By Jeff Smith

Guest Columnist 

Most have never heard of “Keynesianism.” The term originated from the policies of the English economist John Maynard Keynes (1883-1946.) Keynes convinced America’s socialist-minded politicians to accept the nutty idea that governments can borrow and spend their way into prosperity. The central planners are following Keynes’ playbook page by page. The strategy provides a rationale for what governments really worship, spending other peoples’ money and pandering to special interests.

The Keynes viewpoint has been the doctrine of American government, by both political parties, since World War II. It has so thoroughly penetrated academia and politics that Republican President Richard Nixon famously declared, “We are all Keynesians now.” Surely he meant the D.C. crowd, because the sane people who pay the bills see it as total insanity.

Keynesians believe government spending on social programs, the myth of government created economic development and numerous other failed government programs will revive our terminally ill economy. This includes the endless wars which represent Keynes’ policy that massive government spending is the only way to restart the economy. Keynesians deem “government knowledge” to be superior to that of the free market. This implies that “The government is wise and the market is stupid.”

Keynes advised politicians to ramp up government spending, borrowing, and printing money during economic downturns. Borrow from future generations, and let the kids worry about it. Today, both parties continue this crime against future generations. It has gifted America with a $17 trillion dollar debt, $60 trillion dollars in unfunded liabilities and a “near death” economy. After studying the facts, Keynesianism is just a convenient excuse for the government to spend more money.

Real world events have thoroughly discredited Keynes’ economic policy. The first Keynesian experiment was Roosevelt’s New Deal during the Great Depression. Seven years after Roosevelt took office, the unemployment rate in 1939 was 20.7 percent and the economy was stagnant. The greatest myth of the twentieth century is that Roosevelt’s New Deal ended the Great Depression.

America has been sinking slowly into the abyss of socialism, unsustainable debt, and the likely collapse of the dollar, recently accelerated by Washington’s meddling in the Ukraine crisis. The sinking has been hardly noticeable from generation to generation. A small percentage, mostly people over 65, have witnessed the disturbing trend and are trying to warn other Americans. Without change, the iron grip of socialism will envelope America and they will be forever dependent on government handouts, never to enjoy the freedom of past generations.

When will America and local and state government officials, especially the state legislatures, accept the fact that the Federal government is a bad comedy act and the politicians and bureaucrats in all three branches are equally bad actors, pretending to be someone who truly cares about America? More importantly, if state and local governments ever recognize the likely dollar collapse and the following socialist dictatorship, will they move to change our country’s direction?