In a very timely new article in The Weekly Standard, “The Ultimate Stimulus? World War Two and Economic Growth,” Arthur Herman refutes the Keynesian economics myth that Big Government spending during World War II ended the Great Depression. In so doing, he bases his analysis on the path-breaking work of Independent Institute Senior Fellow…
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Polling from Pew and Gallup reveals major public misconceptions about the defense budget. Fifty-eight percent of Americans know that Pentagon spending is larger than any other nation, but almost none know it is up to seven times that of China. Most had no idea the defense budget is larger than federal spending for education,…
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The Honorable Erskine Bowles National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform 1650 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20504 Dear Mr. Bowles: We are writing to you and other members of the President’s National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform as individuals who have worked in national security affairs for decades for the Department of…
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In the new article on runaway spending from the Pentagon, “How Many More Trillion$ for Defense?”, Independent Institute Research Fellow Winslow Wheeler explains the dire need for effective budgetary controls over the Pentagon.� As it stands the Pentagon “is literally ‘unauditable.’” �Since Sept. 11, 2001, Congress and the Defense Department have added more than…
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During the Great Depression, economist John Maynard Keynes recommended increasing federal government spending, financed by borrowing, to boost the U.S. economy. It didn�t matter how the new money was spent. If no better use could be found, Keynes suggested building pyramids. Keynes� theory that increased public spending would offset declines in consumer and business…
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