![]() But a closer examination of the actual events of the immediate postwar period provides a picture that is much more nuanced and at odds with the world view that government intervention is the essential ingredient of prosperity. These strokes have an air of plausibility and contain elements of truth. laid the foundation for long-run prosperity."īoth President Obama and Professor Krugman are using very broad historical strokes to make the case that an activist federal government is essential to prosperity. ![]() In his 2009 State of the Union address, President Obama likened his stimulus plan to earlier popular government initiatives, using post-World War II references: “In the wake of war and depression, the GI Bill sent a generation to college and created the largest middle class in history.Government didn’t supplant private enterprise it catalyzed private enterprise.” Nobel prize winner and liberal New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has also extolled the role of government in World War II and the post–World War II recovery, claiming that “World War II was, above all, a burst of deficit-financed government spending. ![]() It is not surprising that politicians of all stripes harken back to those halcyon days to make a case for their agendas. The hardships of the previous fifteen years of war and depression were replaced by rising living standards, increased opportunities, and a newly emerging American culture confident of its future and place in the world. America had won the war and defeated the forces of evil in the world. The decade following World War II is fondly remembered as a period of economic growth and cultural stability.
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