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Why is failed Keynesianism back in vogue?
Las Vegas Review-Journal ^ | 01 mar 09 | Vin Suprynowicz

Posted on 03/01/2009 7:24:14 AM PST by rellimpank

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--the weekly Vin--
1 posted on 03/01/2009 7:24:14 AM PST by rellimpank
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To: rellimpank
Another great one that, surprisingly, seems to be the first one to address this fundamental question -- why keep implementing a proven failed theory? His closer is spot-on...

But why are Keynes' thoroughly debunked notions still in vogue? ... Imagine any of our egotistical and money- and power-hungry members of Congress or chief executives (of either party) today announcing, "Gee, this economic downturn sure is a misery. Too bad there's nothing the central government can do but to slash spending till our budget is in surplus so Washington is no longer crowding out private borrowers, meantime putting us back on the silver standard and shutting down the Federal Reserve. So all you lobbyists here to plead for special favors just might as well go home. Store's closed." ... What? Give up the greatest excuse since Hitler and Tojo for enacting every pork barrel spending spree they can imagine? Are you crazy?!

It's that simple. The typical power-mad, narcissistic, economically-illiterate democrat throwbacks are working hard to punish prudency and achievement, enslave entire classes of Americans and put at least two generations of our descendants hopelessly in hock.

2 posted on 03/01/2009 7:40:09 AM PST by ProtectOurFreedom
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To: rellimpank
It's a mistake or a lie to say it is back in vogue only now. GWB used KEYNSIAN arguments to get his temporary tax cuts passed. If Keynsianism made a comback, it did so under GWB.

Just google "bush tax cuts 2001 keynesian" and see for yourself.

1. Bush: Raising Keynes

"For proof that Keynes truly reigns supreme, all you had to do last week was watch President George W. Bush hawking his tax cut as a cure for the global economic slowdown."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A59814-2001Aug24?language=printer

2. The Difference Between Keynesian Stimulus And Supply Side Tax Cuts

Although both Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush proposed tax plans which cut marginal income tax rates across the board, the philosophy underlying them is different. While the Reagan plan was based on supply-side economics, the Bush plan owes much more to Keynesianism.

http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/?Article_ID=8662&page=article

3. The Keynesian Remedy Is Confidence

"For proof that Keynes reigns supreme, all you have to do is watch George W. Bush hawking his tax cut as a cure for the global economic slowdown. "

http://www.iht.com/articles/2001/08/27/edignatius....php

It goes on and on. I remember complaining at the time about it. But back then it was all rah-rah Bush all the time. Well, the chickens have come home to roost.

3 posted on 03/01/2009 7:40:36 AM PST by Huck (Palin is perfect just where she is....in Alaska.)
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To: sickoflibs; Gondring

ping


4 posted on 03/01/2009 7:41:19 AM PST by djsherin (Government is essentially the negation of liberty.)
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To: Huck

Excellent post.


5 posted on 03/01/2009 7:42:00 AM PST by Moonman62 (The issue of whether cheap labor makes America great should have been settled by the Civil War.)
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To: ProtectOurFreedom

Even FReepers run from Ron Paul’s conservative proposals, so is it any wonder the general populace isn’t raising much fuss?


6 posted on 03/01/2009 7:44:14 AM PST by Gondring (Paul Revere would have been flamed as a naysayer troll and told to go back to Boston.)
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To: djsherin

Thanks for the ping.

Sad times.


7 posted on 03/01/2009 7:45:09 AM PST by Gondring (Paul Revere would have been flamed as a naysayer troll and told to go back to Boston.)
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To: rellimpank

***despite the fact that Mr. Hazlitt, way back in 1959, demonstrated not only that these Keynesian remedies did not work, but that they often had precisely the opposite effect of that intended!***

That’s because Keynesian ideas are the opposite of what you should do during a recession.


