Switzerland is a borderline socialist state. You like that? And, BTW, what statistics do you have that shows Switzerlad as a very productive economy. As far as I can tell, it hasn't come close to the type of GDP growth that we have in recent years.
I think I'm debating with one who would rather see economic growth stifled.
Thank you for proving a.) that you don't get around the world much, and b.) that you yourself are an idiot. Switzerland has always been and remains today one of the world's most advanced industrial countries. They have a far more educated population on average than our (hate to wound your ignorant patriotic price) and are very technically sophisctated. ETH (you have heard of it - Einstein was there for a number of years, for instance) is one of the world's premier research universities).
There are a couple of other not so minor idiocies in your claims as well. First, the US economy has been growing at best at 4% per year (relying on USG inflation corrected statistics), with some years a lot less, and currently it is running close to zero. Monetary growth above GDP growth is inflation, so that would suggest that even with the BLS corrected inflation numbers in GDP monetary growth has been outstripping GDP by 11% per year. Now that kind of monetary growth for many years suggests that the BLS adjusted inflation numbers are much lower than reality, which accords with the experience of most of us who actually buy things in the economy.
The problems in BLS inflation correction we could go into, but that is probably too deep for a feeble mind that does not even know that per capita the US is not the wealthiest country in the world anymore, even excepting the bizarre case of Luxembourg.
Since you seem to think that thing are so much better in the US than anywhere else in the world, here is another meaningless useless table for you to ponder Source
|
2005 |
2006 |
|
| Luxembourg | 68810 | 76040 |
| Norway | 60890 | 66530 |
| Switzerland | 55320 | 57230 |
| Denmark | 48330 | 51700 |
| Iceland | 48570 | 50580 |
| Ireland | 41140 | 45580 |
| United States | 43560 | 44970 |
| Sweden | 40910 | 43580 |
| Netherlands | 39340 | 42670 |
| Finland | 37530 | 40650 |
| United Kingdom | 37750 | 40180 |
| Austria | 37190 | 39590 |
| Belgium | 36140 | 38600 |
| Japan | 38950 | 38410 |
| High income: OECD | 36506 | 38120 |
| Germany | 34870 | 36620 |
| France | 34600 | 36550 |
| High income | 34962 | 36487 |
| Canada | 32590 | 36170 |
| Australia | 33120 | 35990 |
| European Monetary Union | 32101 | 34149 |
| Italy | 30250 | 32020 |
| Singapore | 26620 | 29320 |
| Hong Kong, China | 27690 | 28460 |
| Spain | 25250 | 27570 |
| New Zealand | 25920 | 27250 |
| Greece | 19840 | 21690 |
| Slovenia | 17430 | 18890 |
| Portugal | 17190 | 18100 |
| Korea, Rep. | 15880 | 17690 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 10870 | 13340 |
| Czech Republic | 11150 | 12680 |
| Estonia | 9530 | 11410 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 10700 | 11210 |
| Hungary | 10210 | 10950 |
| Slovak Republic | 8100 | 9870 |
| Croatia | 8350 | 9330 |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | 8250 | 8840 |
| Seychelles | 8390 | 8650 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 5410 | 8250 |
| Poland | 7150 | 8190 |
| Latvia | 6760 | 8100 |
| Palau | 7670 | 7990 |
| Mexico | 7300 | 7870 |
| Lithuania | 6910 | 7870 |
| World | 7016 | 7439 |
| Libya | 5930 | 7380 |
| Chile | 6040 | 6980 |
| Venezuela, RB | 4940 | 6070 |
| Upper middle income | 5053 | 5913 |
| Botswana | 5530 | 5900 |
| Russian Federation | 4470 | 5780 |
| Lebanon | 5510 | 5490 |
| Malaysia | 4970 | 5490 |
| Mauritius | 5250 | 5450 |
| Turkey | 4750 | 5400 |
| South Africa | 4820 | 5390 |
| Uruguay | 4560 | 5310 |
| Argentina | 4460 | 5150 |
| St. Lucia | 4920 | 5110 |
| Gabon | 4390 | 5000 |
| Costa Rica | 4660 | 4980 |
| Panama | 4640 | 4890 |
| Romania | 3830 | 4850 |
| Europe & Central Asia | 3968 | 4796 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 4157 | 4767 |
| Brazil | 3890 | 4730 |
| Grenada | 4120 | 4420 |
| Bulgaria | 3510 | 3990 |
| Dominica | 3840 | 3960 |
| St. Vincent & the Grenadines | 3530 | 3930 |
| Serbia | 3490 | 3910 |
| Montenegro | 3310 | 3860 |
| Kazakhstan | 2940 | 3790 |
| Belize | 3570 | 3650 |
| Jamaica | 3420 | 3480 |
| Belarus | 2760 | 3380 |
| Fiji | 3170 | 3300 |
| Namibia | 2960 | 3230 |
| Suriname | 2540 | 3200 |
| Macedonia, FYR | 2830 | 3060 |
| Middle income | 2636 | 3051 |
| Algeria | 2720 | 3030 |
| Marshall Islands | 2930 | 3000 |
| Iran, Islamic Rep. | 2600 | 3000 |
| Thailand | 2720 | 2990 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2680 | 2980 |
| Tunisia | 2880 | 2970 |
| Albania | 2580 | 2960 |
| Peru | 2640 | 2920 |
| Dominican Republic | 2300 | 2850 |
| .. | ||
| Zimbabwe | 340 | .. |
| Source: World Bank Development Indicators 2007 | ||
It is you who thinks that loose monetary policy is a necessary component for economic growth. I stand with the Austrians in claiming that the exact oposite is the case, and that excessive monetary growth lead to malinvestment. Our real estate debacle is proof enough of that.
Further, there is plenty of evidence around the world that economic growth is possible while maintaining stable monetary values. In fact, we became the world's leading economic power while being on the gold standard.
And as the FED monitizes that Real estate debt that went into inflating real estate values it is returning to the case economy where we are seeing soaring escalations in commodities prices, which leads inevitably to soaring downstream production prices.