Economic Growth, Part III: When All Else Fails, Try Freedom
by Dan MitchellWe’ve learned that Keynesianism does not make sense and that Obama’s so-called stimulus was misguided. In the final installment of this three-part series, let’s discuss the policies that actually would improve economic performance. As this video explains, both Economic Freedom of the World and the Index of Economic Freedom identify sound money, rule of law, property rights, small government, low tax rates, open markets, and laissez faire as the key conditions for prosperity.
The simple summary of the video is that economic liberalization and small government boost economic performance, not “jobs programs” or “stimulus packages.” But things are never as simple as they seem. Many Republicans, for instance, act as if any economic problem can be solved by cutting taxes. That’s a laundable instinct, to be sure, but fiscal policy only accounts for 20 percent of a nation’s economic performance and it is unreasonable to assume good tax policy can solve the problems caused by bad monetary policy or foolish regulatory interventions. Moreover, there is a big difference between good (supply-side) tax cuts that increase incentives for productive behavior and useless gimmicks such as tax credits and tax holidays. If Republicans want to rebuild their credibility on economic issues, they need to apologize for the reckless statism of the Bush years and rededicate themselves to shrinking the size and scope of the federal government.
Email this to a friend | Print |
Share on Facebook
| Tweet this
| 
Follow Us on Twitter
Subscribe via RSS
Got a Tip?
8 Comments
As great and good for the economy – both national AND personal – is, the problem is still….
IT'S THE SPENDING STUPID!!
That needs to be said loudly and clearly to EVERY one in D.C. (and many of the states and even cities). You wanna take in more money, Tax cuts do that every time, but that still doesn't mean you can go out and spend even MORE than you take in.
I remember Irene.
I remember when we helped Irene Leary — an 80-year-old widow on the brink of foreclosure. Predatory lenders threatened to take her home, but ACORN supporters like you overwhelmed the bank with letters and phone calls, until they agreed to work out a new solution and let Irene keep her home.
That's what being a community is all about — and that's what the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now is all about. When good people have the odds stacked against them — when the profits of the powerful come before the wellbeing of working families, communities must organize — men and women stand up together to say, "what they are doing to Irene is not right, and we will not allow them to get away with it."
And you know what? I can always count on you to do just that — to come together and stand up for each other.
This year, people were counting on us more than ever. When bankers and newscasters were talking about a credit crisis, you and I knew that for most people, the credit crisis was really a foreclosure crisis. In fact, 2009 was a record-setting year for foreclosures. A stunning 2.9 million families entered the process this year. And the truth is that number would have been even higher if ACORN hadn't stepped in.
I remember Tosha Alberty.
A mother of four young children and a husband with cancer, she joined with the ACORN Home Defenders to fight her foreclosure for three months. Home Defenders mobilized regularly to block sheriff's deputies access to the property, often using their own bodies as shields. On one occasion they even got the locksmith to refuse to change the locks.
That's what this year was like for ACORN — trying to help people keep their homes in the middle of the worst housing crisis in history. And you know something? We're still in the middle of that crisis and my work helping families save their homes is still the most important thing I'm doing.
Let's be honest for a second. When the pundits start doing their year-in-review shows, when they get to ACORN, you and I both know what they'll say. They will talk about scandal and accusation, and they'll rehash propaganda from right-wing con artists and politicians.
But I promise that they will leave something out. They'll leave out what we did to save Irene's home. They'll leave out the dedication of people like you who put themselves on the line for their neighbors.
And the most shameful thing they'll forget to mention is how many more families' homes we could have saved if we weren't constantly under attack.
So I want to take a moment to say "thank you". Thank you for helping ACORN members and staff save as many homes as we did. Thank you for making the time and taking the effort to fight for what is right for working families. Thank you for standing with us during one of our most challenging years ever.
Thank you. With your support we have made it this far and with your continued support we will be able to take on the challenges that are sure to come in 2010.
In solidarity and strength,
Bertha Lewis
ACORN CEO and Chief Organizer
PS. We recently had some good news regarding our work on voting rights in Ohio and abuse of police powers in Arizona. More examples of the impact of people coming together and standing up.
Government is not the solution, government is the problem.
I'm curious, are you on staff at Big Government?
Everyone else here can only post limited amounts of material, then a message pops up and says "Your message is too long". You, on the other hand post volumes of material and do so ad naseum and ad infinitum, such as your post above.
Nobody else has noticed it, but I have. There is something different with your posts. You always show up and post something entireloy off topic, in an attempt to drive conversation away from the topic at hand.
Come on now Goober, fess up, whats your deal…………..
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by mikepfs and Juli , Partisan Media Group. Partisan Media Group said: Economic Growth, Part III: When All Else Fails, Try Freedom: We’ve learned that Keynesianism d.. http://bit.ly/6ZxJV6 #tcot #PMG [...]
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by mikepfs: Economic Growth, Part III: When All Else Fails, Try #Freedom http://tinyurl.com/yzn9jaz #tcot…
[...] Here is the original post: Big Government » Blog Archive » Economic Growth, Part III: When … [...]
Look like the policians are always involve in both companies and politics: bad combination.