BILL WEIR: The drumbeat of bad economic news pounds on.  President Obama pushing Congress to pass a massive stimulus package quickly. But the debate rages, and there is a number of economists out there who think the government should do nothing: save the $900 billion, let the free market correct itself. We’ll examine.

The segment itself, narrated by correspondent John Hendren, highlighted on an ad run by the libertarian Cato Institute, signed by 250 economists, arguing against the stimulus and urging the government to let the free market run its course.  Dan Mitchell of Cato was seen in several clips making the case against government intervention.  He was cast in a reasonable light, not as a two-headed tabloid creature.

JOHN HENDREN: The debate on Capitol Hill has been all about the size of the stimulus: should it be merely big, bigger, a behemoth? But there’s another school of thought that’s getting less attention.  Call them the “do-nothings.”  In these free-spending times, there’s a growing movement among economists who say the best way out of this recession is to do . . . nothing; nothing at all.

Cut to clip of unidentified economist: “I think there’s nothing wrong with doing nothing.”

HENDREN: Nor do the 250 other economists who signed onto this ad in the New York Times and Washington Post.

DAN MITCHELL: Government just doesn’t work very well.  We tried big spending under Bush: it didn’t work. We tried big spending under Hoover: it didn’t work.

HENDREN: President Obama and the supporters of the nearly $1 trillion stimulus say in works like this: in a recession, money is scarce, so the government needs to pump money into the economy. That gives consumers money to spend and the economy rises. The do-nothings say letting the free market run its course might cause short-term pain.

MITCHELL: A lot of bad government policies got us into this mess. And we don’t have the magic wand that’s going to get us out right away.

HENDREN: But they say it would end the recession more quickly and leave the economy stronger. Take Circuit City: the electronics retailer is shutting its doors and laying off 34,000 workers.  The do-nothings say that paves the way for stronger rivals like Best Buy to take over market share. It’s all vinegar and no sugar.  During the hard times, the do-nothings argue Americans would pay down their debt and cut down on the kind of borrowing and spending that brought the economy to where it is now.

MITCHELL: Part of the discomfort from that is probably unavoidable. But at least we can make that transition much quicker and have a faster and stronger recovery.

HENDREN: The do-nothings point to banking bail-out. Since Uncle Sam invested $165 billion in the nation’s eight largest banks, they’re worth $418 billion less than they were in October. That’s a loss of more than 1,000%.  Now the do-nothings know they’re going to lose this debate. They’re hoping to hold down the size of the stimulus.  One economist told me: I can see them cutting $100 billion, and that ain’t chump change.  Bill.

Back in the studio, Weir ended on a respectful note.

WEIR: Interesting idea, John, in these days when we’re throwing around that word “billion” a lot.

So, FB kudos for the day to GMA, Hendren and Weir, for their fair treatment of the sons of Adam Smith.