Posted on 10/20/2013 3:38:49 AM PDT by lbryce
It is called the Peter principle.
In our youth, many swear by Objectivism but what changes as we age? Why have so many leaders been impressed by Rand but always fail to apply her philosophies? Why is she so revered by college kids but then dropped by so many aging adults?
“...critics have said the increased money supply and low interest rates during his tenure at the Fed from 1987 to 2006 led to bubble investments.”
Take it from someone that was on the front lines of the housing bubble...increased money supply and low interest rates were the EXACT reason the bubble expanded and exploded (well, if you don’t include greed).
Most people are not going to purchase a home with 100% financing (or even more), and feel any remorse at walking away from the home/loan if things go sour.
Teaser rates, subprime mortgages and other lending chicanery proved to be too much for the low-economic-info homebuyers, and they were swept up into the massive clarion call of “everyone has a right to own a house”. Anyone that could fog a mirror, was told where to sign and Voila!...they were homeowners.
When the realty sunk in, and the newly anointed homeowner was faced with making a house payment or buying that widescreen TV...guess which one lost?
Greenspan babysat and watched that situation unfold...for years...and did nothing about it.
I think Alan Greenspan is lying and trying to cover up (yes, AFTER the fact).
He is far too intelligent NOT to know that a major crash was coming.
And, just who are YOU to question him?
This is why I prefer to get forecasts from John Williams at shadow stats: http://www.shadowstats.com/.
And, I continue to buy gold and silver despite what government pundits say about them being “junk.” Looking at how this government has shaped up, I continue to follow the anti-government advisers who suggest investing in precious metals, iron and war industries (makers of ammunition and guns for war and personal use) and anything else that hedges against the constant debasement of the currency. Gold has doubled in price since obama came to office.
I’d like to see Greenspan’s portfolio and investment profile — think he’s got a some precious metals in there somewhere?
Greenspan did worse than nothing. He inexorably undermined the dollar causing people to convert their dollars into bubble investments. He did that in the name of "stimulating" the economy, but all he did was fuel various unsustainable consumption binges and commodity bubbles.
Bernanke is doing the same and essentially preventing and dissuading people from committing dollars to long term investments. Even worse Bernanke is printing money to buy treasuries which only enables the politicians to continue their consumption binge which is arguably even less sustainable than Greenspan's consumer-led binges.
The case of consumers consuming houses was made possible by ridiculously low rates that failed to account for the lack of creditworthiness that those consumers had. There were diminishing job prospects except within the real estate bubble and related industries, there was the inflated prices themselves leading to a diminishing supply of greater fools, and there was imminent inflation which is only being staved off by normal post-bubble deflation.
In the case of politicians consuming America's capital and resources, there is no conceivable way that we can pay back our debt either by raising taxes or reducing spending. The interest rates that the US pays are currently a small fraction of the rate we should pay based on our country's prospects (sliding into socialism), based on the undermining of the dollar, and the end of the supply of greater fools (e.g. Japanese) for our debt.
Over the long run it's the undermining of the dollar by both Greenspan and Bernanke that does the most damage. It prevents and dissuades people from making long term beneficial investments in favor of short term speculation in various bubbles.
Libertarian and Objectivist worldviews have a fatal flaw, and that is Pride. Pride and confidence are exalted as virtues in those systems when they are actually hubris and folly.
We are finite and fully understand nothing, and are continually surprised and dismayed. That is why we should conform our decisions to God's directives and principles, even when it is not convenient. We do not have, nor will we ever have, all the data points.
Wisdom comes from God; not from Harvard , Columbia, or Alan Greenspan.
As the maxim says, “All power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
This friend had a masters in accounting and had been a successful CFO for a couple of major corporations and several smaller ones. I had a fairy good MBA. We often served together on boards and financial advisory groups for local non profits.
In spite of his excellent back ground and my fairly good economic background, we never understood what he said. It got worse when the other power wonks in the various Feds tried to interpret his comments.
We labeled his comments as Pure GreenSpam! Which no one understood.
The realization that she was a wonderful critic and observer, but didn't have any ideas as to how to displace regulatory government.
Graphene may replace a major fraction of the industrial demand for silver, possibly copper too.
Instead of pondering “what went wrong”, we should be pondering what’s about to go wrong. We are at near depression level unemployment (if you count the people who are working age and able but unemployed), yet the stock market is a record highs.
This is probably not an indication of a healthy economy.
His adoption of rational economic determinism is straight from Karl Marx.
His "success" was because, unlike today's partisans, he did try to please both Democrats and Republicans, thus keeping the balls in the air.
This quote reveals far more than it seems to:
"It used to be a ritualistic 50-50 at parties — the doyennes of culture and partying were very strict about bipartisanship," he adds. "That doesn't exist anymore."
Well said. Total ignoring by both parties plus the Tax party. Democrats main aims are abortion and gas marriage, the GOP pushes for free trade and those on Cruz control dwell on Obamacare. Our problem is our own people yet we dabble in costly wars and nation building while exporting our jobs and factory economy to the world and look for ways to cut more from American citizens.
This is probably not an indication of a healthy economy.
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I agree, and nor should it be, the very least deviation from their comfort zone and they, collectively, will react like chickens when a Fox has entered their coup.
“And, I continue to buy gold and silver despite what government pundits say about them being “junk.” Looking at how this government has shaped up, I continue to follow the anti-government advisers who suggest investing in precious metals, iron and war industries (makers of ammunition and guns for war and personal use) and anything else that hedges against the constant debasement of the currency. Gold has doubled in price since obama came to office.”
Contrarian buying is very often the right move.
Unlike stocks, nothing fundamentally changes with gold (or similar commodities). When the price dips, that’s a buying opportunity. The suckers are the ones who “buy high, sell low”.
Gold is poised to make a heck of a comeback, IMO.
“Libertarian and Objectivist worldviews have a fatal flaw, and that is Pride. Pride and confidence are exalted as virtues in those systems when they are actually hubris and folly.
We are finite and fully understand nothing, and are continually surprised and dismayed. That is why we should conform our decisions to God’s directives and principles, even when it is not convenient. We do not have, nor will we ever have, all the data points.”
With all due respect, what is God’s prescription for an optimal economy?
The principle of free and open markets is fully in line with self determination, free will and other core Christian values. Surely far more so than socialism and central control of the economy...
Rand ping.
Agreed.
Greenspan has a Platonic epistemology, he divides theory from reality.
“politics is broke.”
He doesn’t seem to understand that there are two diametrically opposed world views in politics today - those wanting a restoration of our constitutional republic, and those wanting a full-blown socialist state. We will either have a civil war, or one side will give up.
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