This recession a matter of structure

The New Deal attacked the causes of the Depression head-on. It rejected the unregulated market structures and ideology that created the economic inequality of the 1920s.

[yerkiddenright]

Keynsians like Heise need to learn their own history.

Dr. Bruce Caldwell, an economic historian at Duke recently commented on Keynes new popularity among administration advisors and sympathizers: "[Keynes's] theory, by providing a theoretical justification for action, is custom-made for a crisis.'Don't just sit there, do something' is a universal human instinct when times get bad.'"

It's most often poorly considered panicky reactions to problems that creates more of them.

It's exactly what FDR did and got wrong during the Great Depression. Keynes's deficit spending was the basis for the New Deal -- immediate massive debt-financed spending. But, in one regard, Keynes gets a bad deal. Keynes didn't care how the money was spent and wrote: "The United States is ready to roll towards prosperity, if a good hard shove can be given in the next six months."

Six months! FDR "shoved" money the US didn't have for years rather than six months, and in 1939 the rate of unemployment was the same as when he took office, plus the government accumulated a huge debt for those days. Today Obama's "stimulus" policies and budget proposals promise trillion dollar deficits for years and massive debt we may never be able to repay for generations, if at all. No Keynsian six month fixes for the Obamaniacs, either. Worse, if we can't find anyone like the Chinese Communists to underwrite our debt, taxes will go up for everyone. Not just the wealthy, everyone. Without reversing the policies and giving up programs dear to liberals, they must.

For years it was taken as holy writ that New Deal public spending softened the Great Depression, and that World War II defense spending efectively ended it. Reputable economists with no ax to grind now agree with Milton Friedman that misatken monetary policy beginning with Hoover and continued by FDR made a recession The Great Depression and that reversing New Deal policies during WW II ended it.

Other historians, like Amity Shlaes, add that unpredictable governmental market tinkering discouraged private-sector recovery, and that the New Deal was mostly ineffectual, even counterproductive.

She's right. And those blunders from the '30s sound very much like what's going on today. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Obama's determination not to let a good crisis go to waste has the potential to undermine the American system if we let him get away with it.

I'm certain Heise considers that a feature of Obama's program rather than a drawback.

[randy]

In a perfect world there would be no unemployment. welfare, social security, medicare. We need to stop giving all these free loaders free money and it should stop tomorrow.yerkiddenright? I enjoy dodgeing a half dozen potholes on the way to work. Don't get any of those slackers to fix the roads. I'd rather have them fix the axel on my car. And dagonnit they have Grsvel Hill road closed again to repair the bridge. I could have paid about $10.00 less taxes if they would let the bridges crumble.
Here's a good one, I'm gonna call the unemployment office and get some of those ungratefull leaches to come mow my grass they ought to be desperate by now so I can get it done cheap.yerkiddenright?

[HIH]

You must get paid to write these articles, because every issue you touched on was already talked about by President Obama or one of his economic team weeks ago.

Nothing new in this article.

[HIH]

yerkiddenright wrote:

Keynsians like Heise need to learn their own history.
Dr. Bruce Caldwell, an economic historian at Duke recently commented on Keynes new popularity among administration advisors and sympathizers: "[Keynes's] theory, by providing a theoretical justification for action, is custom-made for a crisis.'Don't just sit there, do something' is a universal human instinct when times get bad.'"
It's most often poorly considered panicky reactions to problems that creates more of them.
It's exactly what FDR did and got wrong during the Great Depression. Keynes's deficit spending was the basis for the New Deal -- immediate massive debt-financed spending. But, in one regard, Keynes gets a bad deal. Keynes didn't care how the money was spent and wrote: "The United States is ready to roll towards prosperity, if a good hard shove can be given in the next six months."
Six months! FDR "shoved" money the US didn't have for years rather than six months, and in 1939 the rate of unemployment was the same as when he took office, plus the government accumulated a huge debt for those days. Today Obama's "stimulus" policies and budget proposals promise trillion dollar deficits for years and massive debt we may never be able to repay for generations, if at all. No Keynsian six month fixes for the Obamaniacs, either. Worse, if we can't find anyone like the Chinese Communists to underwrite our debt, taxes will go up for everyone. Not just the wealthy, everyone. Without reversing the policies and giving up programs dear to liberals, they must.
For years it was taken as holy writ that New Deal public spending softened the Great Depression, and that World War II defense spending efectively ended it. Reputable economists with no ax to grind now agree with Milton Friedman that misatken monetary policy beginning with Hoover and continued by FDR made a recession The Great Depression and that reversing New Deal policies during WW II ended it.
Other historians, like Amity Shlaes, add that unpredictable governmental market tinkering discouraged private-sector recovery, and that the New Deal was mostly ineffectual, even counterproductive.
She's right. And those blunders from the '30s sound very much like what's going on today. Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Obama's determination not to let a good crisis go to waste has the potential to undermine the American system if we let him get away with it.
I'm certain Heise considers that a feature of Obama's program rather than a drawback.

The New Deal was working great until Conservative Republicans got into office and cut the spending, so try again.

This article is all old news already talked about by the Obama team for weeks.

Jobs are the number one issue and President Obama is well aware of that fact, even without either one of you two knuckleheads.

[carl]

HIH wrote:

You must get paid to write these articles, because every issue you touched on was already talked about by President Obama or one of his economic team weeks ago.
Nothing new in this article.

HIH, he probably does get paid.. and you are right! Everything he mentioned was touched on Obama, so what does that tell you? He's just another Left wing zombie repeating the Ultra Liberal talking points