Warren Buffet didn’t like the first stimulus, stating it was “watered down.” Now, the Berkshire Hathaway CEO longs for a second stimulus package (third actually, counting Bush’s). His use of a Viagra metaphor, in explaining his point of view, is sure to amuse:

The government cannot “create” anything; all they can do is redirect wealth or economic activity, and diminish the value of money through the printing press. Their funds come from taxing the public and printing new money. Their spending projects are transfer payments from one person to another. When they stimulate job growth or price appreciation (real estate, for example) in one sector of the economy, it is simply taking money and resources away from another sector. Directing money and resources to select industries, or offering incentives like subsidies, causes a misallocation of resources.

People like Buffet, and the pro-deficit spending representatives in Washington, can always rebuke that previous stimuli were not large enough, and more stimulus is needed. Or, in Buffet’s case, use a Viagra metaphor. Stimulus, though, by definition, is not economic growth or prosperity. It is, at best, misguided attempts to prop up employment. At worst, it is a huge, revolving political slush fund for cronies.

Keeping people employed is a noble aim. But keeping people employed in failing companies, if not industries, doesn’t do anybody any good in the long run. And using other people’s money to protect failing institutions, without asking, is pretty much the opposite of a representative government. Punishing success to reward failure is an exercise in futility, if your goal is to spark economic growth. Debt and worthless assets must be liquidated, and the capital and resources tied up in these endeavors must be moved to productive areas of the economy. You know, like auto manufacturing and housing.

The government can encourage economic growth through rule of law, upholding contracts and the Constitution. For the government to create economic growth, though, it would have to bring something of value to the table, not derived from tax revenue or printing presses. More specifically, an income-producing asset (yes, in the black) funded by capital raised from the free market. Until then, understand that government stimulus is moving resources around, not creating growth. When the money being shuffled around comes off the printing press, the value of money itself has been diminished.