Confusion And Ignorance

From ABC news reporting on Obama's meeting with Republican House members Tuesday:
Said Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md (82 yr old).:
"Mr. President, I probably come at this from a slightly different perspective. I remember when FDR beat Hoover in 1932 [TW- as a 6 yr old apparently]. So I remember the Great Depression very well. I don't remember any of the many government programs affecting the course of the Depression. Government programs didn't work then, I don't know why we think they would work now. Mr. President, I think our obsessive borrowing has fully mortgaged my kids and my grandkids. Now we're working on mortgaging my two great-grandkids. Mr. President, I think it's more than a little bit selfish to try to solve our economic problems which we created by burdening future generations yet to be born."

This prompted applause."

TW: Ms. Bartlett is ignorant relative to the economics of the Depression and confused and likely highly hypocritical relative to fiscal policy. Up until about six months ago, the New Deal was regarded as a key component of the recovery from the Great Depression, now it has suddenly become an enabler of the GD at least according to say Rush Limbaugh and his acolytes within the Republican Party.

One could re-open that can of worms and debate it, perhaps I will at some point but I will just say this. If the New Deal was irrelevant and the only thing that got the US out of the GD was World War II (as the New Deal critics claim), then:
A) was not WWII the epitome of a massive spending stimulus, it sure the heck was not a massive supply-sider tax cut for the wealthy or poor (the favored alternative of the Republicans now).
B) if WWII was the real cause of the recovery does that not create some concerning implications? Perhaps we should seek an alternative.

Two, as for fiscal responsibility, I am strongly for balanced budgets. Which is why for all of Bill Clinton's failures as a human being and otherwise, his economic package passed in 1993 was an achievement. That package led to the budget surpluses later in the decade.

ZERO Republicans voted for the Clinton package as it included tax increases. W. Bush AND the Republican Party did not give one whit about fiscal responsibility from 2001 until about 30 days ago. All they cared about were supply side tax cuts (largely oriented towards wealthier folks) to "unleash the animal spirits of capitalists".

The time to balance budgets and build surpluses is when the economy is GROWING, not when it is shrinking rapidly, this is basic economic theory to which even a Larry Kudlow would agree.

I hope sincerely that Obama will at the right time, use this crisis as a means to address the severe long-term fiscal challenges of our nation. For those worried about the viability of our currency and ultimately our nation's fiscal security, if Obama and others develop a long-term plan to reduce entitlement spending then we should be positioned for success.

But anyone advocating shrinking federal spending amidst this current crisis is literally suggesting the same policies supported by Herbert Hoover in 1929 and 1930.