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It is 'natural' for this to be done by fascists. This is well explained by Kaleki in Political Aspects of Full Employment.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 04:34:12 PM EST
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Point, though I don't think Italy has a fascist economy yet:

One of the important functions of fascism, as typified by the Nazi system, was to remove capitalist objections to full employment.

The dislike of government spending policy as such is overcome under fascism by the fact that the state machinery is under the direct control of a partnership of big business with fascism. The necessity for the myth of `sound finance', which served to prevent the government from offsetting a confidence crisis by spending, is removed. In a democracy, one does not know what the next government will be like. Under fascism there is no next government.

The dislike of government spending, whether on public investment or consumption, is overcome by concentrating government expenditure on armaments. Finally, `discipline in the factories' and `political stability' under full employment are maintained by the `new order', which ranges from suppression of the trade unions to the concentration camp. Political pressure replaces the economic pressure of unemployment.

I think it is more along the line of the Two Santa Theory:

The only thing wrong with the U.S. economy is the failure of the Republican Party to play Santa Claus. The only thing wrong with President Ford is that he is still too much a Hoover Republican when what the country needs is a Coolidge Republican.

These statements, seemingly absurd, follow naturally from the Two-Santa Claus Theory of the political economy. Simply stated, the Two Santa Claus Theory is this: For the U.S. economy to be healthy and growing, there must be a division of labor between Democrats and Republicans; each must be a different kind of Santa Claus.

The Democrats, the party of income redistribution, are best suited for the role of Spending Santa Claus. The Republicans, traditionally the party of income growth, should be the Santa Claus of Tax Reduction. It has been the failure of the GOP to stick to this traditional role that has caused much of the nation's economic misery. Only the shrewdness of the Democrats, who have kindly agreed to play both Santa Clauses during critical periods, has saved the nation from even greater misery.

It isn't that Republicans don't enjoy cutting taxes. They love it. But there is something in the Republican chemistry that causes the GOP to become hypnotized by the prospect of an imbalanced budget. Static analysis tells them taxes can't be cut or inflation will result. They either argue for a tax hike to dampen inflation when the economy is in a boom or demand spending cuts to balance the budget when the economy is in recession.

With turned around roles of course. The traditional big parties has taken turns to take out Santa behind the shed and beat him up - and if they stopped the Troika was there to remind them that the beatings must continue or ECB would put on the brass knuckles. Now the fascists has discovered that they can use Santa - in the form of tax cuts mostly - to give to their local rich elite while ignoring Troika, ECB etc. And thus they can combine looking like they are standing up for the little guy while actually opening the spiggot for the bosses.

by fjallstrom on Tue Jun 4th, 2019 at 08:35:17 PM EST
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Reading that Wall-Streetwalker Wanniski's Laffer-Curve-promoting drivel makes me go all Luke Skywalker: Impressive.  Everything you just said is wrong.
by rifek on Sun Jun 16th, 2019 at 01:55:53 PM EST
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Doesn't Kalecki assume lack of elections in order for this to work?
by gk (gk (gk quattro due due sette @gmail.com)) on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 07:42:28 AM EST
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Not even necessary. It remains to be seen if the frame will hold, but it looks like they've got ten years ahead of them.

One imagines that the Berlusconian economic actors are easily flipped to Salvinism. At least, I can't imagine why they wouldn't be.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II

by eurogreen on Wed Jun 5th, 2019 at 09:24:03 AM EST
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