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Sixties Madness
Robert Samuelson has a very peculiar column
in which he alleges that we can’t have Keynesian policies because
irresponsible Keynesians ended budget responsibility back in the 1960s.
Really.
Look, I know that conservatives are still fuming over sex, drugs, rock and roll, and all that; hatred of hippies remains a powerful force in America around 35 years after the last hippie sighting. But look; here’s the history of the ratio of US federal debt to GDP:
OK,
something did happen to fiscal responsibility; but it happened circa
1981, not circa 1961. Who was the president then? I’m thinking, I’m
thinking.
I’d add that the recent rise in debt/GDP is very different from what happened in the 80s; this time around we really had a crisis that required fiscal support for the economy. What happened in the 80s had no such justification.
Look, I know that conservatives are still fuming over sex, drugs, rock and roll, and all that; hatred of hippies remains a powerful force in America around 35 years after the last hippie sighting. But look; here’s the history of the ratio of US federal debt to GDP:
I’d add that the recent rise in debt/GDP is very different from what happened in the 80s; this time around we really had a crisis that required fiscal support for the economy. What happened in the 80s had no such justification.
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