Re: Why the US Economy is Tanking (OT)

It's well known by experts in the field that without the stimulus by the gov't--begun under Bush but broadly expanded by Obama--we would in all likelihood have collapsed into a second Great Depression.

Yes, they said that unemployment might reach (gasp!) 9%.

What is it now again?

It was this repeal that opened up traders to playing iffy games with the money of investors, which is ultimately what led to the housing bubble and collapse in the first place.

No. It is the partial reserve banking combined with fiduciary currency. Full reserve banks simply cannot fail in this way.

But of course, full reserve banks are only for quack SocCreds and quack Islamofascists

There's one simple reason why wealthy people tend not to benefit a failing economy--if they already have enough money, they tend to save excess rather than spend it. The very rich are saving their money, not spending it. Whereas if the very poor receive money, odds are they're going to spend it. Thus, corporate welfare is likely harmful to the gov't, whereas welfare for poor private citizens helps to stimulate our economy, because the poor are certainly going to spend their money to survive.

Then let's follow your argument and make everyone dirt poor, whatever it takes - so that they spend the whole they receive and reactivate the economy.

But just remember it hasn't worked in Haiti, where they have been doing it for 200 years.

Asking poor people to cut back even more than they already are while the banks get free rein to do as they like is absolutely disturbing.

I agree with that. I am small government, but I am no friend of banks - at least not the way they are and have been for decades. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't have opposed a complete government takeover of banks, even, provided the conditions for it were very clearly spelled out.