Patterson’s Vagabonds Respond!
Vaughn Howland, a recently retired “Interventionist,” a man, in other words, who dedicated his life to saving people – from themselves – And Gargoyle Publisher, Richard Peabody, have some thoughtful and cautionary thoughts regarding my last few broadsides.
“Interventionist” Vaughn Howland Intervenes
Interesting essays. I have a few thoughts and comments.
In New Deal Bashing you are right to say that WWII did not end the depression. FDR instigated so many economic controls no investor with two brain cells that worked together would invest in anything – it was too risky. It was the END of the War and the cessation of many governmental managed economic controls that allowed investors to act as if they thought their capital and income would remain reasonably secure and to begin investing again. But you state, “Congress should review each and every New Deal roll back since the first Reagan Administration, and reinstate them all.†What for? So we can stifle investment again? The Federal Government should back off. In short, eliminate the Federal Reserve and fractional reserve banking and get back to basics.
You also state, “Keynes had the answer: Spend your way out of recession/depression, and pay off your debts in times of plenty.†Well, he may have had the first part right although I’m not so sure about that. But he certainly was smoking something if he though the second part was going to happen given our current form of government.
In Kick’m While They’re Down you state “Government programs are paid for only one way, the rising tide that lifts all boats.†One way is right – taxes, both direct taxes and indirect taxes in the form of inflation caused by increases in the money supply by the Fed. But all boats do not lift at the same rate, and some do not lift at all. The biggest lift, of course, is for those who receive the money first – Banks, big companies and the like. By the time school teachers get a raise they are far behind the lifting power curve and continue to lose ground to inflation.
You also state, “History has proven that a regulated, managed economy is the only thing that makes any sense at all..†So who is going to do the managing? An FDR type who meddles in the economy so much that he prolongs a depression for 14 years? A Keynes type who has the faith that we are going to get as agitated and frantic in good times about economic dot-com and housing booms as we do in bad times about recessions and depressions? Perhaps we can get lucky and can find a modern day Jefferson who wants a minimal Federal Government, but I don’t think so. We have too many Hamilton (the first neo-con) types around now.
In short, I think the country and Obama are going to spend and spend and spend borrowed money until there will be no more tax money to be had to pay for it all. I think, if we stay on our present course, we are doomed to implode just like all the large empires and banana republics that have gone before us.
And Richard Peabody, Publisher of Gargoyle Magazine, had the pre-inaugural Blues!
I wish I agreed that the nightmare was over. Even if Obama can pull the plane out of the dive it won’t be for a year or two. The art world will be hard pressed to stay alive before that change clicks in… The restoration of Palin’s image in the background scares me for 2012. Cuz now that they have power there’s little the Dems can do with the fiscal scorched earth they’ve been handed.
Post yesterday was focusing on how neither Dem govs of MD or VA can do anything with their state budgets. Everything has to be cut. Did you note Snyder laying off Redskin employees—from coaches to office staff. Will impact the Nats big time in the spring. I figure WNBA will fold. I may be the only person who follows it but I was surprised that Arena League is taking a year off. And then there are two new Pro Football leagues starting up in 2009/2010. I don’t know how with $ so tight. Everybody I know is broke. We can’t afford to fly to my nephew’s wedding in the Bahamas. A shame.
And what an unappealing Super Bowl this will be… I must be getting old, football is not as much fun as it used to be.
Patterson Thinks Things Over…
It’s hard to argue with my Eeyore-like Vagabonds, but I do have some counter arguments. First, My point about WWII and the Depression was simply that had there been no WWII, Roosevelt could have spent that money on the economy, and as a dollar spent in the civilian world has something like ten times the productivity as that spent on the military, he would have spent much less to pull us out of the doldrums. Mr H is certainly correct about the lack of investment opportunities during that time in the depression, War Bonds just aren’t that promising. War economies present an anomalous dilemma to all who engage them, and woe to any society into which they are plunged. That’s where we are now. There must be an alternative universe somewhere in which wise governors would never consider a war economy an option. (BTW has it occurred to you that we are not now, and have not been, since 1945, really at war?) As for the rising tide that lifts all boats, yes, it’s a turbulent body of water when you consider that each and every politician who votes for fighter jets instead of school teachers is duly elected by morons, who, by the way, are morons because of a bad education system, that was, after all, denuded by war politicians…sigh…
Am I the only one who thinks the Cardinals can beat the Steelers?
I really am an optimist, but I ask you, are optimists really, any less realistic than pessimists?
More later…