Posted: 02/05/12 00:39
by Dave Mindeman
The Almanac couch was doing a candidate comparison for GOP voters by bringing in representatives from the 4 candidate campaigns. Kurt Bills, the state representative from District 37B (Apple Valley, Rosemount) was the chosen one for the Ron Paul campaign. He gets support from the Liberty Caucus, so it is not surprising. But, while on the couch, Kurt Bills said this....
"I have to look into the faces of children every day--teach them -- you know, seniors, 17 and 18 year olds...what these deficits mean...what this printing of money means. Ron Paul can bring that to people."
Something about that disturbs me. Kurt Bills is a public school teacher. He teaches economics at Rosemount High School. Exactly what is he "teaching" his students about "printing of money"? What kind of economics is he teaching? Is he promoting "end the Fed"?
We have had deficits for as long as I can remember (with a brief departure during Clinton's second term), but I have a tough time figuring out exactly what it all means. Dick Cheney said they don't matter. Ron Paul thinks it is armegeddon.
During recessions, we have always "printed money"....sometimes it can cause inflation. Sometimes it expands the economy. It has been a delicate balance to use it, but it is still considered a viable tool to help turn a recession around.
What it all means is not an economic absolute...so I would hope that Kurt Bills is not preaching his theory of what it all means to his students; but rather using text books that consider all the possibilities.
If Kurt Bills uses Ron Paul as his economic teaching model, we have a problem.
