That broad smile on Henry’s face bothered me. Or, come to think about it, maybe it wasn’t just the smile. Maybe it was the realization that things aren’t necessarily the way they seem to be, and that if I want to understand things more clearly, I have to look below the surface for secondary considerations.
“Okay, Henry, you’re on a roll. I've learned that there are things that need to be seen other than the immediate, local effect. You want to pick up from there?”
Henry nodded and said, “We can see the men employed on the bridge. We can watch them at work. The employment argument of the government spenders becomes vivid, and probably for most people convincing.”
“Well, that argument was pretty convincing to me. I can see why others would also be convinced by it,” said I.
Henry nodded again. He had been doing a lot of nodding, I noticed. He went on, “But there are other things that we do not see, because, alas, they have never been permitted to come into existence.”
“Well,” I said, my mind racing to figure what they might be, “whatever they are, they must be really important. What are they?”
Responding, Henry said, “They are the jobs destroyed by the $1,000,000 taken from the taxpayers.”
“Okay, Henry,” I said. “I can understand the $1,000,000 in taxes bit. But, what’s the story on the destruction of jobs? What’s happened there?”
Said Henry, “All that has happened, at best, is that there has been a diversion of jobs because of the project. More bridge builders; fewer automobile workers, radio technicians, clothing workers, farmers.”
“Henry”, I responded, “I’m having trouble making that connection. I’ll have to ponder that for a while, so let's put that aside for the moment. You said there were two arguments advanced by advocates for government spending ‘to provide employment’. I’ve heard the first one—the one before the bridge is built. What's the second argument?”
Responding, Henry said, “We come to the second argument. The bridge exists. It is, let us suppose, a beautiful and not an ugly bridge. It has come into being through the magic of government spending. Where would it have been if the obstructionists and the reactionaries had had their way?”
“Are you serious, Henry?”, I asked, “It’s obvious that there would have been no bridge.”
Henry nodded again, then said, “There would have been no bridge. The country would have been just that much poorer.”
A small voice whispered in my head, “He’s gonna get you again. Watch what you say.” I responded inwardly to the small voice, “I got it covered.” Confidently, I said to Henry, “For goodness sakes, Henry, doesn’t that support the argument of the government spenders?”
I am seriously getting to hate that smile of Henry’s.
“Okay, Henry, you’re on a roll. I've learned that there are things that need to be seen other than the immediate, local effect. You want to pick up from there?”
Henry nodded and said, “We can see the men employed on the bridge. We can watch them at work. The employment argument of the government spenders becomes vivid, and probably for most people convincing.”
“Well, that argument was pretty convincing to me. I can see why others would also be convinced by it,” said I.
Henry nodded again. He had been doing a lot of nodding, I noticed. He went on, “But there are other things that we do not see, because, alas, they have never been permitted to come into existence.”
“Well,” I said, my mind racing to figure what they might be, “whatever they are, they must be really important. What are they?”
Responding, Henry said, “They are the jobs destroyed by the $1,000,000 taken from the taxpayers.”
“Okay, Henry,” I said. “I can understand the $1,000,000 in taxes bit. But, what’s the story on the destruction of jobs? What’s happened there?”
Said Henry, “All that has happened, at best, is that there has been a diversion of jobs because of the project. More bridge builders; fewer automobile workers, radio technicians, clothing workers, farmers.”
“Henry”, I responded, “I’m having trouble making that connection. I’ll have to ponder that for a while, so let's put that aside for the moment. You said there were two arguments advanced by advocates for government spending ‘to provide employment’. I’ve heard the first one—the one before the bridge is built. What's the second argument?”
Responding, Henry said, “We come to the second argument. The bridge exists. It is, let us suppose, a beautiful and not an ugly bridge. It has come into being through the magic of government spending. Where would it have been if the obstructionists and the reactionaries had had their way?”
“Are you serious, Henry?”, I asked, “It’s obvious that there would have been no bridge.”
Henry nodded again, then said, “There would have been no bridge. The country would have been just that much poorer.”
A small voice whispered in my head, “He’s gonna get you again. Watch what you say.” I responded inwardly to the small voice, “I got it covered.” Confidently, I said to Henry, “For goodness sakes, Henry, doesn’t that support the argument of the government spenders?”
I am seriously getting to hate that smile of Henry’s.
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