My latest essay at PajamasMedia:<\/p>\n
The Obama-Piven Strategy<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n We are in the middle of an epochal struggle over the direction of American economic policy.\ufeff<\/p>\n The Democrats, who are currently in charge, want to follow a Keynesian model, which entails massive government spending — with its attendant tax increases and soaring deficit — to jump-start the economy.<\/p>\n The Republicans think the solution to our economic doldrums is to lower<\/em> taxes and decrease<\/em> spending, to stimulate business activity and help the nation climb out of its crippling debt.<\/p>\n And then there’s Barack Obama….<\/em><\/p>\n You might think he would be the natural spokesman for the Democratic strategy. And when the cameras are turned on, he is. But under the surface he’s also<\/em> an advocate for a third<\/em> economic policy, one that isn’t spoken of in polite company: The Cloward-Piven Strategy<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Problem is, the Cloward-Piven Strategy is not simply some alternate theory about the best way to rescue the American economy. Quite the opposite, in fact. Its goal is to intentionally ruin<\/strong><\/em> the economy, so as to arouse popular outcry for a revolutionary and fundamental change in our economic system.<\/p>\n I propose that President Obama is simultaneously trying to rescue the economy using the Keynesian\/Democratic model while at the same time also<\/em> trying to destroy<\/em> the economy through the Cloward-Piven Strategy.<\/strong> His two mutually contradictory plans cancel each other out, rendering all his efforts self-negating, and this explains why the American economy has stalled<\/a>.<\/p>\n I dub this the Obama-Piven Strategy.<\/strong> And it’s the reason why we remain mired in a deep recession. We are neither recovering, as the Keynesian model predicts<\/a>, nor is capitalism collapsing, as the revolutionaries hope; the Obama-Piven strategy ensures that we remain in suspended animation between the two extremes.<\/p>\n
\n