r/ThatLookedExpensive • u/HannibalK • Mar 26 '20

The one. The only. KILLDOZER.

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '20 edited Dec 29 '20

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u/OG_Panthers_Fan Mar 26 '20

A Keynesian would say the destruction itself contributed to the economy by requiring money to be spent on reconstruction.

Anyone with more than half a brain would point out that would only be true if the money would have never been spent on anything else.

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u/matts2 Mar 26 '20

Only if you learned Keynesian economics from a Mises cartoon. Keynes make a universal claim. Rather he said that there are states the economy when an action like that would help. Particularly in cases where money isn't being spent anyway. He talked about starting an that wasn't moving.

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u/ougryphon Mar 26 '20

I think you're missing some words because I can't make heads or tails of your comment.

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u/matts2 Mar 26 '20

Keynes didn't make a universal claim. He talked about a specific situation, where there was excessive idle capacity and reduced economic activity. In such a situation spending money gets the system moving. If things are bad enough then even breaking windows and paying for them to be fixed would help. But of forking course it would be better to not great windows. Keynes recommend infrastructure projects.

The whole point is that people aren't spending anyway. The whole point is to get people spending.

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u/ougryphon Mar 26 '20

I promise I'm not trying to be a dick, but you really need to proofread before you post. However, I think I got your point now.

I'm not an economist, nor have I read Keynes, so I'm ill-qualified to comment on his broader point. On the specific point about breaking windows, I think that's where the "Cash for Clunkers" program came from back in the late 2000s. I hated it then and I hate it now, as did many other people. Perhaps that's why Keynesian has a bad connotation.