General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWill a Ryan/Romney administration become known as "The Greatest Depression?"
I probably need to develop this in more detail, and I may later after some research:
G.W.Bush brought us the worst economic collapse since the 'Great Depression.' We were losing jobs at the rate of nearly a million per month by the time he left office. His whole economic plan was based on Milton Friedman and other neoliberal economists. It's been called "Reaganomics on steroids." The Ryan economic plan, which is the basis of the economic part of the Republican platform, is Bushonomics on steroids, with a dose of cocaine.
Everywhere in Europe where that sort of austerity has been imposed has undergone a major economic downturn. Just read Paul Krugman's column. The cutbacks to public spending pull money out of the economy; a slowdown in one sector rebounds through the entire economy.
The reason the economy is still weak is, that the middle class has been squeezed by three decades of 'trickle down' economics. Wealth has been transferred from middle and working class people who need to spend money to maintain their families to the wealthy who largely sock their money away in overseas accounts.
Ryan/Romney would worsen this by cutting every public sector, including education, Medicaid, and Medicare. That means a major loss of jobs. It also means a major loss of disposable income to people who have very little disposable income to begin with.
Ryan/Romney would cut investments in science, renewable energy and infrastructure at a time when we need to make more investments in those areas. The infrastructure that presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, JFK and LBJ built up is falling to pieces.
Am I overstating the danger? Once again, we came very, very close to another depression at the end of the Bush (mal)administration.
Progressive dog
(6,900 posts)Look at what is happening to the countries forced into austerity by the EU. Spain and Greece are in bad shape. Imagine that happening here, where more tax cuts for the wealthy, tax hikes on the middle class and poor cause a vicious cycle of falling demand, falling production, and job elimination. The same ideology took America down under Hoover and the Rethugs are trying for a repeat.
Avalux
(35,015 posts)HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)LongTomH
(8,636 posts)....on this discussion. I think there are a lot of parallels to the last depression today. We have this incredible rate of inequality, and I see the Bush administration's corruption and cronyism are more like the Harding administration than Hoover.
By the way, I don't think we should be complacent about the possibility of a Ryan/Romney win, and it is a Ryan/Romney ticket; Ryan's draconian budget plan is driving the agenda.