1. I thought “Lord Keynes” made the irrefutable argument in these very comments that there was something of a boom under Reagan and that it was caused by the miracle of Keynesian policies.
2. Having lived through it in Detroit, the 1980 depression started in 1980 under Jimmy Carter, not in 1982 with the new 50% top tax rate. Having family in an auto plant, I could always get a job during the good times, never during the bad times, which changed year to year in the 70s. In 1980, all my factory pals had been laid off. Reagan didn’t take office until 1/20/81 and the top tax rate in 1981 was 70% with the 44% rate kicking in on dollars over $28,800 for a single person. 1980 and 1981 were pretty bad all prior to the 1982 lower top rate.
3. I submit that it is fraud via material omission to ignore not only central bank activities but Austrian analysis when analyzing economic events. If we’re so wrong, why not fairly state our position and then refute it point by point?
I fail to see the difference between ignoring the actions of the Fed and, for example, the “official” version of events in Ukraine last year which ignores the US overthrowing the elected government and installing a new government full of authentic Nazis.
This is the method our opponents have purposefully chosen to employ in order to “refute” us. Our opponents do not suffer from “blind spots”.
Hartmann was born in May 1951 so he was 29 in 1980. He grew up in Lansing, Michigan, home of Oldsmobile. I lived in Lansing for 6 years, 1969 to 1975 and Lansing TV is just like Detroit TV, reporting all the ins and outs of the auto industry. He would have known that the auto industry was having extremely bad times starting in 1980 under Carter. Further, I note from this Wiki piece that he started a very successful travel business in 1983, after the worst of the recession and he would therefore have been aware of tax rates as a business person. Thus, he must have had personal knowledge of the actual time frame of the recession and the applicable tax rates year by year.
1. I thought “Lord Keynes” made the irrefutable argument in these very comments that there was something of a boom under Reagan and that it was caused by the miracle of Keynesian policies.
2. Having lived through it in Detroit, the 1980 depression started in 1980 under Jimmy Carter, not in 1982 with the new 50% top tax rate. Having family in an auto plant, I could always get a job during the good times, never during the bad times, which changed year to year in the 70s. In 1980, all my factory pals had been laid off. Reagan didn’t take office until 1/20/81 and the top tax rate in 1981 was 70% with the 44% rate kicking in on dollars over $28,800 for a single person. 1980 and 1981 were pretty bad all prior to the 1982 lower top rate.
3. I submit that it is fraud via material omission to ignore not only central bank activities but Austrian analysis when analyzing economic events. If we’re so wrong, why not fairly state our position and then refute it point by point?
http://moneyweek.com/wp-content//uploads/2008/04/mises_1804_real_federal_fu.gif
I fail to see the difference between ignoring the actions of the Fed and, for example, the “official” version of events in Ukraine last year which ignores the US overthrowing the elected government and installing a new government full of authentic Nazis.
This is the method our opponents have purposefully chosen to employ in order to “refute” us. Our opponents do not suffer from “blind spots”.
I’ve seen less than negative reviews from MMT’ers on Reagan.
Hartmann was born in May 1951 so he was 29 in 1980. He grew up in Lansing, Michigan, home of Oldsmobile. I lived in Lansing for 6 years, 1969 to 1975 and Lansing TV is just like Detroit TV, reporting all the ins and outs of the auto industry. He would have known that the auto industry was having extremely bad times starting in 1980 under Carter. Further, I note from this Wiki piece that he started a very successful travel business in 1983, after the worst of the recession and he would therefore have been aware of tax rates as a business person. Thus, he must have had personal knowledge of the actual time frame of the recession and the applicable tax rates year by year.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thom_Hartmann
I just posted (probably as “anonymous”) about Hartmann and the early 80s recession. That was me.