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Why We Should Abandon the Free Market

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Galbraith Compares the Economic Plans of Bush and Reagan

05 min 00 sec

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Economist James K. Galbraith describes the differences between the Bush and Reagan administration's economic plans.

While both plans decreased regulation, Galbraith believes Bush's plan lacked Reagan's "intellectual seriousness."
James K. Galbraith: Economic Regulation is Essential

04 min 00 sec

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Drawing from the example of the Chinese economy, James K. Galbraith argues that government regulation may actually encourage prosperity.

Gailbraith says, "Regulation is actually essential to a modern technically sophisticated economic society."
Robert Kuttner, Raising Taxes Can Stimulate the Economy

05 min 08 sec

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Economist Robert Kuttner argues that raising taxes will revitalize the US economy.

Citing the success of the G.I. Bill, Kuttner recommends implementing a "spending coalition" to improve the lives of all Americans.
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01 hr 44 min 43 sec

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There are 5 comments on this program

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Previous FORAtv comments:

phiscal

Posted: 07.10.12, 02:54 PM

As so much in public life today, this presentation is not a search for truth. It is a presentation of opinion as truth...like so many other firmly held but highly disputable belief systems. I suspect Kuttner does not recognize the humor when he says: "I took a day off from journalism to be a protagonist". He's ALWAYS a protagonist, as so many journalists are. To adopt a pretense of objectivity only erodes his credibility for intellectual honesty. A few miscellaneous points: * Do you hear anyone arguing for "no government" as the presenters claim? I'm reasonably close to this debate and I have never heard that outside of student anarchist types. Ordinary people want government that can justify its actions on cost / effectiveness grounds - including the loss of liberty as a cost sometimes great, sometimes small. K-12 education, Social Security, Medicare, the income tax code, and the DOD are all highly suspect on cost / effectiveness grounds...even moreso when one includes loss of freedom for individuals to manage the first three better. The fourth, the tax code, is a complete mess - a monument to the Washington way. The fifth provides a true "public good" and is best done collectively, but it consumes horrendous financial resources precisely because it is done collectively. * This argument of the middle class was shrinking before 2007 is silly. The Pickety Saez data that these arguments are built upon is riddled with mispresentation, misinterpretation, and misuse. See Alan Reynolds in Income and Wealth for persuasive insightes into this piece of particularly pervasive mis-information. * I sumbit that David Walker is right. US public finances are a mess. A typical US family making $70,000 annually will pay roughly $1.3 million in taxes over its lifetime. In addition government, has run up $650,000 to $800,000 debts of various types that family and its descendents will pay for - in addition to current tax levels. Galbraith and Kuttner wield socialism as swords in the war of ideas. And they are good at it. But sustaining the level of wealth the developed world has achieved requires more efficiency than socialism has ever delivered. That includes the American brand of socialism as practiced over the last 40-50 years.

VilhelmoOkcidento

Posted: 06.19.11, 04:13 PM

Looking back at this, it seems that they were overly optimistic in their hopes and predictions for the future administration.

brushes9

Posted: 01.18.09, 02:53 PM

Big Brother is always taking care of us, the sane one, or the sadistic, insane one. Now is not the time to parrot the right-wing ideology that put us in this toilet along with floating Bush-turds.

Kris

Posted: 12.27.08, 01:08 AM

WOW, sounds like Big Brother should be taking care of us. That's not the role of the federal government! FDR made the small depression into the BIG depression. Let's not do that again.

brushes9

Posted: 11.09.08, 05:31 PM

In the Q&A, both economist offer what appears to be, on the surface, a devastating critique of David Walker. If their arguments are sound, then this is a huge story that is not getting out there!