Posted on 10/31/2008 4:21:51 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
I'm guessing that Paul Krugman and David Brooks don't hang out that much together. So when both turn up on the New York Times op-ed page this morning with columns calling for massive government spending, I'm assuming they came to their conclusions independently. My working hypothesis: if Krugman and Brooks agree on something this important, they must be wrong.
Here's Krugman's prescription, which comes in response to news that consumer spending has dropped sharply [emphasis added throughout]:
[W]hat the economy needs now is something to take the place of retrenching consumers. That means a major fiscal stimulus. And this time the stimulus should take the form of actual government spending rather than rebate checks that consumers probably wouldn’t spend.
Let’s hope, then, that Congress gets to work on a package to rescue the economy as soon as the election is behind us.
From Brooks:
(Excerpt) Read more at newsbusters.org ...
Krugman and Brooks: same struggle! Ping to Today show list.
The New York Times rallied against tariff's in the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.
Tax increase on the rich from 25% to 63%. Wage controls increase wages by 25%.
Theory being the workers would stimulate the economy. Problem was 25% were unemployed.
Business owners had no money to buy equipment becuase of high wages.
So while the world had a depression the US had a " Great Depression.
The way I look at it, anything from the NY Slimes is wrong. Doesn’t matter who’s name is on it.
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