“But it was not until government spending soared in preparation for global war that America started to emerge from the Depression. It is important to grasp this simple truth: it was government spending–a Keynesian stimulus, not any correction of monetary policy or any revival of the banking system–that brought about recovery. The long-run prospects for the economy would, of course, have been even better if more of the money had been spent on investments in education, technology, and infrastructure rather than munitions, but even so, the strong public spending more than offset the weaknesses in private spending.”
–Joseph E. Stiglitz. “The Book of Jobs.” Vanity Fair Jan. 2012: 35-37. Quote on page 36.