Republican Plan to End the Great Recession

There is a paper by the Republicans Joint Economic Committee that is pointed to by the US House of Representative's Speaker, John Boehner because it has some wonderful "fixes" to get the US back to properity. Here are a few of its "suggestions" with a bit of commentary that I've added to encourage them to take their logic to its logical conclusion:

Decreasing the number and compensation of government workers. A smaller government workforce increases the available supply of educated, skilled workers for private firms, thus lowering labor costs.

Yes! Solve high unemployment by throwing more people out of work to create more fear and have these new unemployed fight to lower their wages so that employers can make even bigger profits while workers pauperize themselves in a race-to-the-bottom!

And of course, cut taxes!

HIGH TAXES ARE THE BANE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH. Most economists agree that fluctuations in business investment in equipment, software, and structures drive the economic cycle, but there is disagreement on what causes this volatility.

And to get certainty, just simply eliminate all taxes on the rich and corporations. Put those taxes on the broad shoulders of the working and middle class who know how to pay through the nose for government. That will give certainty to the elites who "create jobs". They will know they have no taxes to pay! They will immediately go out and create tens of millions, maybe even hundreds of millions of jobs to celebrate the fact that they no longer owe any taxes.

And don't forget that "privatization" is always a sure cure for "big government" which everybody knows causes recessions and depressions:

In particular, government asset sales and the privatization of government-owned enterprises and commercial functions both generate government receipts and increase economic efficiency. Since government asset sales and privatizations are politically difficult to reverse, they also may have expansionary “non-Keynesian” effects in the short term.

I'm thinking that an auction should be set up to see whether China or Russia would bid the highest to acquire the complete US military, that means not just the weapons, ships, planes, tanks, etc. but the personnel as well. Wrap 'em up and sell the whole shebang. Now that is taking "privatization" seriously!

Another surefire medicine to get the economy to grow is to shrink government:

The current level of federal spending—a projected 24.7% of GDP in fiscal year 2011—is far above the optimum level for maximizing U.S. economic growth over time, according to empirical studies.

The Republicans should stop all half measures. They should move this number to 0%! Just let the rich hire private guards and build up private armies, oh and create private prisons and run their own "government" which can give workers a choice: either work for bread and water wages or be locked up in solitary and forced to "pay their own way" in prison sweatshops. Now that would fix unemployment! And it would be very profitable for business which everybody knows is the secret to getting out a "recession".