If corporations are engaging in a "capital strike"

[Cary]

51. There is no demand for additional goods and services

We are in a liquidity trap. If we were not in a liquidity trap and if the American consumer was not being pinched, corporations would invest in order to produce new capacity to meet the demand. But the American consumer is being pinched and doesn't have the disposable income.

You don't see any shortages of goods and services, do you? So why should corporations invest in new capacity?

And why would the purposely cut their noses off to spite their faces? It is true that their lack of investment actually does lower demand but that's less direct than orchestrating a strike. GDP = Consumer S;pending + Investment + Government Spending + Exports - Imports, so increased investment would raise GDP and thus, by definition, raise demand. But businesses are not going to get out in front of this in current conditions. That's way too much to expect.

This is why the government is the consumer of last resort, not business or consumers. This is why it is a liquidity trap. Saving is greater than investment because real interest rates are lower than zero. There is a huge demand for Treasury Bills even though the interest is almost nothing and that's a global demand. The only way out of this is increased government spending and the absolute worst thing for this is austerity.

And this is why "conservatives" are traitors. They value their stupid ideology over the welfare of our nation and they are foisting their really stupid austerity on us simply by their blind adherence to their stupid ideology and their hatred and their fear.