[Beagle8U]

“The Keynesian economic multiplier effect sorta-kinda worked in the economic climate of 40-50 years ago.”

Except that isn’t what was effecting the economy back then.

In the years that followed WW2 our economy took off and grew the middle class beyond anything ever seen in history.

It wasn’t unions that did it either, they just went along for the ride.

What caused the booming economy was the fact that every other industrialized nation in the world had been bombed back to the stone age during the war. Nothing more, and nothing less than that.

[ExTxMarine]

What caused the booming economy was the fact that every other industrialized nation in the world had been bombed back to the stone age during the war. Nothing more, and nothing less than that.

DING! DING! DING! We have a winner!

The United States was poised to be an industrial juggernaut after WWII, because we had all the facilities, money, and drive to provide for all the wants and needs of the WORLD! We quickly provided cars, processed foods, furniture, etc... while the rest of the world was bulldozing bomb rubble out of their streets! That growth continued all the way into the 1970's!

The problem is, the rest of the world caught up with and, in many ways, surpassed American manufacturing capabilities. Destructive regulations, oppressive taxation, and dwindling purchases from other countries caused America to falter and fall from a manufacturing-lead country to a user-lead country.

History shows that once a country moves into the "user" mode, it is only a matter of time before it becomes too dependent on others and ultimately FAILS! See most of Europe! See most of Africa! See the Roman Empire!

[Alberta's Child]

That’s exactly right. Now, we’re being surpassed by a country like China simply because it is more than four times larger than the U.S. in terms of population.

[MulberryDraw]

I agree. I had my time frame wrong. I was trying to reference the Reagan era, 25-35 years ago. The government borrowing and spending rose dramatically during Reagan’s term and helped drive the economy up. Increasing government borrowing and spending isn’t doing that now.