I wrote: >> is it possible that the GOPsters really believe in the Classical >> economic view that if the (US federal) government is cut back, doing >> so will unleash the private sector, which will promptly pick up the >> economic slack?
Gene Coyle wrote: > Yes, of course. actually, the Obama administration is playing a similar game. They just want a different _kind_ of austerity than the GOPniks do. It's true that raising taxes on the rich is much less damaging to aggregate demand than laying off air traffic controllers, but BHO isn't arguing in favor of what's really needed, i.e., large government deficits. He seems to be part of the "balance the budget now!" Washington consensus, especially after raising Bowles and Simpson to national prominence. This also fits with his appointment of Summers and Geithner. BHO should have been pushing to repeal the sequester law for years... By the way, I don't expect my musings about policy to have any political or economic effect, positive or negative. My interest in policy comes because it affects what actually happens in the real world. Capitalism isn't simply driven by its underlying "laws of motion" (which are not totally deterministic in their impact). The actual results depend on an "overdetermined" combination of those "laws" and what happens in the state, culture, and the like. Second, policy reflects which in turn politics reflect the objective limits on state actions (those damn "laws") and also the current balance of power. The whole point is to change the latter (at least in the short run). Of course, I see no point in cheer-leading for one side or the other in the long-running miniature civil war in Washington, DC. -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
