Is that level of stupidity really possible? At some point don't we have to assume that it's part of a plan rather than ignorance or stupidity? I've never read any economic or historical texts that treat Smoot-Hawley and protectionism as a good thing.
I just have a hard time believing that they're really all that ignorant of history and economics. Either scenario is bad, but I'd almost rather believe they are doing this as part of some evil plot than that we have people that stupid/ignorant running our country.
I go back and forth on this question.
Sometimes I think they're just plain dumb, ignorant of history and economics, and blinded by their ideologies.
Other times I think it's part of a plan. FDR couldn't have done his socialist policies without a major economic downturn. That he and his policies caused precisely the kind major downturn they needed is curious. Maybe it's just a coincidence. Maybe it's not.
Now I see Obama doing the exact same thing. He's taking a modest downturn and talking it up into a Severe Financial Catastrophe, then using the Severe Financial Catastrophe as justification for policies that we know will cause serious harm to the economy. If we get a new round of socialist New Deal programs out of this mess, will that be a coincidence too?
