Jim F.
On Sun, 2 Sep 2001 11:51:46 -0400 Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com>
writes:
> Lawrence wrote:
>
> > > And do you think they do that because they're stupid, or
> because
> >> maybe there's a class interest lurking behind?
> >> Doug
> >
> >I think they do it because they are risk averse, and politicians
> give in
> >easily to peer pressure and popular pressure, especially that
> "popular"
> >pressure whipped up by the media, and most people make a false
> analogy
> >between personal debt and government debt, and therefore there is
> the sense
> >that government shouldn't run debts because normal people shouldn't
> run
> >debts. I doubt a class interest can be involved because in a deep
> recession
> >the business class has as much interest in seeing the economy
> stimulated as
> >anyone else. The fact that the business class often used to come
> out against
> >stimulus suggests they were stupid, since a lack of stimulus merely
> >decreased their profits.
>
> I don't know as much history as I should, but I doubt the masses
> were
> in the streets in 1937, urging FDR to tighten fiscal policy. Capital
>
> wanted FDR to tighten fiscal policy. And it snuffed the recovery,
> driving the economy back into depression.
>
> Why the PR/media campaign in favor of fiscal orthodoxy, anyway?
> Surely journalists, a largely dim lot, don't come up with the idea
> on
> their own. They get it from bankers, industrialists, and the
> economists who think for them.
>
> Doug
________________________________________________________________ GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj.