Macroeconomics

Having watched a bit of the coverage on the government shutdown, Obamacare, and upcoming debt ceiling crisis leads me to believe that most politicians and people on TV have no idea about macroeconomics.  I think they should have taken a course on it in college, but either they cheated off the guy next to them, or they found a way to skip that class and still graduate.

First, there is the Republicans love of cutting spending.  This is fine when the economy is good, but it is terrible when the economy is slow.  Why can't there be a Republican who is also a Keynesian?  Can't someone be pro business but also support temporary government spending in a depressed economy?  If spending is cut now, that means less money in the economy and it will slow down even further.  The crazy thing is, if one looked at Europe, they would see what happens when spending is cut in a depressed economy (it gets worse).  However, the people who advocate austerity in this country say we don't want to be like Europe, so we must cut spending.  Do they really believe this crap?

Second, there is the "Obamacare is the worst thing ever in America" crowd.  I wasn't big on Obamacare when it was first proposed because nobody tried to sell it as something that is good for America as a whole.  It was always appealing to my desire to help some poor person with medical problems get healthcare.  Well, I am a mean, heartless, bastard, who doesn't give a damn about someone I don't know suffering through some terrible illness without medical insurance.  To me, a random person in Indiana is no different than a random person in Syria or North Korea.  If I don't know them, I don't care about them.  If you care about the random person suffering, then take a look around the world and then kill yourself, because there is no way to help these people. 

Sorry, back to Obamacare... It has passed and it is law now.  I have heard some economists like Paul Krugman say Obamacare will be good for most people and lower premiums.  This is where my laziness comes in.  The Affordable Care Act was something like 2,000 pages long.  I didn't read it.  I am not going to read it.  I am just going off people who should know about these things and their explanations.  I get the premise of Obamacare, I just don't know all the specifics.  And no, it isn't socialism.  It is a market solution with government regulation.  I want to give it a shot before I advocate its removal.  I don't understand why others don't feel the same.  The worst thing that can happen is that it works and that Obama looks good.  If it sucks, then all the people who are against it can say "I told you so!" and then repeal it after they win in the next couple elections.

Finally, there are some people who don't want to increase the debt ceiling.  This will tank the economy for sure.  Don't increase the debt ceiling and there will be serious automatic cuts to spending and an increase in interest rates (because we will default on our loans).  This means a massive economic slow down, which will certainly lead to another recession.  Again, why can't there be Keynesian Republicans?  There is nothing wrong with temporary government spending.  It's not like we have businesses competing with the government for those loans.  If they were, the economy would be doing just fine and there would be no need for the government spending.

It all seems very basic and simple to me.  I really don't understand why educated people don't understand what is going on.  Economics isn't religion.  You can change your views if evidence supports the other side.