Real Time, May 25, 2012 ( Michelle Bernard, Paul Krugman, Arthur Laffer )

[thucythucy]

5. "Government never creates wealth"

is another right wing myth that has been repeated so often it's taken serious hold in the minds of tens of millions of people. It's the kind of GOP BS that needs to be refuted every chance we get.

Just a few examples of government creating "wealth"--by which I mean jobs, economic activity, increase in the production of durable goods, along with the markets (that is, people wealthy enough) to purchase them:

The interstate highway system under Eisenhower: without which the tremendous economic booms of the 50s and 60s wouldn't have been possible;

The rural electrification program under FDR: without which people in many rural communities would still be using keresene to light their homes. Provision of a government subsidized electric grid created a huge, hitherto nonexistent market for everything from light bulbs to washing machines to air conditioners to radios/TVs etc. etc.

The "GI Bill of Rights" under FDR/Truman, which enabled millions of returning veterans to buy their own homes, resulting in tremendous growth in the housing market, millions of jobs in the construction trades and in the manufacturing sector for home appliances, furniture, etc. etc. The GI Bill also helped millions of returning vets either to go to college for the first time or to return to college, leading to an educated workforce and huge gains in productivity in the era 1945 to 1970 (along with an unprecedented growth in American higher education, making it the best in the world).

I could go on.

We HAVE to dispute these right wing talking points every chance we get, because otherwise we'll never be able to move past all this Ayn Randian/Laffer nonsense that's dragged us down for so long.