What we did this time, that we failed to do last time, was prevent the collapse of the banks and private debt. Our debt lingers. But excessive accumulation of debt was the underlying cause of the crisis. So along with debt, unemployment lingers. Recovery remains impossible.
The Depression hit in 1929. Maynard's book came out seven years later.
By the time The General Theory was published, a lot of debt was already gone. Keynes didn't have to deal with that. He didn't have to say Get rid of the debt first. The debt spike was a thing of the past.
We don't have that luxury.
And an old graph from Steve Keen:
(My remarks are from January 2015, when unemployment remained high: 5.7 percent. Unemployment is lower now but the economy isn't right yet. Debt remains high today and is growing again. Not growing fast enough to give us economic vigor, but growing. And high.)
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