Barnhardt discusses Keynes

It wasn't so much of an economic discussion, but a moral one.  She dislikes Keynes for his immorality.  She calls him a fraud.

No doubt that Keynes was an unusual fellow.  He was generally well-liked if what I read about him was accurate.  He was quite intelligent also.

Personally, I'd rather dispense with the type of argument that Barnhardt was making.  It is not so much the general thrust of the argument.  The general thrust of the argument is that our economy and social structures have become hollowed out.  I've thought along the same lines myself.  But the argument looks like an ad hominem attack against Keynes himself.  It may well be dismissed as such, and the better part of the argument may be tossed out like a baby in the bath water.  My opinion is that Barnhardt is more focused on conflict than solutions.  It seems that people prefer the combat as opposed to solving the problems.


Theoretical discussions bore me, obviously I'm not well-versed on economic theory.   However, some economic thoughts briefly sketched below:

• I agree with Milton Friedman's assertion that monetary policy is responsible for inflation and deflation
• Federal Reserve's policies need closer scrutiny. I agree with Ayn Rand that money should be linked to some objective value.  Gold may be too limiting.  Therefore, we could consider pegging interest rates to commodities.  There is an interest rate that would keep the prices of commodities stable.  The interest rate should float freely so that could be accomplished.
• I do not agree with all of Friedman's ideas on international trade.  I've discussed that before.  Trade deficits, in my opinion, are bad and should be avoided.  The importation of oil is the biggest target, so that would be a good start to eliminating the huge US trade deficit.
• Wikipedia has something about 1968 and when Bretton Woods started to fail.  Another reference to  1968 ---seems like a pivotal year in economic history.  It was probably more about Limits to Growth than anything else.
• With respect to financing the Vietnam War, and the Iraq war:  Taxes were not raised to finance either and economic turmoil followed.  A mere coincidence?  The political cause, or the economic cause?  I think political because it ushered in the Limits to Growth ethos into society.  The Vietnam War was the catalyst for that.  The Iraq War reminded people of the Vietnam War, and enabled the leftists to impose their Limits to Growth mentality back into the political sphere.  This has hampered economic growth.
• Keynes favored wealth creation with his deficit spending.  Yet he said that digging holes and filling them up again was better than nothing.  Wrong.  It is worse than nothing.  He was on a better track when he said that government spending on wealth creation is not a bad idea.  An example would be the Hoover Dam.