I'm a Keynesian. I believe

[Jackpine Radical]

deficits are tolerable, and increases in the deficit are tolerable, in times like these, especially when the deficit spending is used for purposes such as building and modernizing infrastructure. In that case, it is an investment in the future rather than a mere expense, and will pay off handsomely in coming years.

As Clinton proved, in better times it is possible to eliminate the deficit and start nibbling on the overall debt. (I'll give Clinton that, much as I dislike his DLC-ish ways in other matters.)

All that said, wasteful expenditure is never appropriate. I would name the wars, the maintaining of a hugely bloated military and the stimulus package, at least as it was carried out, as wasteful. Had the stimulus package been directed at people in need, and had it been large enough, and had it been accompanied by either strict regulation or nationalization of the banking system, I would have approved of it too. The problem with the stimulus was not that it was too large (it was actually too small), but that it was aimed at bailing out the miscreants at the top of the system. I'm a "bubble-up" theorist in contrast to the tinkle-down Reaganites.

[marmar]

1. I'm a Kortenist.......I know that's not a recognized group of economic theorists yet, .....

...... but it will be. Soon.

[Tansy_Gold]

2. If you don't follow up the infrastructure expenditures with

a mechanism for creating a return on investment in the form of taxes, you haven't accomplished anything.

A healthy economy must generate real wealth -- goods and (related) services -- and not just print money. Not "goods or financial services," you understand, but tangible wealth in the form of consumer goods so that the people who get paid for building the infrastructure can then spend their paychecks on goods and services that will flow back into the economy.

What is so difficult about this for people to understand?

All the crap about "those manufacturing jobs are never coming back" is essentially saying "this economy is dead and cannot be revived. Give up." Take it, or leave it, but you can't have it both ways.




TG, NTY

[Xipe Totec]

3. I'm just me, but I believe in a balanced budget

So cut military spending.

We have enough money invested to bounce the rubble five times over.

So cut it so we can only bounce the rubble three times.

That still leaves room for a margin of error.

[Curmudgeoness]

4. I have explained it this way to those against the stimulus spending...

If there is no chance of finding work where I am living, and I am in debt and going to be homeless, but there are jobs across the country, it is in my best interest to borrow more money at all costs to get to that opportunity for a job. Staying where I am is hopeless and the situation will continue to deteriorate. The additional debt I incur will be my only salvation. I have few people argue that this is probably a good reason to go further into debt. And this is the same sort of situation our country is in.

And anyone who was not naive knew that the piss down theory would not work. I swear, the rich just want more and more until they have it all.

[jberryhill]

5. Do you have a Keynesian birth certificate

And are we really going to descend into the birther stuff about Obama being a Keynesian here at DU?

[GrpCaptMandrake]

6. At least you're not a Kenyan

If you were, the Beckerhead would do a three-night special demanding to see your birth certificate.

Sorry. Couldn't help it.

:silly:

[readmoreoften]

7. The real question is how to get them from military Keynesianism to social Keynesianism.

Them being both parties. I'm not sure it's possible.

[Lagomorph]

8. I have my doubts about the model.

We are an importing economy. Our trading partners have been quite vocal in warning us that they won't let us get away with monetizing our debt.