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UncleOxidant 6y ago
But employers aren't in business to supply jobs, though, right? If the revenue and profits aren't there they can't print up their own money. EDIT: parent comment now empty initially said that companies should hire more people to help keep the economy going.
- xxpor 6y ago
  This is essentially the reason behind Keynesian stimulus, isn't it? Something's gotta bootstrap the recovery.
  - blackflame7000 6y ago
    It’s much easier to give a company back money they already earned in the form of a tax cut than it is to expect a business to create new revenue out of thin air.
    - senderista 6y ago
      And what do you expect them to do with that money?
  - Aaronstotle 6y ago
    I thought that in Keynesian stimulus/theory, the government, not the private sector, provides the recovery?
    - UncleOxidant 6y ago
      Yes. This is not something the private sector can or should do.
    - xxpor 6y ago
      I think we're saying the same thing :) The government provides money to people (how can change, new deal style job corps or stimulus checks, etc), and now they have money to spend in businesses, the businesses can hire more people, and there goes the flywheel again.
  - UncleOxidant 6y ago
    Exactly. Like in the 30s the government should step in and hire people. Companies can't do that in a recession/depression. However, the other side of Keynesian economics that's not as often cited is that during the good times the government saves up for the inevitable bad times - we haven't done that for a long time.
    - daenz 6y ago
      >Like in the 30s the government should step in and hire people What does the government usually hire people to do in this situation?
      - UncleOxidant 6y ago
        In the 30s they hired people to build stuff. They hired artists to create public art as well - Woody Guthrie was paid to write songs, for example. We definitely could do similar now. Lots of infrastructure needs updating. We could accelerate the move to green energy (like the Green New Deal proposal). We could also hire a lot of people to do contact tracing until the end of the pandemic - this could include folks to do datamining, etc.
      - mikeyouse 6y ago
        In the 1930s, it was the PWA which built tons of long-lasting infrastructure including the Hoover Dam and many substantial other projects; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Works_Administration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Works_Administration That was probably the best use of funds at the time since there was broad based unemployment among a largely unskilled population. This time around, it seems like it's mostly service businesses that are struggling so it's not so clear what the best use of labor would be..
      - x86_64Ubuntu 6y ago
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Valley_Authority https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Valley_Authority
    - toomuchtodo 6y ago
- sunopener 6y ago
  Why not? The Federal Reserve has been printing up their own money this year like there's no tommorow. “To lend to a bank, we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account they have with the Fed. So it’s much more akin, although not exactly the same, to printing money, than it is to borrowing.” --Former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke Employers could simply use the same Sorcery to supply digital jobs.
  - lotsofpulp 6y ago
    The Federal Reserve is not "employers".
    - sunopener 6y ago
      The Ploy thickens! I get so excited about stories.
Taylor_OD 6y ago
Right. That's perfect. Now with shrinking profits and a recession they will pay them with...?
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

But employers aren't in business to supply jobs, though, right? If the revenue and profits aren't there they can't print up their own money. EDIT: parent comment now empty initially said that companies should hire more people to help keep the economy going.

xxpor 6y ago
This is essentially the reason behind Keynesian stimulus, isn't it? Something's gotta bootstrap the recovery.
- blackflame7000 6y ago
  It’s much easier to give a company back money they already earned in the form of a tax cut than it is to expect a business to create new revenue out of thin air.
  - senderista 6y ago
    And what do you expect them to do with that money?
- Aaronstotle 6y ago
  I thought that in Keynesian stimulus/theory, the government, not the private sector, provides the recovery?
  - UncleOxidant 6y ago
    Yes. This is not something the private sector can or should do.
  - xxpor 6y ago
    I think we're saying the same thing :) The government provides money to people (how can change, new deal style job corps or stimulus checks, etc), and now they have money to spend in businesses, the businesses can hire more people, and there goes the flywheel again.
- UncleOxidant 6y ago
  Exactly. Like in the 30s the government should step in and hire people. Companies can't do that in a recession/depression. However, the other side of Keynesian economics that's not as often cited is that during the good times the government saves up for the inevitable bad times - we haven't done that for a long time.
  - daenz 6y ago
    >Like in the 30s the government should step in and hire people What does the government usually hire people to do in this situation?
    - UncleOxidant 6y ago
      In the 30s they hired people to build stuff. They hired artists to create public art as well - Woody Guthrie was paid to write songs, for example. We definitely could do similar now. Lots of infrastructure needs updating. We could accelerate the move to green energy (like the Green New Deal proposal). We could also hire a lot of people to do contact tracing until the end of the pandemic - this could include folks to do datamining, etc.
    - mikeyouse 6y ago
      In the 1930s, it was the PWA which built tons of long-lasting infrastructure including the Hoover Dam and many substantial other projects; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Works_Administration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Works_Administration That was probably the best use of funds at the time since there was broad based unemployment among a largely unskilled population. This time around, it seems like it's mostly service businesses that are struggling so it's not so clear what the best use of labor would be..
    - x86_64Ubuntu 6y ago
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Valley_Authority https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tennessee_Valley_Authority
  - toomuchtodo 6y ago
sunopener 6y ago
Why not? The Federal Reserve has been printing up their own money this year like there's no tommorow. “To lend to a bank, we simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account they have with the Fed. So it’s much more akin, although not exactly the same, to printing money, than it is to borrowing.” --Former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke Employers could simply use the same Sorcery to supply digital jobs.
- lotsofpulp 6y ago
  The Federal Reserve is not "employers".
  - sunopener 6y ago
    The Ploy thickens! I get so excited about stories.

Taylor_OD 6y ago

Right. That's perfect. Now with shrinking profits and a recession they will pay them with...?

deleted 6y ago
[deleted]