Unregulated economics is wrongheaded for any recovery

To the editor,

Robert Hood asked in his recent letter, "Why is it that many former liberals, socialists and Marxists, including such notable economists as Milton Friedman and Thomas Sowell, have, over the course of their lives, converted to libertarian free market economics?"

You got me, Robert, because it makes no sense to me. Keynesian economic strategies brought us out of almost every recession since 1929 and people keep selling Austrian snake oil that never helped a recession in the slightest. Austerity measures make things even worse. Keynesian approaches were successfully used by FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, JFK, and Clinton. Obama would have had many more successes but the GOP strategy is to make sure Obama does not get enough funds to enact a very successful Keynesian policies.

Unregulated banks, a hallmark of libertarian economics school gave us the Great Depression which was really two deep recessions. Conservative trickle-down, supply side economics gave us the crashes of 1986 and 2008. Reckless thinking brought about the repeal in 1999 of the 1933 Glass-Steagal act which kept banks from using your money to gamble. It sequestered your money safely away from the venture capital casino part of the bank. That wall is now gone and your money is not as safe as it could bel.

The failed dogma of unregulated libertarian economics is wrongheaded for any recessionary recovery. 1929 Crash. 1986 Crash. 2008 Crash. All due to the lack of regulation that was supposed to make things run better. The Austrian school is always doomed to failure as a recession remedy because it has a belief that the market is ultimately fair and ethical; that Keynes' "animal spirits" don't make any overall difference in the market. Say what? It is the animal spirits every time and the Hayeks are completely unaware — in their theory — of the growls.

James Veverka

Tilton