regent
Gold Member
- Jan 30, 2012
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The problem with Keynes is that it all goes against common sense. To borrow money and spend it during a depression goes against all that is holy. Yet the logical austerity balanced budget method hasn't seemed to work too well. FDR was for cutting the debt and balancing the budget as he entered office and ended up with the New Deal.
How many times have we heard the typical household government analogy? Would our family spend more as their income went down, that would be crazy, but the analogy doesn't hold true because the government is not a household. Households, do not tax nor print money, or shouldn't. Still when a recession/depression hits the first thing we hear is stop spending, lower taxes, raise tariffs, buy less, reduce the debt, all those common sense solutions that haven't worked. So all we have is Keynes. Of course if we follow Keynes we should pay off the borrowed money in the prosperity period, and that is a weakness not with Keynes but our politicians.
How many times have we heard the typical household government analogy? Would our family spend more as their income went down, that would be crazy, but the analogy doesn't hold true because the government is not a household. Households, do not tax nor print money, or shouldn't. Still when a recession/depression hits the first thing we hear is stop spending, lower taxes, raise tariffs, buy less, reduce the debt, all those common sense solutions that haven't worked. So all we have is Keynes. Of course if we follow Keynes we should pay off the borrowed money in the prosperity period, and that is a weakness not with Keynes but our politicians.