Niall Ferguson: Don't Trust Democrats to Fix Economy

Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2008/10/21/Geopolitical_Consequences_of_the_Credit_Crunch

Harvard historian Niall Ferguson argues that Barack Obama's plans to increase income taxes for wealthy Americans could lead to an economic climate similar to the "stagflation" period of the 1970's.

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Professor and historian Niall Ferguson asks what the ramifications of the subprime crisis will be in the realm of grand strategy and politics.

Is this an historical turning point, marking a decisive shift in financial power from West to East? Or are rumours of the death of the dollar and the decline of American empire exaggerated? - Hoover Institution

Niall Ferguson, MA, D.Phil., is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University. He is a resident faculty member of the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies. He is also a Senior Research Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University, and a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

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[oliverjamesbland]

This may be true, but that also implies that the democrats have sewn the seeds for the downturns previously.

This is exactly the same he in the UK, what happens is that a labour government opts for huge fiscal spending increases to fund welfare programs which become to costly to run and are inevitably shut down by the tory government which precreeds them, this is a trend which will exist as long as there is a left and right.

[eatandtravel]

I thought Obama was going to be a trailblazer. However, he is an uber leftist who wants to spend and spend.

Obama is scaring the crap out of me.

[happinesson]

I respect your opinion. you foresee things in connection with what happen in the economy way back years ago. Let's all be positive that a good leader will listen to his member..

[1czelaya]

Don't understand the dislikes. I'm assuming it's from Democrats that are having a hard time coming to grips that spending is not feasible(there party, just like Republican party is responsible for our debt crises). Hey, I had a hard time realizing that Republican party has the same problem too. Matter of fact, I'm still trying to figure what differentiates either party now.

[DWWEnganacious]

He cut spending and kept the tax cuts, he's SOOOO leftist.

[modonaut]

@eatandtravel

Leftist? He's been more giving to the Right then any previous Democrat.

[ph03n1xamb1t]

@shinobi38

I completely agree. He never has any insight.

[ph03n1xamb1t]

@eatandtravel

You are an idiot.

[toberses11]

turns out he does the complete opposite and fucks up the economy

[SDyerMinneapolis]

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[kblehman]

shinobi38,

That's quite an interesting thing to say considering the fact that what Mr. Ferguson said nearly 2-1/2 years ago is either true (the cubboard is bare--the money is already spent) or on the way to coming true (adding another great society-style program, ie obamacare) will take the economy backwards.

[shinobi38]

Niall Ferguson has nothing really insightful to say in my opinion. Other historians and acedemics have made the same observations as him but without coming to the same arrogant and imperialist conclusions, I fail to see anything informative, revealing or remarkable about this man.