In the United States, the only honest fiscal solution is to end the Bush tax cuts, end foreign military adventurism, stop pretending that it’s necessary to spend more on military and ostensible national security hardware than the rest of the world combined, and end all forms of corporate subsidies. If a corporation cannot survive on its own it deserves to die. If a corporation’s survival serves some vital social or security need and it cannot survive on its own, then it should be socialized rather than publicly subsidized. After all, public subsidies to privately held corporations already are a form of socialism, it’s just that much of the money goes into private pockets rather than serving the public good.
That we are even discussing economic austerity is itself proof that the political systems of the developed world are but servants to private industry. We know how the world dug itself out of the Great Depression, and it wasn’t economic austerity. It was deficit spending. It was Keynesian economics. It was a widespread series of policies that laid the foundation for true economic growth. From the ground up.
Greece has been deficit spending for a long while and look where it got them..
Keynesian economics got us in this mess in the first place. The kos fails to recognize that the right and the left both adhere to Keynes’ principles.
You obviously aren’t aware of what the tenets that John Maynard Keynes even said.
He said that you spend on infrastructure and other projects that create wealth after the crisis is over and that you raise taxes to slow down an over-heated economy. Our economy is dead.
We are about as far as it is possible to get from Keynesian economic policies as its possible to get.
Our spending on the military is beginning to resemble North Korea’s.
Its just that they’ve been broke since WWII (which they have never stopped fighting.)
And what economic model does the Nomenklatur at the Daily Kook suggests be used: the North Korean socialism or the Cuban one? I guess they’d mean the latter what with fatso Moore and all.
Radical much?
No one is requesting that. If you read that in the article something is really wrong with the school you went (unless you are home schooled).
There is just this idea (stupid one) that you should not spend more than what you make. As simple as that.
Bit all other countries in the world in the ass, why would not bite USA?
And I’m sure you believe everything the daily kook says.
People as gullible as you should stay at home
Believe everything?
No, but different than you I try to inform myself instead of just cooking conspiracy theories left and right.
Must be a delight to have conversation with you. So well informed.
Said the sap that eats Daily Kook fodder.
How can you “get informed” on a false pretense described in the editorial? Or you mean a Hollander kind of solution?
These lefty loons are a riot
I live in Germany, a “social market” economy by constitutional definition. The Germans have found the equilibrium between capitalism and social welfare. It is possible. There are very rich people, a solid middle class, and a lot of poor people but everybody have access to a pretty decent educational and health system and social security. In this year all the main corporations had made record profits, taxes income for the government also reached a record, lowest unemployment in 20 years, even the public health insurance companies (public option) have surpluses.
That would be more convincing if they shouldered their own defense, and not us.
Ron Paul would give them the glorious opportunity to do just that, but its seems unlikely the industrial complex will be diminished by any other candidates, Democrat or Republican.
“military” industrial complex
“shouldered their own defense”
Oh boy how many times I heard Americans saying this. Just so completely naive.
Germany is an “occupied” country. You Americans went there to kick the ass of the nazis, btw did I say thanks for that?, and never left, no thanks for that.
You just seem to forget that American has benefited greatly from this occupation since it could fend off the cold war with a central establishment for army and nowadays is half way to Iraq/Afghanistan.
And this rhetoric of Germans do not pay for their defense is BS. They do spend less money for their defense than the US (but who doesn’t!) but still they are in the top 10 spenders AND participate as an ally in NATO and other things.
LOL, they really complained when Rumsfeld proposed reordering the US deployment there. I think Germany might be more open to it now that Poland has built up.
So is only the Americans that benefited by your so called “occupation” by fending off the cold war. I bet you’re a Stasi lover
I never said that but it seems that you only read what you want
Since you were home schooled and cant actually discern anything that does not goes with your narrow (crazy) view of the world I suggest you go back to moms basements wearing your tin foil hat my friend
Germany has for several decades been striking the right balance between free-enterprise, fascism and socialism for structuring their economy and their society.
Instead of insisting on a one size fits all approach which denies the other two, they made some wise decisions.
Likewise the Chinese have built cities which only have care-taker staff occupying them right now, except that the population is expected to shift off of the farms and into the cities over the rest of the century, and the cities will be ready.
