jv_coach Posted August 16, 2014 Report Posted August 16, 2014 http://econstories.tv/fight-of-the-century/“Fight of the Century†Lyrics Written by John Papola and Russ Roberts KEYNES Here we are… peace out! great recession thanks to me, as you see, we’re not in a depression Recovery, destiny if you follow my lesson Lord Keynes, here I come, line up for the procession HAYEK We brought out the shovels and we’re still in a ditch… And still digging. don’t you think that it’s time for a switch… From that hair of the dog. Friend, the party is over. The long run is here. It’s time to get sober! KEYNES Are you kidding? my cure works perfectly fine… have a look, the great recession ended back in ’09. I deserve credit. Things would have been worse All the estimates prove it—I’ll quote chapter and verse HAYEK Econometricians, they’re ever so pious Are they doing real science or confirming their bias? Their “Keynesian†models are tidy and neat But that top down approach is a fatal conceit REFRAINWhich way should we choose?more bottom up or more top down…the fight continues…Keynes and Hayek’s second round it’s time to weigh in…more from the top or from the ground…lets listen to the greatsKeynes and Hayek throwing down KEYNES We could have done better, had we only spent more Too bad that only happens when there’s a World War You can carp all you want about stats and regression Do you deny World War II cut short the Depression? HAYEK Wow. One data point and you’re jumping for joy the Last time I checked, wars only destroy There was no multiplier, consumption just shrank As we used scarce resources for every new tank Pretty perverse to call that prosperity Rationed meat, Rationed butter… a life of austerity When that war spending ended your friends cried disaster yet the economy thrived and grew faster KEYNES You too only see what you want to see The spending on war clearly goosed GDP Unemployment was over, almost down to zero That’s why I’m the master, that’s why I’m the hero HAYEK Creating employment’s a straightforward craft When the nation’s at war, and there’s a draft If every worker was staffed in the army and fleet We’d have full employment and nothing to eat REFRAIN REPEATS HAYEK jobs are a means, not the ends in themselves people work to live better, to put food on the shelves real growth means production of what people demand That’s entrepreneurship not your central plan KEYNES My solution is simple and easy to handle.. its spending that matters, why’s that such a scandal? The money sloshes through the pipes and the sluices revitalizing the economy’s juices it’s just like an engine that’s stalled and gone dark To bring it to life, we need a quick spark Spending’s the life blood that gets the flow going Where it goes doesn’t matter, just get spending flowing HAYEK You see slack in some sectors as a “general glut†But some sectors are healthy, only some in a rut So spending’s not free – that’s the heart of the matter too much is wasted as cronies get fatter. The economy’s not a car, there’s no engine to stall no expert can fix it, there’s no “it†at all. The economy’s us, we don’t need a mechanic Put away the wrenches, the economy’s organic REFRAIN REPEATS KEYNES so what would you do to help those unemployed? this is the question you seem to avoid when we’re in a mess, would you just have us wait? Doing nothing until markets equilibrate? HAYEK I don’t want to do nothing, there’s plenty to do The question I ponder is who plans for whom? Do I plan for myself or leave it to you? I want plans by the many, not by the few. Let’s not repeat what created our troubles I want real growth not a series of bubbles Stop bailing out loser, let prices work If we don’t try to steer them they won’t go berserk KEYNES Come on, Are you kidding? Don’t Wall Street’s gyrations Challenge your world view of self-regulation? Even you must admit that the lesson we’ve learned Is more oversight’s needed or else we’ll get burned HAYEK Oversight? The government’s long been in bed With those Wall Street execs and the firms that they’ve bled Capitalism’s about profit and loss you bail out the losers there’s no end to the cost the lesson I’ve learned? It’s how little we know, the world is complex, not some circular flow the economy’s not a class you can master in college to think otherwise is the pretense of knowledge REFRAIN REPEATS KEYNES You get on your high horse and you’re off to the races I look at the world on a case by case basis When people are suffering I roll up my sleeves And do what I can to cure our disease The future’s uncertain, our outlooks are frail Thats why free markets are so prone to fail In a volatile world we need more discretion So state intervention can counter depression HAYEK People aren’t chessmen you move on a board at your whim–their dreams and desires ignored With political incentives, discretion’s a joke Those dials you’re twisting… just mirrors and smoke We need stable rules and real market prices so prosperity emerges and cuts short the crisis give us a chance so we can discover the most valuable ways to serve one another FINAL REFRAINWhich way should we choose?more bottom up or more top downthe fight continues…Keynes and Hayek’s second round it’s time to weigh in…more from the top or from the ground…lets listen to the greatsKeynes and Hayek throwing down Quote
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