Folks, was the Clinton surplus a myth or was it real? I hear we were on track

[Mattias]

31. And to add

No President facing a recession has ever had to deal with the compexity President Obama face. Going back to the first depression the republican President Hoover after finding that private sector would not solve the problems enacted a fiscal stimulus of 0,5 % of GDP which by todays standards seem meagere. But rembering that the federal budget by 1930 was 4 % of GDP it was by thoose standards quite large. President Roosevelt enacted an even bigger stimulus in the big deal that put a downward spiral on the unemployment rate. Unfortunately by his own and from advice the policy was followed by a to earyly austerity causing the "recession in a depression" of 1937. What should be remembered is that Roosevelt was expolring unchartered waters as Keynesianism was yet to become a economic theory. John Maynard Keyned only published his groundbreaking book "General Theory..." in 1936.

In modern times there has been three recessions in the US, where one was bordering on a depression. The first beeing the one during President Reagan, it ended in 1983 and job creation started to show greately positive numbers. But many Reagan worshipers forget that of the jobs created during the two years following the recession 1.3 million jobs where created in the public sector. Accounting for demographics that would mean 1.5 million more jobs. Or about 1.5 percent less unemployment. Also President Reagan by increasing defence spending with 1 % of GDP apart from the goverment job creation provided a massive fiscal stimulus. The next recession came with President W.Bush and was countered with a 2.6 million increase in public sector employment combined with taxcuts.

The third and most lethal depression is the one President Obama was handed. During his term for the first time in since the 19th century the public payroll in a recession has decreased with 700 000. The private sector has provided the only increase. President Obamas practical policy has been more neoliberal than President Reagan. Not by choice but by obstruction from the GOP. Had the economy added jobs in the same phase as previous recessions there would not have been a net gain of 4 million jobs. The net gain would have been 4 000 000 + 700 000 + 1 500 000 = 6 200 000 jobs. Republicans in congress has thereby inflicted unemployment on 2.2 million citizens. No recession and certanly no depression has ever in modern times shed public sector jobs but this one. And still President Obamas economy is growing, not fast enough, but the fault is less on democrats then obstructionist republicans. Once the GOP was a party that wanted its countrys best, now it is a party that wants power more than anything else. If they get it the question is do they know what to do with it.