[alloysteel]

Spending our way to prosperity.

Though I doubt if the majority of economists today even understand the concept of “prosperity”. The velocity of money (one of the vital components of its value) has slowed to a pace that is, at its person-to-person rate, to almost the levels of the Great Depression, even though vastly greater numbers of currency units are now in circulation.

[Casie]

The Krugpigtroll’s suggestion for stimulating the economy is to prepare for an alien invasion. Oh! And don’t forget he says breaking windows is also good for the economy! What are you waiting for?! Get to smashing glass and kicking alien a....

[Mr. K]

The Cato Institute does some amazing work

[DJ MacWoW]

Click The Pic

As a very important source of strength and security, cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible: avoiding occasions of expence by cultivating peace, but remembering also that timely disbursements to prepare for danger frequently prevent much greater disbursements to repel it; avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expence, but by vigorous exertions in time of Peace to discharge the Debts which unavoidable wars may have occasioned, not ungenerously throwing upon posterity the burthen which we ourselves ought to bear.
George Washington

[mjp]

his opposition to “austerity” (defined as any cut in government spending, anytime, anywhere).

This belief is an example of being motivated by immediate interests rather than by true interests. A decrease in government spending may reduce aggregate demand in the short run, but in the long run, a balanced budget combined with reduced taxes and reduced government borrowing, and a stable money supply would achieve the vital goal of increasing saving and capital formation, which leads to capital accumulation, which leads to economic progress and prosperity and lower prices and higher standard of living for the average wage earner.

The failure to reduce government spending on the other hand, makes the achievement of greater saving and capital formation either altogether impossible or possible only at the price of sacrificing the freedom of the mass of wage and salary earners to dispose of their own incomes.

[TBP]

First of all, he’s wrong because that’s not what “austerity” means. (Either he knows it, in which case he’s completely dishonest, or he doesn’t, in which case he’s unqualified to be writing about the subject.)

Second, he’s wrong for the simple reason that spending has not been cut; it’s gone up every year. It’s just going up a bit less than projected.

Third, aren’t partisans like Krugman (Krugperson?) supposed to be praising Obama’s great economy, not patting themselves on the back for predicting it would be rotten?