A purely capitalist/free enterprise economy forbids that kind of long term planning.
We all know that a purely socialist one can’t work since it doesn’t provide incentives for growth.
You do not what the word ‘fascism’ means. World war II was 60 years ago, apart from some small groups of neo-nazis (just as irrelevant as the ‘American Nazi party’), fascism in Germany is eradicated.
The Great Depression was ended by WWII, not by Keynesian economics.
We know how the world dug itself out of the Great Depression, and it wasn’t economic austerity. It was deficit spending. It was Keynesian economics.
BS.
It was ended by building tanks and airplanes, real goods not social services, and selling them to countries abroad.
I love people with short memories.
They spout the most amazingly funny bullshit.
When was Hoover dam built?
When was the interstate system built?
When was the Golden Gate bridge built?
When were thousands of federal buildings built and furnished with art and furniture?
What is the difference between building a dam which irrigates vast areas of desert, an interstate system and bridges to carry the goods that you produce to distant markets, and plowing the wealth of the nation in the military?
Can you eat a bullet?
We have been lending the foreign markets (those countries abroad) the money to buy those tanks and airplanes that we have sold since WWII, and those sales have come back to bite us in the ass.
Wrong on all accounts.
Saying the dam was a make work project is false. The GD didn’t start until 1929. The Dam was authorized by Congress in 1928, after a decade of planning.
The Interstate highway system didn’t get started until the mid-50′s.
The Golden Gate Bridge was conceptualized in 1918 and was authorized by CA in 1928 (again, a year before the GD).
The only things that happened during the GD was a substantial increase in the number of welfare programs and a 1000% increase in the number of regulatory agencies, none of which did a single thing to pull us out. Production is how you pull yourself out of tough economic times, not make work projects.
What is the author complaining about? Austerity? The Senate hasn’t even passed a budget in 3 years. Their Budget Chairman finally decided to start this week. The Republicans showed up, but the Democrats stayed away, because their leader doesn’t want their members to have to take a difficult vote.
I guess it is a form of austerity to never even vote on a budget.
At the same time, Harry Reid is praising junk mail.
“A lot of it is what some people refer to as junk mail, but for the people who are sending that mail, it’s very important.” “And when talking about seniors, seniors love getting junk mail. It’s sometimes their only way of communicating or feeling like they’re part of the real world,” Reid continued. “Elderly Americans, more than anyone in America, rely on the United States Postal Service, but unless we act quickly, thousands of post offices . . . will close. I’ve
Keynesian economics is crap! If you want to read about it here is a Wiki link:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keynesian_economics
Something you dipstick “economists” don’t seem to realize is that Keynesian economics was a THEORY from the 1930′s! It may have helped get the USA through some tough times like the great depression and World War II but that was at least HALF A CENTURY AGO!!!
Remember your history (or be condemned to repeat it)! Keynesian economics was developed at a time when America was still primarily agriculturally centered, when there were less people and a whole lot less technology, and when there were completely industry voids like high tech, interstate highway systems and even airplane manufacturing (sure, there were some fledgeling companies but it was mostly R&D). And do we really want to look at international trade? Get REAL!
So when you want to start spewing crap and showing your pseudo-intelligence about an ancient THEORY you simply are NOT worth listening to.
If you want to join the rest of us in the TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY then great. Just stop trying to apply old tech to new situations. It’s like trying to put Conestoga wagon wheels on a Porsche 911 – it’s beyond STUPID!
Let’s also not forget one other thing: applying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is quite literally a definition for INSANITY! Keynesian may have been credited for working THEN but this isn’t THEN!
The constitution is older, so what’s your point?
Yeah but the constitution has something called amendments.
duh?
So–I was reading the first page of comments and the note at the bottom said “Newer Comments” and brought me here.
These are “new” comments? Ha, ha. Very OLD comments–the non-think of Luddites.
We have our standard issue LIEberTARD Liberty Loser saying that the Great Depression was ended by building tanks and airplanes. It is a downright wonderment the child doesn’t realize that building took place on borrowed/printed money: ie Debt Finanacing, IE==Keynesian Principles.
