John Stossel: Obama shares FDR's arrogant conceit

[stephanie]

By JOHN STOSSEL

1 hour, 5 minutes ago


Barack Obama wants to use the recession to remake the U.S. economy.

"Painful crisis also provides us with an opportunity to transform our economy to improve the lives of ordinary people," Obama said.

His designated chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is more direct: "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste."

So they will "transform our economy." Obama's nearly trillion-dollar plan will not merely repair bridges, fill potholes and fix up schools; it will also impose a utopian vision based on the belief that an economy is a thing to be planned from above. But this is an arrogant conceit. No one can possibly know enough to redesign something as complex as "an economy," which really is people engaging in exchanges to achieve their goals. Planning it means planning them.

Obama and Emanuel want us to believe that their blueprint for reform will bring recovery from the recession. Yet we have recovered from past recessions without undertaking a radical social and economic transformation.

In fact, reform would impede recovery.

This is not the first time a President chose reform over recovery. Franklin Roosevelt did it with his New Deal, and the result was long years of depression and deprivation. Roosevelt's priorities were criticized not just by opponents of big government but by none other than John Maynard Keynes, the British economist whose theories rationalized big government. Before FDR had been in office a year, Keynes wrote him an open letter, which was printed in The New York Times:


read it all here..
http://www.theunionleader.com/articl...f-7bba99561d2d

[bullypulpit]

And the Chicago School economics of Milton Friedman and his acolytes, which is the dominant theory of the GOP in general, and the Bush administration in particular, is what has led us to our current straights. It is also worth noting that the application of Friedman's theories gave us many of the most brutal dictatorships to grace this hemisphere, starting with Augusto Pinochet.

[Joe Steel]

By JOHN STOSSEL

1 hour, 5 minutes ago

Barack Obama wants to use the recession to remake the U.S. economy.

So they will "transform our economy." Obama's nearly trillion-dollar plan will not merely repair bridges, fill potholes and fix up schools; it will also impose a utopian vision based on the belief that an economy is a thing to be planned from above. But this is an arrogant conceit. No one can possibly know enough to redesign something as complex as "an economy," which really is people engaging in exchanges to achieve their goals. Planning it means planning them.

Obama and Emanuel want us to believe that their blueprint for reform will bring recovery from the recession. Yet we have recovered from past recessions without undertaking a radical social and economic transformation.

In fact, reform would impede recovery.

This is not the first time a President chose reform over recovery. Franklin Roosevelt did it with his New Deal, and the result was long years of depression and deprivation. Roosevelt's priorities were criticized not just by opponents of big government but by none other than John Maynard Keynes, the British economist whose theories rationalized big government. Before FDR had been in office a year, Keynes wrote him an open letter, which was printed in The New York Times:

read it all here..
http://www.theunionleader.com/articl...f-7bba99561d2d

Stossel is crazy.

The precise moment at which ABC News' John Stossel lost his mind will, I'm sure, forever remain a medical mystery. But that this "news correspondent" of libertarian hysterics has indeed lost his mind is a sadly and increasingly pronounced fact of (his) life.

For years Mr. Stossel has been coming emotionally unglued and intellectually unhinged over the littlest things of mammoth advisability; say, restaurant fire codes or safe children's toys. His libertarian creed: let the marketplace sort this sort of thing out -- you know, if a restaurant catches fire every six months and a few of its customers die each time, then the surviving balance eventually will stop patronizing said restaurant, it will close, and the problem is solved.

Stossel is, of course, nuts

[April15]

My parents praised FDR for his recovery plans. From what I know of the era from my parents and those their age and that he was relected three times it seems the people who opine FDR prolonged the depression are just voicing sour grapes. One could even say it is revisionist history to proclaim FDR's new deal was no good.

[red states rule]

My parents praised FDR for his recovery plans. From what I know of the era from my parents and those their age and that he was relected three times it seems the people who opine FDR prolonged the depression are just voicing sour grapes. One could even say it is revisionist history to proclaim FDR's new deal was no good.

and how did FDR end the Depression?

Fact is he did not. The Depression ended when the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor. All the social programs, free handouts, and government regulation did nothing to end the Depression - it only made it worse

[April15]

and how did FDR end the Depression?

Fact is he did not. The Depression ended when the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor. All the social programs, free handouts, and government regulation did nothing to end the Depression - it only made it worse

As with this depression the end is not a specific date but when you think it is. The country was not economically struggling in 1940. Anyone who was alive will tell you that. I am sure there are many records that would affirm it also.

[red states rule]

As with this depression the end is not a specific date but when you think it is. The country was not economically struggling in 1940. Anyone who was alive will tell you that. I am sure there are many records that would affirm it also.

Do you have any idea what the unemployment rate was on Dec 7, 1941? It is clear you do not have a clue as to what you are talking about - which is normal for yopu sicne you sprew the usual liberal talking points and hate toward anyone who disagrees with you

Like most liberals, FDR's goal was to make as many people as possible dependent on government - and all his programs and spending did NOT end the depression

It took WWII to do it

[avatar4321]

My parents praised FDR for his recovery plans. From what I know of the era from my parents and those their age and that he was relected three times it seems the people who opine FDR prolonged the depression are just voicing sour grapes. One could even say it is revisionist history to proclaim FDR's new deal was no good.

