Since the last few posts have been, essentially, about the economy and the pending stimulus bill I thought that I’d share this recent article from Newsweek.

Thomas and Meacham are arguing that because of Bush practices and predicted Obama ones the United States is starting to look more and more like Europe (I doubt this but we’ll see). 

All of this is unfolding in an economy that can no longer be understood, even in passing, as the Great Society vs. the Gipper. Whether we like it or not—or even whether many people have thought much about it or not—the numbers clearly suggest that we are headed in a more European direction. A decade ago U.S. government spending was 34.3 percent of GDP, compared with 48.2 percent in the euro zone—a roughly 14-point gap, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In 2010 U.S. spending is expected to be 39.9 percent of GDP, compared with 47.1 percent in the euro zone—a gap of less than 8 points. As entitlement spending rises over the next decade, we will become even more French.

What this is truly pointing at is that since Reagan, and if you really want to all the back to Nixon, the Republican party has been spouting the party line but spending like Democrats (although, I assume many of you knew this already). It’s interesting to actually here a columnist, media of any kind really, finally come out and say that Bush was somewhat socialist in his policies and promoted big government over little. 

Personally, this is an article, among many, that allows me to shove it down the throats of those who blame deregulation on the current economic collapse. I blame it on an increase in regulation in certain sectors (banking, realty, etc.) and the what the article above calls:

Much of that economic growth was real, but for the past five years or so, it has borne a suspicious resemblance to Bernie Madoff’s stock fund. Americans have been living high on borrowed money (the savings rate dropped from 7.6 percent in 1992 to less than zero in 2005) while financiers built castles in the air.

Or irresponsible spending by Americans during an economic high.

I’m not arguing that one has to disagree or agree with this article but I think that for the current arguments that are being made in this country about the economy, big government, and socialism that this short piece happens to have some very cogent points that you don’t see in the mainstream media very often.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009 at 00:53 by Scott Younker and is filed under Media, National, Politics, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.