Lol yes their problem is an unquantifiable size of government. Little Miss Muffet governing where, like p*rn, she knows too much when she sees it and no matter what the alternative is, it’s always too much.
Yeah, right. It is not bad. It just cannot do anything as well as business or private markets or churches etc.
Nope. I've met plenty of irl people who sincerely believe any form of taxation is theft which means they believe any form of government is bad because the government isn't going to run for free. It isn't a strawman. It's a position many politicians pander to. Reagan was a big trend setter in this type of "corporations good, government bad" rhetoric.
and he took it to an oped https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/02/04/larry-summers-biden-covid-stimulus/ Yellen shot back https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-money/2021/02/08/biden-vs-the-bond-market-793238
I read both and I don't think they are quite in as much disagreement. Both Summers and Yellen agree there is a possibility of inflation but Yellen is saying that there are tools out there that can handle inflation if it happens. My own view though is that if the stimulus can be more means tested it should be. Less for the inflationary fears but more that it can gain wider support. One of the big political problems with the first CARES Act was that it wasn't targeted and there were a lot of reports about people and businesses getting large benefits who didn't need it while smaller businesses struggled. If the same thing happens again it will make it harder to get more relief passed if needed.
Just for context Japan's Debt to GDP is 236% The US's Debt to GDP is 98% to now likely more like 110% here in the 2020 early 2021 estimates ....... Any well run and super fiscally responsible government would be looking to achieve 99% of Debt to GDP at the end of the year. That means that you are managing your budget appropriately, and not spending more than you're taking in, but borrowing an amount that will turn around and equal the GDP growth you project you'll get out of the investment. Money in the bank for government is not necessarily a good thing like it would be for a family saving up for their kids college, or to pay off their house. In government, spending by taking on debt that will surely increase GDP is a good thing. Staying stagnant in your spending that leads to a loss of GDP is a recipe for recession or depression. ..... Most of the seasoned Republicans in Congress know this, and the fact that right now with interest rates damn near zero, they aren't encouraging stimulus spending just tells you that they are politically motivated in pushing their "Two Santa Claus" approach to governing. The talking points on the right currently to block Biden's stimulus bill are designed to send Biden's economy in a death spiral because they feel like they can fool voters like they have been doing since Reagan. Do not fall for that BullSh$t. Biden must pass a bill this size in order to get us through and keep GDP up during this downturn due to the pandemic. It's a must if we want our economy to stay strong, and come out the other end in a place that does not loose our footing to China, the EU, and other growing countries.
Exactly. I am optimistic that Biden and perhaps Obama, have finally learned that trying to placate the Repugs on austerity and its step child means testing (Judoka?) will just lead to a defeat in 2022 as the public will blame them for having accomplished little. It is looking like they are actually tired of losing, even if it pisses off Wall Street and the "libertarians" in Silicon Valley.
Yeah I think they are finally realizing that their voting base is smarter now on the economics than they were coming out of the Reagan/Bush years, and understand that Trump and W completely shattered their "fiscally responsible" mantra that everyone now can see is utter bull crap. Democrats going into 2022 messaging need to hammer home the power of consumer spending & consumer debt management as a key for the Democratic approach to economics. Republicans want a hungry and struggling consumer base with the 1% holding all the wealth to manage how to distribute their wealth up to them vs Democrats who believe that the middle - working class ability to spend is what drives economic growth. And the best news is, they are right. There is zero evidence that Trickle down economics works, and there's an abundance of evidence that it's unethical as hell too with it's ability to turn the middle class into hungry slave labor.
Wall street would LOVE a huge stimulus, and I read that Biden is especially close to Fink, not sure about Summers. The austerity stuff seems more like a branding thing for some politicians, can't imagine businesses/wall street pushing for less stim.
Yeah this argument that a huge stimulus is sticking it to the fat cats is a weird argument. Remember that many fat cats did pretty well from the CARES Act.
The argument that we can just keep on spending money and piling up the debt with no consequence relies on two things. One that inflation isn't a thing anymore and two that faith in the US economy will continue. While we haven't really seen serious inflation since the 70's a lot of that has been due to things like increases in productivity brought on by the technological revolution, downward pressures on costs to globalization, and also the Fed applying the breaks every now and then. As noted in the debate between Yellen and Summers there are measures to combat inflation but the biggest tool is raising interest rates. The Fed has kept interests rates low for years now and a rise of several points in interest rates to counter possible inflation could be a bad shock to the economy. At the same time since we haven't really experienced inflation in a long time if there is a rise in it that isn't countered that could also be very bad. Faith in the US economy will still remain strong for a long time but it doesn't mean that it's guaranteed. We've already seen moves by the PRC in recent years to sell of US debt. If there is a massive move in that direction from loss of faith in the US economy could also lead to a major economic crisis. I agree that a large stimulus package is needed but just throwing out money to everyone and not worrying about consequences I don't think makes much sense. As said I mostly don't think it makes sense politically but I don't think ignoring possible longterm consequences is the way to go. Further I get why much of this is framed in terms of class or partisan struggle but I will point out that in a broad based program that doesn't do things like means testing the majority of the benefits will accrue to those better off. For progressives who are concerned about wealth inequality it seems odd that they would be pushing so hard to essentially say that the better off should get the same benefits as those who are struggling. Also the long term effects of things like inflation will inevitably hit those who earn less and save less. Inflation will erode purchasing power so by definition those who have more money will be better positioned. High interest rates though will make it harder for people to get credit to do things like buying homes and cars. Since we are such a credit driven society it will tamp down on discretionary spending that will hurt people working in the service industry. For people though who have been able to save money it will greatly benefit.