Which is why it takes more objective eyes to look at things.

[Joe Steel]

My parents praised FDR for his recovery plans. From what I know of the era from my parents and those their age and that he was relected three times it seems the people who opine FDR prolonged the depression are just voicing sour grapes. One could even say it is revisionist history to proclaim FDR's new deal was no good.

Your parents weren't alone. I remember reading an article which said some families had only two pictures on their wall, Jesus Christ and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

[avatar4321]

Your parents weren't alone. I remember reading an article which said some families had only two pictures on their wall, Jesus Christ and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Which is exactly why the cult of personality bull crap is dangerous.

[Joe Steel]

and how did FDR end the Depression?

Fact is he did not. The Depression ended when the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor. All the social programs, free handouts, and government regulation did nothing to end the Depression - it only made it worse

Utter nonsense. Those programs put money into the economy and that's the only way to end a depression.

Secondly, and more importantly, Roosevelt created an activist government and that, more than anything else, built the political economy which served the nation so well until the Regan era.

[stephanie]

soon, we will all be required to hang a picture of the little Marxist in our house..and thank it every morning for the petty handouts he has allowed us...can't wait...

[actsnoblemartin]

um pssst.

the democrats were in control the last two years

And the Chicago School economics of Milton Friedman and his acolytes, which is the dominant theory of the GOP in general, and the Bush administration in particular, is what has led us to our current straights. It is also worth noting that the application of Friedman's theories gave us many of the most brutal dictatorships to grace this hemisphere, starting with Augusto Pinochet.

[emmett]

Comparing FDR to the current situation is not applicable actually. I sort of think the economy was so screwed in the late 20's early 30's that we had no choice but to do what we did. This economic situation is different in many ways. First of all, in 1930 Ford was booming, unchallanged by foriegn competition. The rest of the worlds economy was less influencial in the big picture than today.

Had the rest of the world had been so dependant on our economy then as they "were" now, it would be a much different bigger picture.

Stossel knows exactly what he is talking about. Obama is going to try and model his "new deal" after an "old deal" so to speak. It won't work this time because of several reasons. The most important being the fact that we don't create the volume of everyday useable products that we did then. The Chinese have already cornered the market on coats, clothes and essentials. We don't make those anymore in case anyone has not noticed.

Some of the very fundamental philosophies of business that began as a result of the new deal, like unions, have assured us that our product costs are too high to compete on a world stage any longer. The sacrifices we are sure to face economically cannot be offset by our 10 or 15% of people who can keep up with our tax rates without being forced into a lower class of life as a result. Through the 60's 70's and 80's, and especially under Bill Clinton in the 90's we made agreements, sold our soles and exported our prosperity to every corner of the world and now we sit here scratching our fucking heads as to why we have an economical problem.

When Union Carbide moved to India I think it was, and other companies began to export our work, we lost this battle. It's been lost for decades. We're just now beginning to feel it. When we failed to place a high enough import tax on foriegn auto's, electronics and other products, we allowed foriegn competitors the ability to undersell our stuff and whore up the retail markets here at home. What ever happened to "Made in USA". That's the damn problem folks!

In addition, the new deal did not involve bail outs! Even FDR knew that could not be a viable option. No one was working, there were no tax dollars for that kind of shit. Even then, we knew we could not spend what we didn't have! Today however, we seem to have adopted some belief that so long as there is one damn American with a bank account we can just move in and take it offset a bad economy.

It is a dark, scary philosophy of government to imagine that in order to maintain power (which is what it is), that democrats can create an enviornment where everyone is the same when everyone's contribution is not the same.

The answer to all od this will be the citizens stepping up to destroy the IRS and refusing to pay tax. This will place control of the economy back in the hands of the people of the United States. An economical militia so to speak. It will come to that I assure you because the power mongers of Liberal Left have just set the stage for it. I mean come on, how the hell can you finance a one trillion dollar what you call it with NO FUCKING MONEY!!!! A third grader knows you can't buy something with no money in your pocket.

Barack Obama is about to fail..... miserably!!! He will become the arch enemy of small business, the honest taxpayer and the average citizen. I can't wait to see the approval polls of 2011. The queers, college kids and blacks just elected him will turn on him like a rattlesnake when they don't get what they want.

[April15]

Do you have any idea what the unemployment rate was on Dec 7, 1941? It is clear you do not have a clue as to what you are talking about - which is normal for yopu sicne you sprew the usual liberal talking points and hate toward anyone who disagrees with you

Like most liberals, FDR's goal was to make as many people as possible dependent on government - and all his programs and spending did NOT end the depression

It took WWII to do it

9.66% down from 14.45% the year before. This is not a liberal talking point. When you are wrong it is easy to disagree with you.