That “great sucking sound…”

The White House insists that the vast majority of economists support the President’s economic policies. John Taylor, Economics professor at Stamford and former Undersecretary of Treasury for International Affairs doesn’t. His must see interview found can be found at WSJ.com. The comparison to the recovery out of the late 1970’s early 1980’s recession is dramatic. The longest period of economic expansion since World War II was initiated and fueled by economic policies exactly the opposite of President Obama’s. To get the economy out of a persistent stagflation, President Reagan reformed the tax code and reduced regulations while Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volker tightened monetary policy to beat down historically high inflation. Today the economic recovery is constrained by stifling regulations and taxes increases while the Federal Reserve battles the restrictive fiscal policy with its only weapon loose monetary policy. Arguably the Fed’s policies are the only instrument, as imperfect as it is, that has kept the economy from returning to recession in face of a fiscal policy overwhelmed by the politics of class warfare and the insatiable needs of growing government. To borrow from candidate Ross Perot that “great sucking sound” isn’t coming from south of the border any more, it’s coming from Washington, D.C.