A New Republican Depression?
For the first time, I am going to repost something I wrote a couple of years ago. I hope some people will have the patience to read it, as it is by far the most important thing I have ever written. It is going to consist largely of quotations, as I wouldn't expect anyone to take my word for what I am going to say. The quotations below are from Arthur Schlesinger's The Crisis of the Old Order, which I heartily recommend, in conjunction with John Kenneth Galbraith's short book, The Great Crash, which lays out a similar scenario. As you read this, I beg you to think about what has gone on in this country since the days of Reagan. I will begin with a comment by Schlesinger about Andrew Mellon, Coolidge's Secretary of the Treasury, and one of the richest men in America at the time: "The government is just a business," said Mellon, "and can and should be run on business principles." The first necessity, accordingly, was to balance the budget, a...