Don Surber's Interesting Recession Theory
Just now, practically, Don Surber has published a post which presents a big picture theory of what’s going on with this recession. I’m not sure I buy it in the form that Don presents it, but a modified version might be plausible. Here’s the key part, which summarizes the basic idea:
Biden got the recession he wanted
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The truth is this is a recession that will likely last longer than any in the past 40 years.
Bloomberg reported, "The 100 Wealthiest Americans Lost $622 Billion Since November."
Those are paper losses that don't matter until you cash in. And considering the trillions they raked in under President Trump, the richest 100 don't mind if they lose a trillion or so to get rid of him.
We all saw this coming because we all know Biden's anti-capitalist policies would undo the Trump recovery. That was the plan. Democrats want another Great Depression because they believe this will allow them to take over the country once and for all.
And most of those richest 100 support that. They believe they will have a place at the table, as do the LGBT crowd. History shows this to be folly.
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So, there’s the theory, short and sweet. In support of it I’ll cite one factor that Don doesn’t stress sufficiently, or not explicitly. That factor is simply that the Zhou regime hit the ground running, presenting a policy agenda that was far radical and destructive than that of any previous US government—or, not since the Great Society. This radical agenda embraces both domestic and foreign policy. Even allowing for the fact that not all of the agenda has made it through Congress and that at least some legal roadblocks have been thrown up—mostly ineffectual, we’re seeing the results and those results are getting predictable feedback in the polls. We’re also seeing predictable economic and social effects.
The question is, Has this been deliberate—a planned recession—or did the Dems simply calculate that they could survive a recession and retain control? In other words, a recession wasn’t necessarily desired but was considered a manageable risk. The difficulty in assessing the alternatives here is that we’re dealing with deranged ideologues. I tend to the view that a recession was considered a manageable risk, But that Don is correct that this view is “folly.” The Dems own this recession, no matter what KD may say (No, The Economy Will NOT Be OK), and they will not be able to turn this into a Green New Deal because the associated pain will be too closely linked to specific and deeply unpopular policies.
My criticism of KD’s anti-Trumpism is not so much that Trump shares none of the blame, but that KD is unrealistic in what he believes a president can accomplish in domestic policy when Congress is united in its desire to spend wildly.
I come down firmly on the side of it doesn't matter whether the economic pain administered is intentional and malicious--or incompetent malice. Either way, the pacing and stridency of their policy roll-out indicates premeditation in the extreme. The pretense that a narrow, stolen victory represented some kind of mandate to shove the most radical agenda ever down America's throat indicates a turn away from politics as usual. Their unwillingness to course correct is reminiscent of the sacrifice of congressional seats that they made to jam in Obamacare (the fact that the lost seats were Blue Dog Dems was actually a bonus).
No. The Cloward-Piven approach of the last six years tells me that they are convinced that the ends justify the pain and chaos. I think they are convinced that they are better at taking advantage of crisis and chaos than are the Republicans. They are, of course, correct in that. The GOP may well re-take Congress in November, but they have no plan to do battle at the actual point of attack--the Dem's use of the federal government resources to destroy anybody who challenges their primacy. They will tilt at CRT and gender identity windmills. They will not impeach Biden. They will hold stupid show investigations rather than starting grand jury proceedings. Ted Cruz will specialize in asking 10 minute long questions for the nightly news cameras. And while all these stupid games proceed, the USD will wilt, the border invasion will continue, we will dedicate ourselves to wasting a trillion to <strike> rebuild Ukraine</strike>line defense contractor's and congress critter pockets.
I'll never accuse Trump of being a fiscal conservative, but does KD not remember that he requested a reduced budget in year one and Congress flipped him the bird, actually increasing the budget? But when COVID hit they couldn't print the money faster than they were burning it.
Also, I have long acknowledged the conventional wisdom that presidential economic policies lag one or two administrations, but with Trump it seemed different: with energy independence, repatriating manufacturing, tax cuts that helped common folk...all measures that seemed to justify giving Trump credit for a real economic boom after Obama's policies of economic suppression and rather than the smoke and mirrors that KD claims.