Bump
I agree completely. However, the only economic system both the Democrat and Republican leaders are familiar with is the easy credit, deficit spending economy we have had since WWII, that is in the midst of self-destruction.
The only two tools they had to adjust this economy in past were inflation and economic growth, and so until it is proven to them that these two tools no longer work, they will doggedly try them, in effect, reinforcing defeat.
But the end result will be the same, and that is what we must plan for. To begin with, the era of government largesse is over. There is no conceivable way the government can continue to fully fund Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and Defense, the big four budget items, at anywhere near their current levels, much less growing them.
To start with, the first three will have to be severely means tested, so that unless you will die without them, you cannot have them. Defense will be cut back from 25% (Barney Frank’s estimate) and 50%, unless America is attacked.
Much of America’s savings will be wiped out as well. There will be a general collapse of pension funds for baby boomers, many more mortgages, called alt-a and ARM mortgages, will fail as well. And finally, the US government may be forced to default on the US National Debt.
At its peak, unemployment may be from 30-50% of the work force.
There is a reason that the very first entry course to the study of economics - “ECON-101”, or the equivalent - is Macro Economics, which is entirely Keynesian. It considers spending by government and in the private sector to be completely equal in effect, and further, because it is based on aggregate measurements, it absolutely fails to consider the motivations and incentives of individuals and firms that make up those aggregates.
MacroEcon might be a reasonable place to start - after all, it does begin the process of analytical modeling using equations and graphs, which leads to an easier grasp of the data. But it is a TERRIBLE place to stop, because it offers only a false confidence in its superficial explanation of the effects of various economic policies.
I taught Managerial Econ - that might be referred to as “Applied microEcon” to MBA candidates for 5 semesters. Almost every student had a Bachelors degree and at least a full year in a supervisory or managerial position. But few were able to actually evaluate a simple quadratic expression, and on the first day, not ONE could actually draw a simple graph, or even conceive of solving a problem graphically.
I required that every homework problem be submitted in the form of an Excel spreadsheet attached to an Email, and that NO constant values be entered in Excel that were not in the original problem - all calculations MUST be performed by Excel, not on a calculator. And I required that they use Excel to draw all of the required graphs, based on tables of functions, not values.
I have seen half a dozen of my former students in the years since. All of them have continued to use these techniques in their jobs - and most have moved on to better jobs since enduring my class.
Best information I ever got in all the math courses I took, including twelve credits of calculus and analytic geometry, was from my eighth grade math teacher: “Always pay cash”.......
Oh, I’m spending. Tobacco, food stores, ammo if I find any.
food gas medicine
market day is saturday wait til then if you still “need” it then, it is still on your list.. ok
pay off your credit card every month
govt workers have a free lunch......they do not obey the laws of supply and demand, not the one about the cream rising to the top.....
About a year ago, someone told me that if we all just spent what we made, the world economy would crash. It seems that they were right.
When you read of the old Christian prohibitions on usury.. well they were prophetic.