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The Stimulus is Unlikely to Stimulate
Don’t blame John Maynard Keynes for what’s about to happen.
An economic stimulus is coming from Congress, the one the House passed almost a full week ago. The first thing that allows it is that Moscow Mitch McConnell (R-KY) finally bestirred himself to allow a floor vote in the Senate. The only delay now is the wait for the Clown Prince of the Senate, Rand Paul (R-KY), to run out of ways he can stall the vote on relief for working class Americans to extort a vote on the Afghanistan war.
I, too, despise the longest war in American history, but the irrationalities in the Hindu Kush pale beside the political question why Kentucky can’t seem to elect grownups. McConnell’s delay was breached when public opinion turned decisively in favor of some relief for those millions of people who have already lost their jobs or soon will in the fight against the spread of coronavirus. Rand Paul is still not in emergency mode, assuming he has an emergency mode.
My writing will not affect the fact of a stimulus bill or even the timing. Therefore, I should explain that my purpose is to deflect blame from John Maynard Keynes when the stimulus fails to accomplish much stimulating.
A short review of macroeconomics as practiced since the Great Depression at all times except during the…
