Posted on 05/29/2011 3:58:14 AM PDT by GonzoII
Fixed.
I can sum this up in one simple answer that actually represents a whole bunch of extremely complex issues: It's because of the methods we've used here in the United States of America to deal with the basic limitations of the human condition.
One case in point is this: There is an enormous difference between what a typical person is willing to pay for a product or service and what that same person would charge to work in carrying out the production of that product or service.
This is why we import so many things from overseas, and why we allow illegal aliens to flood this country . . . because foreigners will do this work for far less than we would ever do it ourselves.
This is also why we have engaged in this pathological idiocy of running up massive government and personal debts on all levels . . . because our standard of living is so unsustainable that passing on the cost to future generations is the only way to pay for it.
Speaking of games, Milton Friedman (who you mentioned), is on record as as saying that Smoot-Hawley made the Great Drepession worse. So why do you insist (correctly) that our monetary policy lead us there, but deny the latter? It's strange. And it's the game you are playing here.
You let comment #70 slide, why? (I know, rhetorical question).
Like raising tariffs during a recession? Let me check the historical record on that . . . oh, wait a minute.
Social engagement.
Social engagement.
BS. This is elitist code for Americans are lazy and stupid, a justification. Pure crapola.
In any economic transaction, the person who functions in the "seller" role is almost always going to be selling a product or service to a "buyer" who has a higher standard of living. That's why a laborer working as a landscaper, for example, is never seen mowing lawns and trimming shrubbery in his own neighborhood. By definition, he will always be dealing with a clientele who values their time more than the money they pay him.
You can translate this to almost any occupation in any industry.
What we're seeing here now in the U.S. is the natural/inevitable result of what happens when our standard of living is so high that it's hard to find "sellers" whose products or services can be sold to "buyers" who are willing to buy those products/services at the price those sellers demand.
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