Posted on 06/13/2002 9:24:34 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
Edited on 07/12/2004 3:54:40 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
Why is the stock market still depressed? In one word, Washington. The Washington political class has engaged in a steady stream of actions and proposals over the last few months that would depress any economy and investor.
To explain this, I shall begin with a digression. Last month, the president decided to honor the great Nobel Prize-winning economist, Milton Friedman. Many of us who had worked or studied with Professor Friedman were privileged to be invited to the event at the White House.
(Excerpt) Read more at washtimes.com ...
"The Congress has been engaged in a wild, bipartisan, nondefense spending spree that has not, to date, been vetoed by the Bush administration."
Yep.
Where are the multi-tude of phone calls to non-essential government services, with orders to cease and desist?
There is so much waste in the federally-funded "university system," supporting Clintonism's "doing the nation's business"-units whose purpose is to make sure that Jack and Jack go up the old dirt road ... but then again, the President has said that he will remain neutral on the issue (abortion, too).
Want a DoHLS? Then cut out the federal level E.P.A.; the states' offices will have to suffice.
Cut out the federal DoEdu.
Apply resources to the war effort
Old ladies' knitting needles are not a threat, but wasting our resources on confiscating such "weapons of mass destruction," are.
Because our leaders are afraid to abandon their years of our suffering their mantra, that we should consequently observe how shallow they have been and are, wasting our resources on what is non-essential in peacetime; thinking that they have a right to do so.
Because we are "the wealthiest nation on earth."
Well we will see about that; it requires that we know how to preserve.
And the courage to do it, inspite of all odd[ball]s, foreign and domestic.
He has cause and effect reversed. Governments are even more stupid than normal during bear markets.
"This reduction in the relative size of the federal government was a major cause of the economic and stock market boom."
Except for the first year of the '94 congress, spending did not decrease in real terms, so that means reduction in the relative size of government was due to the growth of the private sector economy. It also means that the above statement by the author reduces to "The boom was a major cause of the boom", i.e. nonsense.
The writer made a very good point about Reagan cutting federal regulations, and his supply side economic policies laid the foundation for several years of economic growth. So to conclude that the writer's claim is a tautology is ridiculous.
History shows that the only way to slay the government spending beast is with economic growth and technological innovation. Free market capitalism is that powerful. Plus a growing economy cuts the demand for government services, as people and corporations are better able to take care of themselves.
Perhaps you are reading a different article than me. I see no such claim by the author (although I have no doubt he believes it.)
"History shows that the only way to slay the government spending beast is with economic growth and technological innovation."
Examples? On the contrary, the most common way IMO has been economic collapse followed by revolution.
"Plus a growing economy cuts the demand for government services, as people and corporations are better able to take care of themselves."
In the short-term only, and only if the primary function of the government is the redistribution of wealth.
There's a certain class of no-goodniks who will never take repsonsibility for themselves, and blame their problems on others. Long-term, robust economic growth merely raises the price for the pacification of their envy. As the economy grows, so does the standard of living beneath which a person is considered poor, i.e. beneath which socialists will endeavor to "help" them.
It would be better to say: Fearing for their ability to provide for themselves, people favor bigger government, more taxes and more regulation; forecast lower earnings; and refrain from new equity investment.
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