Last week I discussed in this column the idea that the vast amounts of money created by central banks and distributed for free to banks and bond funds – equivalent to $6,000 per man, woman and child in America and £6,500 in Britain – should instead be given directly to citizens, who could spend or save it as they pleased. I return to this theme so soon because radical ideas about monetary policy suddenly seem to be gaining traction. Some of the world’s most powerful central bankers – Mario Draghi of the European Central Bank last Thursday, Eric Rosengren of the Boston Fed on Monday and Mervyn King of the Bank of England this Wednesday – are starting to admit that the present approach to creating money, known as quantitative easing, is failing to generate economic growth. Previously taboo ideas can suddenly be mentioned.
Bush did this in 2008, remember? Everybody got a $300 tax refund check? Republicans thought it was a great idea. The House passed it 380-34, the Senate, 81-16. It had massive and overwhelming bi-partisan support.
Until January 20, 2009 that is. Then saving the economy became "Screw you, poor people." Ryan Cooper:
Again, I agree that moral hazard should be a consideration, especially for the richest and most powerful people and corporations, but we recognize in a crisis sometimes it’s more important to keep the system from collapsing than make sure every person gets exactly what she deserves. When we had a banking crisis, everyone agreed on this. Elites everywhere panicked, and swooped in with “incredible speed and force to bail out the financial sectors in which creditors are invested, trampling over prior norms and laws as necessary.” We’re now in the fourth year of an unemployment crisis, and it’s high time we found some similar urgency.
Nothing I haven’t said before, and still probably little chance of happening, but here’s hoping. Regular people could use a bailout every bit as much, if not more, than wealthy elites.
Which is why it won't happen. Republicans are now committed to creation another recession through gridlock and obfuscation. Every possible solution to our employment crisis has been blocked by Republicans for the last two years, who are basically holding the economy hostage and hoping you'll vote out President Mookie Muhammed X Bazinga and all his ACORN Thugs(tm) as a result.
The plan's not working so well for the Republicans, it turns out.
We'll see what happens.
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