The U.S. Economy: Democrats and Republicans

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NeantHumain
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12 Aug 2010, 9:30 pm

Democrats and Republicans have polarized on their views on the best way to help the economy. Liberal Democrats subscribe to a neo-Keynesian policy of using government spending (stimulus) to trigger economic growth, an approach championed by economists like Paul Krugman. They want money provided to public-sector jobs like state bureaucracies, public-school teachers, and police and firefighters to prevent layoffs there; they want money for unemployment benefits, food stamps, and other social-welfare programs, arguing the recipients will quickly put the money into their local economy. Moreover, liberal Democrats want to see sweeping New Deal-style jobs programs that actively put unemployed Americans to work while repairing the country's infrastructure.

Fiscally conservative Republicans are mostly concerned about the budget deficit and reducing the federal debt. They point to Greece, Ireland, and Spain as examples of what could happen to us if we don't reduce spending. They are opposed to letting the Bush tax cuts expire, framing this as a tax increase. They frame the recent financial-reform and health-insurance–reform acts as un-American, socialist expansions of the federal government's role in the private sector and an onerous burden on business. Republicans and conservative Democrats believe that getting money into business and the wealthy is the best way to restart the economy, letting the money from the "productive" classes trickle down to the "lower" classes. Republicans demand that any new expenditure be offset by a cut somewhere else, but these cuts should come from social-welfare programs and not by letting tax cuts expire (and never through a tax increase).

Are either of them even close to right, or are they just pandering to their party interests? What could actually get Americans back to work?



ruveyn
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12 Aug 2010, 9:32 pm

The old Keynsian snake oil is not working this time.

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Awesomelyglorious
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12 Aug 2010, 9:52 pm

I'll tell you something pretty basic: nobody really knows what will make things work. I would think that the best efforts will be rather simple and non-intrusive though. The reason being that economies tend to fix themselves, but trying to perform a very invasive effort will likely cause people to freak out. However, I certainly can't say what will make the economy work.



DenvrDave
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13 Aug 2010, 12:40 am

I think the whole two-party "Democrats versus Republicans" system is a charade, a farce, a game cooked up by the real power-holders in the US to keep the other 95% of the population disctrated watching TV while the real deals are cut behind closed doors without any notice or mention by the media. Sure there's a two-party system in the US: the rich versus everybody else. The senate is a millionaires' club that doesn't represent the common person, they represent the rich. Why do you think tax cuts for the upper class is such a big deal but you never hear about tax cuts for the middle class. Whoever has the most money wins the election. Bush and Kerry were both in the same secret club at Yale, at the same time, complete with secret handshakes, secret passcodes, secret rituals, and god knows what else. Democrats and Republicans are in the same club. The only difference in financial philosophy between the two parties is when the middle-class gets screwed, now or later. The Democrats base their economics on tax-and-spend, in which the middle class gets screwed now. The Republicans base their economics on borrow-and-spend, which screws the middle class later when the loans come due. The whole economy is based on spend, spend, spend. You want to create jobs? You've got to spend money. The main problem right now is that its costing US taxpayers billions of dollars every month to wage two wars. The recession will end only after the wars end, and all the service-people can come home and start...guess what...spending the money they earned being in the service.

Wow, what a rant. Bet you never saw that coming.



danieltaiwan
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13 Aug 2010, 2:17 am

Vote none of the above. :lol:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4KyEesMb-E[/youtube]








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