I chuckled over the way this AP story is worded. Maybe President Bush should incorporate arson into his economic growth package:
Good news: fires = paychecks:
It’s a little known silver lining to the fires that have burned about 2 million acres in Alaska this year – they’re also putting paychecks in the pockets of hundreds of Alaskans.
This past week, close to 1,700 people were playing some role in battling eight major blazes raging throughout Alaska, said Brett Ricker, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center at Fort Wainwright.
. . .
“This is a good opportunity for us right now,” said Roberta Thomas, who’s working in a warehouse supply unit. “There are limited jobs available, so when fire season comes around it’s a good opportunity for men and women.”
Alas. There is a slight downside to the fires. You know, the fact that they burn things:
Fort Yukon residents worry the fires could endanger relatives, damage remote cabins where boats, snowmobiles and hunting and fishing gear are stored, and affect wild game they depend on to feed their families.
This is similar to the often stated view that war is “good” for the economy. Of course it’s not the war that helps the economy–the markets could find a far more productive use of capital than to blow things up. It’s the government spending that primes the economy. But people often fail to recognize that difference.