In contradiction to the prevalent view of the time, that money and monetary policy played at most a purely passive role  2  BIS Review 14/2004  in the Depression, Friedman and Schwartz argued that “the [economic] contraction is in fact a tragic testimonial to the importance of monetary forces” (Friedman and Schwartz, 1963, p. 300).
A better composition of fiscal spending is essential to protect the economy from the risk of poverty and excessive income inequality. The fiscal policies that we are seeing in action are not sufficiently adhering to these principles.