European Economic Policy
Republican economic proposals are nothing new. They are borrowed directly from Europe. The European Union (EU) forced steep cuts to government spending on member countries. Their belief was that cuts in government spending would restore confidence to the private sector. The private economy may have needed confidence, but more importantly, they needed customers. Reduced government spending resulted in consumers having less, rather than more, money to spend. Across the affected nations, shops and businesses closed. Government tax revenue crumbled.
Soviet-Style Defense Spending
Following his attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the United States played Osama Bin Laden's game. In many ways, this country is still playing the role that Osama assigned to it. Bin Laden's plan was not to defeat United States on the battlefield. His goal was to drive the U.S. into bankruptcy. The financial and social chaos that grew out of Russia's Afghanistan War led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. This was Osama Bin Laden's plan for the U.S. As Ezra Klein of the Washington Post points out, Osama enjoyed some success. Republicans are still playing Bin Laden's game. Their budget proposals increase Defense Department spending.
Defense spending produces little while squandering much. President and General Dwight D. Eisenhower said it best:
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
No comments:
Post a Comment