When Thomas Sowell discusses economics he is actually more on target than when he discusses political ideology. I can put a few pinpricks into some of his arguments but his position seems fairly sound. There are some things that government has no good timing for. And may indeed make bad matters worse. Couple that with the letter in the Spokesman-Review's Roundtable on the 30th of January 2008 by Pete Duffy who suggests that the some billions of dollars could be better spent on useful projects that improve our infrastructure as an example. Yeah, not only is government capable of bad timing but also of having no clear direction to put the money where it would be most useful. GW thinks that the only "economic stimulus" this country needs is to hand people more money to spend. Okay, how about bridges that collapse, aging electrical grids, general road repair?
The billions of dollars that could be spent on improving the basic necessities of this society and as Duffy argues, would help create jobs, GW doesn't want to go there. And of course, neither does Congress in an election year.
Franklin Roosevelt came in as someone that Sowell could glibly condemn without apparently knowing much about history. Roosevelt didn't "bail out" the stock market when it crashed nor did the stock market crash under his watch. The stock market crashed under a Republican, I believe it was Herbert Hoover. What Roosevelt did as the depression began to lengthen and deepen was to put the federal government in debt in order to put Americans to work. He didn't engage in the current administration's "welfare policies" of handing out checks when the stock market discovers an erratic pulse and goes into a panic attack, he put people to work. My late father once disclosed that he had been on such a works program, which is why he grew up a Democrat before switching over late in life to being a Republican. Too bad that GW and Congress doesn't first think of putting people to work. More jobs with decent checks would more permanently stimulate the economy.
The GOP once prided themselves in the saying that if you provide a man and his family with a fish, they'll have a meal for the day. If you teach the man to fish, he'll make meals for his family for the rest of his life. Where did that can do, you are in charge of your own destiny go to with the current administration?
The billions of dollars that could be spent on improving the basic necessities of this society and as Duffy argues, would help create jobs, GW doesn't want to go there. And of course, neither does Congress in an election year.
Franklin Roosevelt came in as someone that Sowell could glibly condemn without apparently knowing much about history. Roosevelt didn't "bail out" the stock market when it crashed nor did the stock market crash under his watch. The stock market crashed under a Republican, I believe it was Herbert Hoover. What Roosevelt did as the depression began to lengthen and deepen was to put the federal government in debt in order to put Americans to work. He didn't engage in the current administration's "welfare policies" of handing out checks when the stock market discovers an erratic pulse and goes into a panic attack, he put people to work. My late father once disclosed that he had been on such a works program, which is why he grew up a Democrat before switching over late in life to being a Republican. Too bad that GW and Congress doesn't first think of putting people to work. More jobs with decent checks would more permanently stimulate the economy.
The GOP once prided themselves in the saying that if you provide a man and his family with a fish, they'll have a meal for the day. If you teach the man to fish, he'll make meals for his family for the rest of his life. Where did that can do, you are in charge of your own destiny go to with the current administration?
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