A Year of the Cow story

“Roads and bridges are attractive, but they create jobs only during construction,” said Shunji Nakamura, chief of the city’s industrial policy section. “You need projects with good jobs that will last through a bad economy.”

This is from an article in the online NY Times about Japan's bad example in stimulating the economy through public works projects. Construction companies like to be paid for pouring lots of concrete. They don't care what happens next. They get paid, but people are employed only as long as it takes to dig a hole and fill it with concrete.

Another idea: "...let people decide how to spend their own money..."

Here's the cow story:

A few years back, Japan gave a few hundred dollars worth of consumer coupons--from funds in the welfare budget--to low income families, the elderly, and children under 16. I remember a story about two boys who pooled their coupons and bought a calf. They raised it until it was big enough to sell, and used that money to buy more calves.

Imagine all the side effects from that original calf investment, starting with keeping the boys busy with a great out-of-school project.

Not everyone needs a cow, but how about if, say, instead of company bailouts, US owners of clunky cars got enough money back to buy a real car? Would the economy rev up a few notches?