Re: Leftists knocking Friedman ?

On Tue, 19 Feb 2008 09:08:33 -0800 (PST), Lysander
<lysander@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:

>On Feb 16, 10:30 am, stuff_st...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 wrote:
>> On Sat, 16 Feb 2008 08:00:06 -0600, "John Galt"
>>
>> <whoisjohng...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
>> >I would personally say that the goverment has a role in mitigating the
>> >negative effects on certain members of society whilst such "lurching"
is
>> >taking place, to the extent that they are reasonably able (thinking
about
>> >the avoidance of moral hazard, here, but there are other
considerations);
>> >but if the goverment intervenes in the process itself, they tend to
distort
>> >the market and ultimately accentuate the negative effects that one was
>> >hoping to mitigate.
>>
>> Government also has the ability to dampen the swings of the pendulum
>> in this process, resulting in more stability.
>
>Can they do it in a timely fa****on Lord Keynes? Friedman easily shows
>the evidence is against the dampening of the swings coming at the
>right time. More often than not the Fed has made recessions worse and
>inflations worse. Congresses record is even worse. You are taking nice
>1960's theory and ignoring the lags of data. 

The data is clear. Recessions are happening less and less often, and
are less severe. Growth is happening for longer sustained periods with
short shallow interruptions.
http://www.dallasfed.org/research/eclett/2007/images/el0712c4.gif