Is the OECD insane?

The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) is saying that the global economic recovery is slowing down, but that there is no evidence of another looming recession. The international body is uncertain what is causing the slow down, but there is a fear that there may be an underlining weakness in the economy.

The OECD is proposing a possible solution if the weakness proves systemic:

“[I]f the slowdown reflects longer-lasting forces bearing down on activity, additional monetary stimulus may be needed in the form of quantitative easing and commitment to close-to-zero policy interest rates for a long period,” he said.
This brings me to the question on hand, is the OECD insane?

Basically what they are saying is that it is possible that the “stimulus” plan may not have worked, and in the event that it didn’t work they should do it again. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Really if the first trillions of dollars spent by the various governments didn’t do anything (and there is zero evidence that it did do anything) what makes the OECD think that the next trillion will be better?

OECD’s insanity goes deeper than this. Every industrialized country in the world is facing a financial crisis. Governments everywhere are trying to figure out how they can reduce their deficits before they become another Greece. Then here comes the OECD calling for even larger deficits.

The OECD tries to cover up this insanity by saying that new spending should only take place where this is “space,” but this is so ambiguous that it is meaningless. How much more debt can countries such as the UK or the US really afford? They can’t even afford the debt that they have now.

So I have to conclude that: yes, the OECD is indeed insane.