My question would be how to avoid or mitigate the human suffering and social/economic isolation of unemployment, not how to get the growth numbers back in positive territory. There is a big, BIG assumption made in these discussions that economic stimulus is some sort of panacea or at the very least an indispensible precondition: rising tide... lift all boats... yada yada... case closed.
While I can appreciate the political expediency of such an approach in terms of building a cross-class consensus and coalition, I never hear any substantive defense of the proposition that "growth is all you need." At some point in the development of the means of production, it may even be possible to do better without economic growth than with it. May I ask, how might the preconditions for human emancipation and improvement differ from the preconditions for restoring economic expansion? On 1/17/08, Max B. Sawicky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Right. In principle what you'd need to know is the full employment > budget deficit. > That would tell you how much the Gov was leaning against the depression. > I don't have those #s. Plus as Jim pointed out if the central bank is > fighting > fiscal policy, which it did in the 30s for at least a while, it won't work. > > > Jim Devine wrote: > > E. Cary Brown argued (using the concept of the full-employment budget > > deficit) that US government deficits during the 1930s were almost > > entirely due to low GDP, which hurt tax revenues, rather than being > > due to government efforts to stimulate the economy. > > > > On Jan 17, 2008 6:17 PM, Michael Perelman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >> I believe that it was David McCord Wright, who claimed that there was not > >> much pump > >> priming during the Depression because state & local government cut back on > >> spending. > >> > >> Maybe someone recalls the reference. > >> > >> Then the military spending kicked in .... > >> -- > >> Michael Perelman > >> Economics Department > >> California State University > >> Chico, CA 95929 > >> > >> Tel. 530-898-5321 > >> E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu > >> michaelperelman.wordpress.com > >> > > > > > > > > -- > > Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own > > way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. > > > -- Sandwichman
