Goldman: A Slowdown Now Would Be Deadly, Given That Governments Are Out Of Ammo

His New Deal delayed the depression until 1941 when he negotiated the attack of Pearl Harbor to get us into WW-2 and end the depression.

I agree that WWII brought an end to the depression ("negotiating" the attack on Pearl Harbor is "tinfoil hat" conjecture), but, at least he required the federal government to make sacrifices in order to fund his "stimulus". Now, federal employees and federal programs continue to increase while the private sector cuts back severely.

Idiots. Just cut the spending. Cut the government. Cut the taxes. Get the government out of the way and set our people free to produce. Works every time.

Your suggestion would require the following:

1) DRASTICALLY overhaul or even phase out the current income tax system at both the Federal and state levels. We can start by repealing the 16th Amendment and replace the income tax with a national consumption tax like FairTax--in effect, no more taxes on the process of earning money.

2) Put REAL "teeth" into financial sector reform. Regulate or ban those new "exotic" investments like hedte funds, derivatives, credit default swaps, and so on. Raise the minimum margin requirements for futures and index trades from 5% to at least 15%. Reform how credit agencies like Moody's and Standard & Poor's work. At minimum re-impose the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act to get banks out of the investment banking businesses to protect bank assets.

3) Audit EVERY Federal, state and local governmental agency to look for agency bloat and bureaucratic overlap, which can allow government agencies to be reduced 20% or more.

I’ll go along with repealing the 16th (and 17th) amendments, but I’d rather go with the founders and the constitution on an excise tax to fund the (vastly reduced) federal government. Why punish production and investment?

The financial markets can take care of themselves. Just jail the thieves, frauds and bribe takers when caught and allow the poorly managed companies to go bankrupt. There’s nothing in the constitution giving special status to the financial industries or empowering the feds to attempt to control the economy.

Buyer beware.

Most federal, state and local bureaucracies need to be dismantled. Abide by the constitution at every level and government would only be about 10% of what it is now. And taxes at all levels would be a fraction of what they are now. And there would be a helluva lot less room for bribery, abuse and corruption.

Hence the very reason for FairTax along with repealing the 16th Amendment. Since we no longer impose taxes on the process of earning money, it would result in not only a huge rise in savings and investment rate, but we could see WAY over US$10 trillion in repatriated and new liquidity enter the USA--the world's largest "private bailout."

The financial markets can take care of themselves. Just jail the thieves, frauds and bribe takers when caught and allow the poorly managed companies to go bankrupt.

I'd almost agree but given the conditions that caused the 1929 and 2008 crashes--like WAY too low minimum margin requirements for futures and index trades and banks too much invested in equities--that may not be such a good idea. Bank assets should should only invest in US Treasuries and not be used for stock market trades (remember, when the stock market crashed in 1929 it took a lot of banks with them).

Most federal, state and local bureaucracies need to be dismantled. Abide by the constitution at every level and government would only be about 10% of what it is now.

Hence the very reason for the audit of EVERY Federal, state and local government agency to look for bureaucratic overlap and agency bloat and cut out all the excess. In my opinion, we can easily cut out 20% now, and with careful work the reduction in government size could be as much at 50% or more.

” only unconventional measures (QE) are left in the event of a renewed downturn “

Isn't QE (quantitative easing) another way to say print more dollars, thereby ‘robbing’ all of us of the value of our dollars and decreasing our standard of living?

Is this why the Feds paid off the banks with TARP? to keep the banks happy while they loose value on the fixed rate loans?

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