A famous and beloved Kossack has been writing diaries bashing Obama for his failure to stimulate the economy through further Keynesian (fiscal) stimulus. It is a appealing argument to make, because Keynesian economics did get us out of the Great Depression, about SEVENTY years ago --- though it took MANY, MANY years to do so. A chart in that recent diary seemed to show that 4 years after taking office, Roosevelt's unemployment rate was something like 14-16%, which is awful, except that it started at 25%.
But a few things have changed since 1941 --- and I'm not talking about ipads or ipods or tablets, or whatever it is you newfangled kids call technology these days.
No, the difference is that we live in a world economy now. An economy where places like Brazil, China and India really matter. An economy of shortages and panics over shortages in food, water and raw materials. A world where currency traders are critical....
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