New Press and Journal Article Taking On Paul Heise

Had to work eight hours this morning (2 am-10:30 am) and have to work 10 pm to 4: 30 am tonight so no real post today but just mentioning the article I had in the Press and Journal today entitled "Bad Theory Hurts Our Recovery."  An excerpt:

Heise’s claim that cuts in government spending won’t lead to growth flies in the face of actual history. In the Depression of 1920 (betcha don’t remember this one brought up in school) unemployment hit 12 percent and GNP fell 17 percent. Yet President Harding slashed income tax rates, cut the government almost in half within two years, and the national debt was reduced by a third.

The Federal Reserve’s intervention was “hardly noticeable” according to historian Tom Woods. What followed would be classified as an economic miracle by today’s standards as unemployment fell to 2.4 percent in 1923. The market had effectively been allowed to clear without Washington, still not the full-blown leviathan created in the New Deal, coming to the rescue.

The same impact was seen after World War II when wage and price controls were removed and government spending was cut by as much as 40 percent in one year and the economy boomed thereafter. Funny how freedom works.

While Heise is correct in that we live in a country run by corporations that engage in a highly militaristic foreign policy, he naively blames Republicans only. News flash: Both parties are as corrupt as a Chicago election.

In a true free market, corporations only obtain their power and influence from providing goods to consenting consumers. As long as Uncle Sam has the printing press, war can be fought in perpetuity. The institution of government, which exercises a monopoly of force and coercion over a given geographical area provides all the enticements for Wall Street and big business to buddy up with. Out comes a regulatory state so riddled in mandates and restrictions that small start-up companies can’t compete.