[Dick Bachert]

They’re rather like America’s welfare class: Just waiting for that manna to drop from the sky.

[kbennkc]

I can see why that seemed to make sense to the cargo cults. Just like goose decoys.

It is the followers of the Keynesian Kenyan who are acting with malice.

[Clintonfatigued]

The future of the economy is guessed here, and I fear they may be right.

[headsonpikes]

Excellent piece.

[AceMineral]

I saw this movie in junior high and high school. I am not interested in seeing it again. It was a real horror show.

[Lazlo in PA]

Obummers vision of our Army.

[Cicero]

Excellent article. On the money throughout. My only difference with the author is that I’m afraid things really ARE worse than they were during the LBJ stagflation/depression.

Because although Reagan lowered taxes, he was unable to cut any of the spending, lacking support for that from congress. The Great Society programs are still with us, and have been added to by almost every president since, from both parties.

[Rearden]

Very nice piece, thanks for posting

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

“(The Keynes dictum that our current predicament is derived from, by the way, goes like this: “run surpluses in good times so that you can run deficits in bad times.” Nobody but nobody ever pays attention to the first phrase. With modern “Keynesians,” it's all deficits, all the time.)”

That's about as good a description of Keynesianism, as I've seen in the mass media, in a long time. The author is right, nobody ever pays any attention to the first phrase. Keynes, himself was opposed to perpetual deficits. Keynes also wouldn't prescribe the same medicine for every perceived economic malady. Keynes wouldn't be considered a “Keynesian” today.

[Chi-townChief]

Keynesian economics was meant for imperial and totalitarian Europe where it would probably work fairly well.

[OwenKellogg]

>> The formula for ending a slump is well-understood. No massive “stimuli,” no QE ad infinitum, no megalomaniacal efforts of any kind. There's nothing magical about it. Merely lower taxes, loosen credit, and above all, provide a secure business environment. <<

His solution in a nutshell. It is right on the mark if, in the “loosen credit” part he means for the government to get the hell out of the economy and allow banks to lend to business owners and home owners without the obtrusive, destructive regulations.

[The Great RJ]

Keynesian economic theory never seems to go away despite it being shown to be totally wrong in the 1970s when pouring money into a stagflation economy caused an inflationary spiral and the double digit interest rates that were the hallmark of the Carter administration. Keynes keeps coming back like a zombie in some B horror flick.

[DJ Taylor]

Once when a critic reminded John Maynard Keynesen that these deficits must someday be paid off, he famously responded, “Someday we'll all be dead.”

[exDemMom]

(Recent claims that inflation is at "the lowest level since 1957" are simply bizarre. Walmart is only one major company that has already noted inflation in its supplier costs, which means that price jumps are right around the corner for the rest of us.)

Inflation is here, now. I wish I could remember the name of it, but there is a website out there devoted to documenting how various products are shrinking in size, so they can be sold for the same price, instead of selling the same quantity for a higher price. Toilet paper rolls (measured end to end of the cardboard tube) are a quarter to a half inch shorter now, and fewer sheets are put onto each roll. Half gallons of ice cream are no longer half gallons.

Eventually (probably in the near future), it's no longer going to be possible to hide inflation by shrinking product size.

[sunshine state]

Thanks for posting.

[killermosquito]

I do love President Reagan but it should be pointed out that silicon valley and the inventors of technology are mostly the one’s who should get credit for the incredible economy. If only Bush 1 were more like Reagan he would have been re-elected and we could have avoided Clinton and probably ZeroBama.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks neverdem.