With Clinton we got high taxes (bad) but balanced budgets imposed by the spending caps in Congress (good). With Bush we got tax cuts (good) but deficits (bad). With Obama we get tax hikes (bad) and astronomical deficits (bad).
Two notes: We are not going back to the Clinton tax hikes, but something far scarier, with states raising taxes, the fed doing the same, and new proposals to lift the caps on FICA payroll taxes. And these vast increases won’t go to pay for the deficit, but to fund new spending/borrowing plans that come on top of deficit spending.
Weimar, here we come.
No, not Weimar. The hyperinflation in the early 1920s arose from French occupation of the Ruhr, and the subsequent labor strike, and the debasement of currency to “compensate” for the loss of productive capacity.
Mussolini’s Italy is a better model. Unfortunately, our Ivy League elites don’t know how to make trains (or anything else) run on time.
The Third Republic of France seems a better model.
You don’t have to look overseas.
http://www.smartmoney.com/Investing/Economy/Even-Worse-Than-the-Great-Depression/
If Obama gets what he wants, his new taxation/spending scheme will bring on the crisis we were already facing from the implosion of entitlement spending, decades earlier than otherwise. Yet some people like White cling to the illusion that Obama is doing nothing more than reverting to Clinton era taxation. Well some people who are blinded by partisan belief systems will take longer to acknowledge the truth than others, but wake up they will.
Yeah, when are we getting the Clinton economic plan back? It seemed to get us out of a Bush recession and I never remember the stock market taking a hit.
Well some people who are blinded by partisan belief systems will take longer to acknowledge the truth than others, but wake up they will.
Indeed! 😉
I would concur with this 100% except that some are so blinded by ideology of Austrian economics and the hero worship of John Galt (a fictional character no less) that I fear they shall never wake up to reality.
But whatever. The most relevant question is the fate of the 60th Senate vote and a primary challenge to Arlen Specter from the Right would be a huge gift to Barack Obama.
Maybe I should send Toomey from money. 😉
Paul Paul Paul…
The recession of 1991 was already ending before Clinton was inaugurated. And you should check your memory about the stock market, since the market peaked in 1998 and then took a nasty crash. The stock market did not regain that peak level again until about 2006.
I’m wondering whether Obamanomics is going to bring about a massive inflation, as an article Instapundit linked to suggests. Anyone have any thoughts on that?
I’m wondering whether Obamanomics is going to bring about a massive inflation, as an article Instapundit linked to suggests.
Barring a near-term massive breakthrough in molecular manufacturing, providing cornucopia machines, it’s hard to see how to avoid it.
“But whatever. The most relevant question is the fate of the 60th Senate vote and a primary challenge to Arlen Specter from the Right would be a huge gift to Barack Obama.
Maybe I should send Toomey from money.”
I think you underestimate the backlash building Bill. One which will be a tidal wave by 2010. Please send some money but be careful what you wish for.
By the way, I am looking forward to Larry Kudlow replacing Chris Dodd.
That is the senate seat you should worry about.
The reason I ask about whether we’re headed for heavy inflation is that inflation transfers wealth from creditors to debtors. Since our current troubles seems to result from a lot of insolvent debtors, high inflation would tend to fix their problems … of course, not without pain for everyone else meanwhile. Sucks to have investments at such a time.
Hey, maybe that will prevent people from retiring early, and thereby ameliorate the problem of having so many elderly non-producing consumers. Guess there’s always a silver lining.
Mark, inflation is the default US response to any economic crisis. I think though that this time is going to higher than usual.
Hey, maybe that will prevent people from retiring early, and thereby ameliorate the problem of having so many elderly non-producing consumers.
That wasn’t a problem.
“Hey, maybe that will prevent people from retiring early, and thereby ameliorate the problem of having so many elderly non-producing consumers.
That wasn’t a problem.”
Keeps them paying into Social Security longer and delays them drawing it.
It also keeps the bucket brigade from passing those vacancies thru the system to the recent ‘Hope and Change’ graduates soon-to-be.
Well, they voted for hope and change, they are going to get to wish in one hand and sh%t in the other and see which one fills faster instead.
In March 1993, I’m pretty sure no one sane was imagining that the Republicans — led by Newt Gingrich, no less — would take control of both houses of Congress, due in no small part to the HillaryCare backlash.
Tea party, anyone?
“…some are so blinded by … and the hero worship of John Galt (a fictional character no less) that I fear they shall never wake up to reality.”
Ah, Bill
Hero worship? No just a simple recognition that people are not dumb rats in a government maze to be toyed with and made to follow whatever path the social engineers want them to follow. People near the magic 250,000 dollar income level have great incentive to just cut back their production rather than hand it over to 57 states Obama.
Just as market forces have undermined the desires of the gun-control movement to ban so-called “assault weapons”. Thanks to the efforts of those gun-banning morons (including Obama, le petit Chavez) millions more self-loading rifles are in the hands of the public than there ever were before the prohibition campaign began.
I see Bill does not want to discuss the coming repudiation of the corrupt Chris Dodd.
The reason I ask about whether we’re headed for heavy inflation is that inflation transfers wealth from creditors to debtors. Since our current troubles seems to result from a lot of insolvent debtors,
Indeed yes, Mark. Don’t forget that the biggest of those debtors right now is the Federal government.
high inflation would tend to fix their problems
Exactly. It would certainly fix Team Obama’s problems with the deficit, wouldn’t it? The least-harmed people would be those holding tangible or inflation-proof assets, e.g. property or government bonds, and those whose only asset is the value of their labor. That would be the fairly well-off old, and the workin’ young — exactly the Obama coalition.
Do not assume that the Obama Administration fears inflation. They may welcome it. It solves their debt problems, harms their political coalition least (while really screwing the Republican coalition, e.g. small-business owners, who will absolutely eat it) — and, bonus points, provides another serious crisis of which they can take advantage. Win all around!