I stumbled across this article defending it, written by some random blogger. He unfortunately did not cite his sources, but if you've already made up your mind on the subject, you're probably not going to care too much. It's a horribly long, but interesting read. If you have the time and are looking to expand your knowledge on an era that is terribly relevant today, I encourage you to take a look. Otherwise, here is the main gist of the article:
"No dollar of government spending is wasted, if it does a job that nobody else was going to do and it builds something that lasts."
And to try to link it back to what we're doing in class, I'll bring up the whole inflation thing. Then, like now (if Wiki is to be trusted), the Depression included a dangerous amount of deflation. The measures taken by FDR were largely inflationary, infusing massive amounts of new money into the economy and taking the U.S. off the gold standard. Roosevelt also put money into banks to forestall closures, but the most enduring programs were those that employed millions of Americans in the construction of buildings and infrastructure that are still widely used today. If one goes by the Phillips curve, increasing employment does indeed have the effect of inflation. But we saw with the stagflation of the 1970s that this curve is far from always true.
So, any thoughts on inflation/deflation? Or perhaps the inaccurate Keynesian model versus the inaccurate Neoclassical model? Or maybe just the New Deal itself and reasons for/against a similar program today?
I disagree that no government money is wasted. Bank CEO's getting raises and jet setting? Sounds like a waste to me. Inflation is a good thing in most cases. FDR created institutions that created jobs which pumped the money back into the economy such as building infrastructure like the highways. Obama is simply giving handouts and expecting the companies receiving the cash to trickle it down to the little people. I feel as though that isn't occurring to it's full potential and a new plan should be put into action. A
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nick. Obama's stimulus package doles out money to businesses and projects that don't really need it. It would be better spent if it were more like the New Deal and created jobs that employed Americans and got something useful done.
ReplyDeleteBoth Becca and Nick bring up valid points. The idea of new jobs is critical, especially at a time like this, when jobs are disappearing left and right. While handouts can be necessary, at times, i think that President Obama should be more hesitant, and consider investing the money in more beneficial ways.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Becca in the aspect that money should be spent creating jobs that employ Americans. Giving so much money to jobs in order to bail them out is not really benefiting anyone but the companies receiving the money. Unemployment is a much larger problem than bailing out big major companies.
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