8 posted on 03/01/2009 7:46:10 AM PST by djsherin (Government is essentially the negation of liberty.)
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To: rellimpank

Great article by Vin Suprynowicz. Thanks for posting. The anti-freedom economic parasites of the collective are a constant. They are never exterminated, only contained at times. Witness history.


9 posted on 03/01/2009 7:46:43 AM PST by PGalt
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To: rellimpank
But the second reason [Keynesian economics is embraced] is far more obvious. Imagine any of our egotistical and money- and power-hungry members of Congress or chief executives (of either party) today announcing, "Gee, this economic downturn sure is a misery. Too bad there's nothing the central government can do but to slash spending till our budget is in surplus so Washington is no longer crowding out private borrowers, meantime putting us back on the silver standard and shutting down the Federal Reserve. So all you lobbyists here to plead for special favors just might as well go home. Store's closed."

In a nutshell, this is why, sans le revolution, we will NEVER stray from the dead end path of Keynesian economics.

10 posted on 03/01/2009 7:48:04 AM PST by Thommas
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To: rellimpank
Keynesianism will always be popular with the left, no matter how many times it fails, because it is a system that requires massive government control and centeralized government planning.
11 posted on 03/01/2009 7:52:47 AM PST by NavVet ( If you don't defend Conservatism in the Primaries, you won't have it to defend in November)
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To: rellimpank

I suggest the reason that the failed theories are once again put to use is that their failure is the goal. Said failure can be used as an excuse to do more of the same. Case in point. The first 700 billion (Bush) bailout did not work so we have a second, a third, and a follow on huge spending bill in the works. All of which will also fail, giving rise to still more of the same.

After all, if government did the right thing, government would not be necessary. Clearly, the political class cannot permit that to happen. They would be out of a job.


12 posted on 03/01/2009 7:55:38 AM PST by A. Rational Human (http://arationalhuman.blogspot.com/)
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To: Gondring

If you must generalize with no facts to back it up, so will I. FReepers run from Ron Paul’s nutty foreign policy ideas. As far as domestic spending goes, Paul is right on target.


13 posted on 03/01/2009 7:57:38 AM PST by Republic of Texas (Socialism Always Fails)
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To: rellimpank

http://www.amazon.com/Road-Serfdom-Fiftieth-Anniversary/dp/0226320618/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235922177&sr=1-18

The Road to Serfdom — F.A Hayek


14 posted on 03/01/2009 7:59:42 AM PST by dajeeps
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To: rellimpank; rabscuttle385; TigerLikesRooster

"There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought about by credit expansion. The alternative is only whether the crisis should come sooner as a result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved."

-~~Ludwig Von Mises

15 posted on 03/01/2009 8:00:10 AM PST by Travis McGee (www.EnemiesForeignAndDomestic.com)
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To: Republic of Texas

True, were it not for his terrible foreign policy, I’d be a Paul supporter. But the foreign policy is a deal breaker for me.


16 posted on 03/01/2009 8:08:26 AM PST by Marie2 (Ora et labora)
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To: Travis McGee

I can no longer afford barrels.


17 posted on 03/01/2009 8:08:48 AM PST by John Leland 1789
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To: Marie2; Republic of Texas

As I said, conservatism is dead. America has decided that the role of government is a lot larger than in the past and that its role is to run all over the globe spending and giving away money that it has borrowed and must be repaid by the taxpayers at gunpoint.


18 posted on 03/01/2009 8:11:56 AM PST by Gondring (Paul Revere would have been flamed as a naysayer troll and told to go back to Boston.)
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To: John Leland 1789
I can no longer afford barrels.

That's okay, join ACORN and get one for free.

19 posted on 03/01/2009 8:14:38 AM PST by Gondring (Paul Revere would have been flamed as a naysayer troll and told to go back to Boston.)
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To: Gondring
Even FReepers run from Ron Paul’s conservative proposals

Paul's economic views are great -- best I've heard out of D.C.; if only his foreign policy were more to my liking.

20 posted on 03/01/2009 8:41:44 AM PST by BfloGuy (It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we can expect . . .)
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