by John Tamny
The American Institute for Economic Research
A drive through West Virginia is a revelation when it comes to the power of politicians. Thanks to the late Senator Robert Byrd’s extraordinary influence in Washington, many, many billions of private sector U.S. production that Congress arrogated to itself was spent on “Federal” this and that and “Robert Byrd” this and that in West Virginia.
Byrd’s lamentable ability to capture so much U.S. production for his eternally impoverished state was and is an inconvenient truth for the 99.9% of credentialed economists who believe government spending powers economic growth. West Virginia is a reminder of how ridiculous such a belief is.