Very true. What modern day economists don't understand (or maybe they secretly do) is that real demand is cyclical and precluded by long deflationary periods as supply and demand work itself to growth. The great bull market of the latter half of the 20th century arose from the great depression. A depression with little central bank intervention. There were no supply side economics back then, no printing press, no TARP, no QE. The sharper the crash, the sharper the ensuing growth. It's basic newtonian physics. If that is the case, central bankers should let the banks fail. Shouldn't they? Or maybe it's politics and legacy now. Let's assume Friedman and Bernanke are not stupid men. They have PhD's afterall with long extensive historical analysis of market and economy. Yet they engineer inflation which is the worst thing to do. I conclude they are both socialists who hide under the veil of free market capitalism. They are not stupid men.
So you think that the Great Depression was OK and maybe even a good thing, given the great prosperity that followed it?
It wasn't OK in the sense that it was a miserable time for many but it washed out ton of excess, fraud, entitlement, and political corruption which is essential for free market capitalism. The biggest losers in the depression were the 1% uberwealthy. The 99% marginal wealth + working class regained everything back in about a decade. What ensued was a time where the average American felt that the sky was the limit. This is the key because the collective emotion of a nation's people is where the country's going. So the US went from depression to the single largest economic power in the world. This time around, the uberwealthy refuse to lose. Hence, oligarchy and an enraged populace.
I'd bet 100 bucks you're wrong on that one Lucrum. The young man was too cool under fire from Friedma, not many guys that age are so composed debating a superior like he was. With that skill my bet is he is sucessl in his chosen field.
Lucrum, Your elitism never ceases to disgust me. Managing a fast food joint indicates you are reliable, punctual and have the ability to deal with adversity and lead others to success. Of all the many who have worked at a fast food joint, very few have the tenacity to survive long enough to be promoted to manager. And you laugh at them and ridicule them and belittle them as if somehow you are better than them? Life is the same for everybody. It's what you do with what you have that matters. Given all the advantages you were born with, I doubt very seriously you have advanced as much as any manager of a fast food joint. As a matter of fact, based on your remarks I know you haven't.
Yeah, but that's a very US-centric view... The Depression had other, less pleasant effects in other places.
So who wins the bet if his chosen profession is managing a fast food restaurant? I didn't think he was particularly cool or composed, but then I watched the video without any preconceived bias against Friedman.
Well...I guess that's one way to spin it. Oh fuck no. NOT better just more successful. Hmm I don't think so I agree LOL Then you don't know very much.