The Great Depression lasted about 12 years with business conservatives scaring people about inflation (there was none) and about government borrowing (negligible until WWII). Now the supply siders are keeping us in the Great Recession the same way.
So What Worked? World War II. Uncle Sam (the U.S. government) borrowed the equivalent of 10.5 Trillion (see top graph) and bought war goods from private industry. Supply siders say this creates no jobs. But industry hired Rosey the Riveter and millions more. Unemployment ended with over-employment. The U.S. had its greatest economic boom ever by far. It doubled output in six years.
Back then we had real Patriots. They loved Uncle Sam and they bought war bonds to help him borrow to hire people and win the war. Now people, who hate Uncle Sam almost as much as Al Qaeda, call themselves Patriots. They should call themselves Hateriots. But they have just been duped by the Wall Streeters who invented supply-side economics -- and who have been telling us lies for 30 years.
America is about to vote the supply siders and hateriots into Congress.
They will give tax cuts to the rich, which is what got us into debt. And though the rich will spend a bit more on gardeners, nannies, and yachts, the country will have nothing to show for this extra debt.
It's simply immoral to give more tax cuts to today's rich so the next generation can pay for them. $12 trillion of this voodoo taxing of the future is enough.
But the real patriots of WWII, who borrowed and spent and gave 400,000 lives for their country, showed us the way.
Another lie: Spending now won't work because it's not for war. That's what the Wall Streeters tell us so we'll give them tax breaks instead. But does it help future generations more to build battle ships or to fix our bridges and dams? Does it help the economy more to put our men to work at home or send them to die in France? It's hard to imagine a more ridiculous claim than the one that spending for war is more productive than spending on infrastructure and education for our future.
Supply-side "voodoo" economics is an immoral trick of thievery, designed for today's rich at the expense of the future. It hoodwinks many by offering the middle class some of the booty the rich get the big tax cuts, but hey, the middle class can have some too, also at the expense of the future. The result of falling for this, is an out-of-control debt that scares us into staying in recession and will soon be used to kill social security and Medicare which the rich don't need.
It's time to put America back to work.
Let's say thanks to our real patriots who showed us how.