Boring Economics

It looks like this so called tax and jobs bill is going to pass and be signed even though there are no jobs in it.

Don't get me wrong, some people will be able to afford additional domestic help around the mansion, but as far as jobs that help working class Americans its all smoke and mirrors.

Of course the monkeys in the monkey house buy into a concept that America can achieve the type of growth it did in certain past periods including a number of notable economic eras.

There was a lot of growth during and after the world war with the amount spent to fight the war and afterword's with the veterans education and interstate highway as well as the fact that American manufacturing had a bit of a monopoly while the other industrial powers rebuilt.

You then had the baby boom generation entering the workforce and a increase in defense spending that continues to this day.

So what inspires growth?

Spending, by Government or Consumers.

Businesses don't make products they can't sell or expand facilitates to make products no one needs.  The supply side premise is based on the supply and demand chart, but the concept that supply can drive the chart is a conservative concept that is a mathematical construct, not a real one.

While decreasing the cost of items (supply) theory will have an impact on demand, limits exist.

Agriculture is a good example since years when crops exceed demand are not generally very good years for farmers, in fact it makes them lose money.

Simply reducing the cost of production doesn't mean there will be more production, unless there is more demand.

More demand is driven by more consumers since any one consumer can only consume so much.

Further, as our demographics age you have baby boomers leaving their peak earning years and consuming less.

Will the boost to corporations bottom lines somehow change all this?  Well since the people who run businesses aren't generally monkeys and dotards, the answer is only if customers appear.

It might have some impact on exports but as far as greatly increasing our GDP, by itself, its just going to make rich people even richer.