Economic Policy in Recent U.S. History

Economic Policy in Recent U.S. History

In the highly materialistic world that we live in, success is generally measured in financial terms. The same is true in politics, where the success of a politician, especially the President, is measured by how well the economy did during his term in office. It is specifically measured by how well they bring down unemployment, grow the economy and fight inflation. Two basic modes of thought on the subject have pervaded public policy since World War II: supply-side and demand-side economics.

Demand-side economics is generally known as Keynesianism, named after the English economist John Maynard Keynes. He believed that governments should force interest rates down by printing money and lending it from the central bank at a discount. This would put more money in consumers' hands and encourage them to spend and consume more, thus creating an incentive for investment. This helped to solve some of the problems, but in the long run it is extremely inflationary, because with the increase of the money supply it becomes devalued. Keynesianism also calls