There’s been lots of alarmism from interest groups about the impact of sequestration on teachers, security, White House tourism and congressional janitors. In addition, many commentators are arguing that it is wrong to reduce the burden of government spending in a weak economy — no matter how small the actual cuts are. The evidence of the supposedly devastating impact of spending cuts, we are told, can be seen all over Europe. The solution, then, is to boost the size of government.

Second, an increase in government spending won’t help the economy grow today. After years of debate over the impact of government spending on economic growth, we don’t find much support for this Keynesian world view. Notwithstanding the confidence of stimulus advocates, there is no academic consensus regarding the size or even the sign (plus or minus) of the multiplier used to calculate economic growth created by $1 in government spending. As my colleague Matt Mitchell and I explained in a paper last year, the largest recent estimate is 3.7 while the smallest one is -2.88. In some cases, government projected as a boon for the economy, sometimes as simple waste, and sometimes as destructive.