What an IDIOT Loser proves himself to be. Maybe just a turd? Hard to tell. Has lots of company though like Anonamouse just above. Who knew that in the 1930′s America was primarily an agricultural society? Still, musta been pretty smart boys to turn all those corn fields into military arms factories. But Yes–lets criticize Keyns for being developed in the 1930′s and replace it with theories from 1650? Hah, ha. Dopes on Steroids.
Say Anon–could you copy and paste the verbiage from your link that indicate Keynes is crap? I didn’t see any in my quick read.
And sadly we have someone who might be an international reader? Che Jong-un advises: “There is just this idea (stupid one) that you should not spend more than what you make. As simple as that.” And who could ever disagree with that?……except spending more than we made was exactly what pulled the USA out of the depression by building tanks and airplanes and kicking Nazi ass?
Such simplicity does have its appeal. You know: like any business executive has the qualities to run a country? Or that a countries finances are just like a homeowners? Good solid common sense. The fact that Keynes recommends exactly that should not be missed.
Morans.
the problem with our situation isn’t the deficit necessarily. it’s that we didn’t follow the Keynesian policy when times were good. when times are bad yes with deficit spend to keep the economy from total collapse. but when times are good, we raise taxes, cut government, and cut the government to keep the economic growth from getting out of hand (sort of a counter-cyclical policy if you will). problem is we spent when times were bad but never paid it back when times were really good. that results in the supply-side stagflationary recessionary mess, like we’re in now. so when we all recover, it’s either face the tax hike to pay everything down or expect the downward spiral to continue.
I have an idea, let’s do as the daily kook says and follow what the socialist France wants to do. I would hear Hollander and use people’s savings to pay the debt.
Didn’t we just try trillion dollars worth of stimulus and $5 trillion worth of debt?
wait.. the Depression ended from the start of WWII.. car manufactures were told to build tanks and planes.. pll were able to get jobs from that. Bailout money isn’t the same thing and didn’t help ppl get jobs.. just got the execs another jet set vacation.
Food and other supplies were rationed. a lot of ppl sacrificed a lot of comforts and lifestyles to win the war. Resource poured into the war, and a lot of good came from it.
WE aren’t doing this on the “wars” we have now. bullshit meaningless political wars that have no end. not to mention the war “meme” with “war on drugs, war on terrorism, war on this, and that” all rhetoric horseshit.
We are sacrificing freedom and human rights over this bullshit. While the media pretends that the Kardashians are more important to report than all the real issues going on.
something is really fucked up in my generation.
>Sen. Howard Metzenbaum of Ohio said took to the Senate floor the day after to predict that “we will see $1.50 gas this spring, and maybe before. And it is just a matter of time until the oil companies and their associates, the OPEC nations, will be driving gasoline pump prices up to $2 a gallon.” Sen. Don Riegle of Michigan said that “It will hurt our people within a matter of days.” Sen. Dale Bumpers of Arkansas had previously predicted that “without rationing, gasoline will soon go to $3 a gallon,” and added that “Decontrol is designed to see how much we can squeeze out of the American people before they take to the streets.” Maine’s Sen. George Mitchell said “Every citizen and every family will find their living standards reduced by this decision.” Democratic Congressman Ed Markey said “I believe that decontrol as a cure will prove to be worse than the disease of oil addiction.” A Naderite advocacy group predicted that oil prices might go as high as $870 a barrel “under assumptions which many experts believe are realistic.” Instead oil prices started falling almost immediately; gasoline pump prices fell from an average high of $1.41 in February 1981 to a national average of 89 cents a gallon in the spring of 1986.
From PowerLine. I don’t think we should be listening to liberals for economic advice. I think they are still calling for nationalization of the oil industry and price controls as the solutions. Let’s see how Argentina ends up.
“How convenient it is to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to make or find a reason for whatever one has a mind to do.”
Benjamin Franklin
Surely we can print enough money so that everyone can be rich.
It’s not austerity, it’s survival.
What, you imagine somehow that the Bernanke has abandoned the one true economics of Keynes and that his apostasy it the cause of all our economic woes?
Or is it like the dope fiend who needs a bigger and bigger fix, an economy requires more and more central planning to stay out of the DTs?
In order to understand the true value of Keynesian Economics, you need to watch “The Money Masters”. That way at least, you’ll understand who gets the benefit.
(Hint: Not you.)