“if the economy is doing so well, how come there is so much unemployment?”
You didn’t read my comment. I gave you the answer: “Private sector employment increased last month for the tenth month in a row. “
Republicans are deliberately trying to create more unemployment by cutting the public sector, particularly at the state and local level. The long term effect of such policies can be seen in Israel with its nearly non-existent fire departments. But that is the direction that much of the US is headed.
And in a fit of cruelty, they cut unemployment benefits.
“First of all, there is a reason Republicans don’t want unemployment benefits to go up – they believe it gives people a reason not to go to work. If unemployment benefits were kept at their previous levels, they reason, more people would swallow their pride and take whatever work they could find.”
You’ve just proven my point on cruelty. In much of the US there is no work that anyone can find.
“Even socialist Canada has a maximum federal tax rate of only 29%.”
True. But provincial income tax rates can be as high as 17.5% (kicking in at only $93,000 in Nova Scotia). And you can’t deduct mortgage interest from your taxes. And there is a national sales tax of 5%, plus provincial sales taxes that can also be as high as 10%.
“I don’t care about the GDP driven up by more government spending (expenditure). “
Well you should if you care about jobs. Police officers, firefighters, teachers and social workers are of direct benefit to all of us. Just look at what happened in Israel when a place doesn’t have firefighters. Or, most close to home to New York City in the 1970s when cuts to public safety resulted in much of the city burning. We could easily get there again if your polices are adopted.
“What did FDR promote and promise when he ran for president?”
Spending cuts. Fortunately he realized that was a stupid idea.
“The stock market crash in 2000 was far greater than that in 1929, but a 10 year great depression did not ensue. “
The Dow Jones Industrial Average peaked on 1/7/2000 at 11522.56. It then declined to a low of 7891.08 on 2/28/2003 — more than a year and a half after the Bush tax cuts were enacted. So much for their efficacy at stimulating the economy. (And by the way the Bush tax cuts were supposed to expire in a few weeks.)
Meanwhile back on September 3, 1929, the DJIA had closed at 381.17. On July 8, 1932 it closed at 41.22. (The previous low had been back in the 1890s.) Your claimed that a 32% drop was greater than an 89% drop. Not.