It depends on what you mean by "in times of crisis, Keynesianism works". If you mean you can spend shitloads of money, print money, lower interest rates, and get the expected jolt upwards in short term economic metrics, then yes, I suppose we can agree that works.
However, what I'm talking about is how to create a sustainable prosperity for the American people. Giving the people heroin and meth may make them feel great in the short term, but it will kill them in the long run. I'd rather tell the American people to eat better, exercise more, stay away from drugs, live within your means, and work hard. Those things will maximize the potential of your life. Same thing with economics. We as a people need to live within our means, institutionalize sound money as a means of exchange, and keep our government focused on the things our Constitution limits it to, while safe guarding our rights and our free markets. Those are the things that made us great and can make us great again in a sustainable way. Money printing, zero percent interest rates, endless deficit spending and debt, and gargantuan socialist programs, are all things that lead to economic destruction and long term poverty for this country. Too bad that we are choosing the latter route instead of the former. We are already paying the consequences.
Has any of the Keynsians on this thread wondered why after 6 years it is still necessary to continue to maintain the $4.5T level of the Fed's balance sheet with under the table QE, interest rates at zero, and ongoing deficit spending, all in a bid to support a vastly underperforming economy? If Keynesianism really worked, why has all out Keynesianism over a 6 year period still not done the trick? Insanity has a way of doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
Keynesians remind me of the Cuban-American who staunchly support the Cuban embargo. They kept saying that for 60 years the embargo was working and that all we had to do was make it tougher and keep it going a little longer and somehow it would work. It never worked and now that Obama has changed the game, they are apopleptic with anger. Sometimes a leader needs to ignore the majority of insane people and do something different, like Obama did with Cuba. We're at that inflection point where some new leader needs to do something different with our monetary policy, fire the Fed and Yellen, and move towards the Austrian school of thought. Keynesianism has proven to be the emperor with no clothes. |
