Warren Harding Knew How To End a Depression

[Heracles 417]

You need to crack open the shell. Living abroad helps this. We can sit here and argue back and forth until the cows come home but the reality speaks for itself. Have a look at the top 10 countries in terms of GDP, standard of living, quality of living, median income etc and you will find that not one of them uses a libertarian style approach to achieve this. They use a contrary approach actually. And that is a matter of fact and not based on opinion or personal ideology. For example, Australia's last recession was in 1988. Median house prices in Australia is now $375K. House prices actually rose last quarter.

You are right in the sense that Australia will eventually be effected. It's called global trade. Also the reason why Australia has done so well. Less than 7% of Australia's trade involves the US, so the impact has been limited for them. Furthermore, Australia is in a great position to weather the financial storm; as identified by numerous international financial organizations. The federal government has already said they they will cover mortgage payments up to one year if people loose their job. You also have an incredibly generous welfare system. As well as a NHS; something libertarians must hate.

PS When it comes to the past. You are barking up the wrong tree. By 1932 global trade had dropped to $12 billion from $36 billion in 1929. The United States exports shrank from $5.2 billion in 1929, to $1.2 billion in 1932. It was not until the Roosevelt Administration, who rejected protectionism, did the United States economy recover again. The introduction of import tariffs are now widely recognized as the cause of great depression as well as the reason the depression persisted for so long.

Edited May 4, 2009 by Constellation

[Heracles 417]

Forgot to add that by 2007 world merchandise trade, on its own, now exceeds $13.6 trillion dollars. The United States in 2007 exported $456 billion dollars worth of services, with the total worth of world services exports exceeding $3.29 trillion dollars.

The appropriate government invention is not only vital but it is the best solution to unfreeze frozen markets. It is what got Australia out of the deepest recession they had (back in 1988) and propelled them using Nitro through to 2009, without a single recession until now. Even then, the recession will be a soft landing. Something agreed on by both right and left wing scholars. Actually it was right wing conservatives who promoted the appropriate mixture of public / private projects that led to Australia's phenomenal boom and prosperity for all. As well as their modernization of most cities. Projects that not only create jobs but improve the standard of living for people there. Every time I go back I see new projects and improvements to the cities and communities. You want to see a simple example of government intervention or the consequences of the lack of, check out LAX and compare it to Sydney or Melbourne's airport.

What city or town do you live in so I can check it out using google streetview? Then I can show you Melbourne and Sydney so you can see what a good government can do for a city. Furthermore, we can check out places like Paris and London who also have a similar philosophy. Whereas and to the contrary, I have seen some of the ugliest profit seeking housing communities in the world here in the States. Brand new communities too. Projects that clearly had little to no government intervention or guidelines to follow. Downunder a company has to follow strict guidelines and design codes that are there to prevent short-sided profit seeking builders and businesses from ruining a community for others in the name of a profit.

PS Government intervention is also backed by the world's richest man, Warren Buffett. Just read an article about it.

Edited May 4, 2009 by Constellation