In the run-up to this weekend's G-8 summit at Camp David, journalists have unfavorably compared European "austerity" with Barack Obama's economic policies.

Barack Obama's proposed economic stimulus is more than twice as large as the biggest previous fiscal boost.

Last week's announcement by four major oil companies that they are setting up a billion dollar joint venture to create a rapid-response system to contain deep offshore oil spills shows that private firms can act faster in a crisis than government regulators.

The stimulus plan is bad news.

Many in the mainstream media have been cheerleading for Barack Obama. They and he both naturally hope for a strong economic recovery. After all, Obama can't keep blaming the economic doldrums on George W. Bush forever.

Recent economic research suggests that a dollar of government spending raises GDP by $1 but that a dollar of tax cuts raises GDP by $3.

There are ample reasons to doubt whether a huge increase in government spending is what the economy needs.

Worldwide, investors are watching where the United States is headed, and it seems they do not like what they see.