In response to Tom Woods’ excellent post, I think we safely can say that the Associated Press’ “fact check” people hold that when the government is involved, there is no opportunity cost, or that the only thing that matters is what is seen, and what is not seen simply can be shoved aside. The real cost of the TARP was not the $700 jillion or quadrillion, but rather the fact that it not only kept the malinvestments in place, but put a value on them that was out-of-kilter with reality.

We are seeing a grand experiment in which the State places sets of values on factors and assets and their use in certain lines of production, while the market sets other values (usually zero), with the notion that the State wins out and that the results are good for the economy. That is Obama’s economic program, from “alternative energy” to propping up failed enterprises in a nutshell. These Progressives, from politicians to the journalists who worship them, are claiming that the government can use orders, force, and the threat of force to create prosperity, and that anything else is immoral. We can see how this experiment is working.