Great Depression

[makaer]

So a lot of talking heads are wondering if this economic climate is turning into a depression. And once people get on the whole depression kick, it's time to talk about FDR. So we get some folks saying "The New Deal got us out of the depression" (generally these tend to be liberal slanting voices). And in typical we-have-to-argue-about-

Comments

[makaer]

Right, war isn't sustainable unless you are pillaging a country of resources. And even then that is a cost/benefit analysis. WWII was only helpful to the economy as a shot of adrenaline but it couldn't have been sustained. But there is no modern evidence that any small scale war can behave as that same adrenaline hit to the economy

[makaer]

That's fine. Woe is my code I should be working on. Woe to lj! I can get ranty, and ranting is more fun than coding. Usually

It's not the war, it's the public spending

[cos]

Well, here's the thing: Massive new government spending on major new works can indeed get us out of a depression. Until WWII, we didn't have a standing military, so each new war required a massive new increase in government spending and hiring (even conscripts are "hired" in that they get fed and housed and otherwise cared for). In the 1950s, though, we created a permanent standing military (Ike's "military-industrial-congressional complex"). Now, we an fight a war without requiring the public spending that previous wars required.

Of course, real public investment would be a much better way of kicking up the economy: spend a lot on things that will actually pay off in the long run, like infrastructure and education and scientific research. If we wage a "war" on unsustainable carbon-based fuel use, for example, that'd be a lot more effective in getting out of recession (or depression) than a pre-standing-military war.

[athenalaughed]

>Iraq II the revenge of junior

Nice.

I, too, have some serious qualms about the auto makers lining up for alms, and reading through this thread has really got me wondering what sort of approach is going to be used to try and yank us out of this bathtub drain of an economy. Mmm, soapscum.