No Consensus

I caught a clip of Obama saying there was a consensus among conservative and liberal economists that 'something must be done'- in other words, he was saying everyone is on board for some kind of economic stimulus plan that will be daring and cost a lot of money.

I read and listen to a lot of economists. Here is what I hear:

Dear Government,

For the love of God, would you please not touch anything?

Then there are varying degrees of not touching anything, with those of the Austrian school wanting to abolish the Fed and take the creation of money out of government's hands. The most invasive suggestion was by some Chicagoan who suggested the special circumstances required some sort of emergency auction system- but this is to get the assets of bankrupt companies sold quickly, not to bail anybody out.

There is no consensus, and I suspect the bulk of opinion would be against government involvement, especially since only unrepentant Keynesians actually like government interference. Of course, unrepentant Keynesians all go get jobs in the government, so I wouldn't be surprised if Obama thinks he is hearing a consensus.

Have you noticed politicians claim there is a consensus whenever their intended actions contradict the science?