France shows right way to do govt stimulus

With a $37 billion euro economic stimulus package, and this from a conservative government, no less, France is doing government stimulus the right way. First, have projects “shovel-ready.” Part of that is through €100 million to repair French cultural sites.

“America is six months behind; it has wasted a lot of time,” said Patrick Devedjian, the minister in charge of the French relance, or stimulus. By the time Washington gets around to doling out most of its money, Mr. Devedjian sniffed, “the crisis could be over.”

So, whether or not Europe as a whole is being less aggressive than the US on stimulus spending, that’s not true of France.

Meanwhile, evidence mounts that through either timidity or cluelessness, Team Obama didn’t get it right. On the timidity side, the Obama Administration has become a self-fulfilling prophecy, giving the GOP a chance to say, “I told you so, now let’s have a tax cut.”