From The Wall Street Journal editorial on 4/27/13, The Growth Deficit:

We are now in year five of what has been one of the great experiments in Keynesian economic policy. We were told that if Congress would spend $830 billion more temporarily, and the Federal Reserve would unleash monetary policy, a recovery would begin and rapid growth would resume. Larry Summers, Alan Krueger, Jared Bernstein and their allies on Wall Street got their policy wishes. Their economy has delivered mediocre growth and declining middle-class incomes—though we will concede that the wealthy have done well as the stock market has recovered.

So now the same Keynesians say the spending blowout wasn’t large or long enough, taxes still aren’t high enough, and monetary policy hasn’t been easy enough. What this economy really needs is a statute of limitations on intellectual denial.

HKO

For a theory to be valid there must be definable conditions that can prove it wrong.  When every unforeseen and failed prediction is twisted to somehow always prove the theory correct, it is likely an unsound theory.  If stimulus works then the Keynesians are correct.  If it didn’t then it failed because you never stimulated enough.  Some theories and ideas are so foolish only an intellectual would believe them. (apologies to Thomas Sowell)

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