Sorry to do this but...

Yall help this guy out yo, this is a good opportunity for a teacher to get his mind stretched. I don't know enough about economics to give you a lesson. but I would recommend checking out my thread "The tom woods appreciation thread"

 

You must beat the shit out of the broken window fallacy, as it is one of the back bones of Keynesian econ. Also Keynesian econ is not sustainable because "in the long run we are all dead" -John Maynard Keynes.

Keynesian economics is immoral and criminal, even Lord Keynes thought so "I work for a Government I despise for ends I think criminal" -John Maynard Keynes

 

Watch this and part 2 also. It explains Keynesian vs Austrian economics very well.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk]"Fear the Boom and Bust" a Hayek vs. Keynes Rap Anthem - YouTube[/ame]

 

Honestly Im too tired for this. I got like 3 hours of sleep but I can think of one thing I was talking about today.

During the 81-82 recession government decreased and we had a restrictive monetary policy. Things turned to normal fairly quickly and we didnt have debt along with it.

08-09 we have the most expansionary policy ever and where has it gotten us? We may have growth but it is very subtle and its practically all because of government spending.

There is no long term with keynesian economics. Keynes said "in the long run were all dead"

Keynes doesnt think about incentives. He thinks during a recession the gov should spend more to increase aggregate demand and when its in a boom government should cut back and tax more. But who is deciding all this? Politicians. Its not in a politicians best interest to decrease spending and increase taxes. What politician in all of history would run for office on a policy of cutting the budget, ending entitlements and all the while increasing taxes? And who would vote for him?

no one! Thats why we are always deficit spending no matter what the fuck is going on. The 90s budget was an accident. The economy grew at a faster rate than what was expected. But we all know who likes to take the credit for that.

Keynes also manipulates interests rates. By lowering them he gives this false impression that the economy is improving. Not only is it sending the wrong signals of where to invest but of when.

Keynes also does not understand the basics of an economy. An economy is about the end result, goods and services. Jobs are just the means to the end (goods and services). He also thinks imports are bad. How silly. Exports are the cost we pay to have imports. Lets not forget the purpose of an economy. GOODS AND SERVICES. How can obtaining MORE goods and services for your country ever be bad?

Keynesian economics also rewards the losers. There needs to be winners and losers in order to have a better std of living.

During wwii there were fewer goods and services available. People were working 12 hour days. Everything was rationed. The government went into huge debt. There was a draft.

After wwii the fed gov cut almost 2/3rds of its budget. 10 million people came home from the war. There was no stimulus, no recession, no government interference. You know what happened? Those people lived their lives. They started businesses, went back to school and started families. Just the work of the invisible hand. People can run their own lives. They can make decisions. All of the good in this modern economy is in spite of Keynesian economic policies. All of it!

 

Keynes himself couldn't describe how Keynesian economics would work for the majority of people. It works for the government, and it's minions. That's it.

Personally, I'd stay away from Keynesian economics as your topic if your prof. supports it. I only see that ending in a lowered grade.

The book 'Economics in One Lesson' by Henry Hazlitt, addresses the broken window fallacy in depth fairly early in the book. I'd recommend taking a glance at it if you decide to stick with this topic.

 

Seems legit.

 

Where is Ron Paul when you need him?

 

Lilro makes a good point. Keynes was a smart dude. He said if something came along that questioned my theory I would consider it. A lot of economists think if he lived another decade he wouldve changed his mind or at least altered his ideas.

The book 'economics in one lesson' is a great book too. I would definitely check it out or at least learn about the broken window theory.

 

Keynes was a genius level intellectual, but a horrible economist. His genius is imo partly what made him such a bad economist, he was too arrogant for his own good. His arrogance prevented him from actually studying economic history, thinking that whatever he didn't research he was smart enough to simply come to the correct conclusion based on his own intellect. Even Hayek himself said Keynes could have been a master economist if he wanted to be, but he wasn't actually very interested in economics.

 

You shouldn't go against the ideology of your teacher if you care about your grade. The classroom isn't the place to take ideological stands.

 

I agree I learned that the hard way, I lost a scholarship over my beliefs and in the end taking a stand only hurt me, the prof didn't change his mind, I just lost money.

 

Do you realize the the right wing was able to 'steer' the economy is because the government has too much damn influence in our economic affairs?

Do you realize america is a mixed market economy? That the government does central economic planning through the fed?

Did you know that the government bailed out wall street with OUR money? Do you think that's capitalism, or corporate socialism?


What successful business doesn't make a profit?

 

It's quite alright. I used to have the same misconceptions, such as America being a capitalist nation, etc.

I'm not sure what some good starting points are about learning about economics. I'm sure some people here have references, but they would just be opinionated.

What's the subject of your paper?