alternative hippopotamus

progressive cyberdadaism from our nation’s capital

September 10, 2007

The Big Con, Indeed

by AltHippo @ 2:21 pm. Filed under republicans

I’m very much enjoying Jonathan Chait’s excerpt of The Big Con in the New Republic. It gives you a feel for what carnival hucksters the supply-side economists are, but does it in a way that’s not heavy handed.

I wanted to point out a quote that’s not to the central point of the piece, but one that bears mentioning:

A generation ago, Republican economics was relentlessly sober. Republicans concerned themselves with such ills as deficits, inflation, and excessive spending. They did not care very much about cutting taxes, and (as in the case of such GOP presidents as Herbert Hoover and Gerald Ford) they were quite willing to raise taxes in order to balance the budget. While many of them were wealthy and close to business, the leaders of business themselves had a strong sense of social responsibility that transcended their class interests. By temperament, such men were cautious rather than utopian.

I’d like to offer a small correction based on my understanding of that generation of Republicans. Well, my observation of one of them, my grandfather, but one I see repeated in biographies of business and political figures of the early to mid 20th century. Within many spheres such men tended to be cautious. But within the area of which they made the bulk of their fortunes, they were very much utopian. From knowing how my grandfather was about things, I would say that it wasn’t money that drove him primarily. It was the idea of bringing his vision of Washington into fruition that was the primary motive. Money was a way of keeping track.

When Chait says that they “had a strong sense of social responsibility that transcended their class interests,” I strongly agree. It was the notion that unto whom much is given, much shall be required that formed their view of responsibility towards society. A better world through commerce and industry, would be more or less the common denominator of this generation.

Alas, this breed of Republicanism is as dead as the dodo bird.

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One Response to “The Big Con, Indeed”

  1. KathyF Says:
    September 11th, 2007 at 7:09 am

    Coincidentally, I saw a dodo bird yesterday. And it looked pretty dead.

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hip·po·pot·a·mus n. A notion, perhaps distinct from conventional wisdom, that needs to be verified by reality-based scrutiny.

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