1. There is no such thing as "natural economic forces"- Economy is not physics. As long as humans societies are well beyond barter system farming and such there will always be societal involvement in how an economy functions and the only means to this is government implementing rules. The question is: For whom are those rules written? Since the 1980s they have largely been written to benefit the wealthy and well connected, people who make money off money rather than the wage/salary earning middle class.
2. The Vietnam war was a disasterous undertaking. However, its negative impact on the economy was largely because we were still under the thumb of the gold standard- I largely agree with Jerry Lowe.
3. Robert Weissfeld DC points out one feature that has been evident for some time- the old formulas and views no longer prevail. Both Classic economics and Keynesian versions would predict high inflation with the debt and yet this has not happened- Much of the reasons is answered by MMT (Modern Monetary Theory) See Stephanie Kelton's "The Deficit Myth"
4. Regarding Darma's comment on inflation- The economy NEEDS a small bit of inflation- without that (i.e. expansion of the money supply) growth choked off, lending ceases etc. For reference, see the "free silver" movement (bi-metalism). Granted this was done under a commodity standard (i.e. gold standard), but the essential point was that with the money tied to only gold, only so much currency could circulate. People in the midwest were shut out of loans and growth due to the control by eastern financial establishment of what money did circulate. So the "free silver" movement wanted an expansion of the money supply, which would be accomplished by using silver as well as gold to back the paper currency
5. John Merryman hits a nail on the head- the financial sector is a tail wagging the dog- They should NO LONGER be able to "create" new financial instruments as the did with CDOs (collateralized debt obligatons). THose were eliminated after 2010, but the finance wizards then created CLOs Collateralized LOAN obligations- essentially the same thing but primarily dealing with business properties rather than homes. We are just waiting for the shoe to drop.
In short- we need STRICTER regulations on banks and the finance sector. We need to raise the tax on capital gains by at the least including it in the tax tables just like wage in come. We need to return to an aggressive progressive tax table.
WE need single payer health care - I personally think the govt should issue "insurance" cards every July first (or update the one you get as a lifetime card) based on your April tax adusted gross income- Co-pays could be based on income progressively
