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Economic Illiterates Are Running Amok
Townhall.com ^ | April 10, 2020 | Kurt Schlichter

Posted on 04/10/2020 3:58:07 AM PDT by Kaslin

One particularly terrifying consequence of the Chinese Bat Soup Virus that is not yet getting the attention it deserves is how this situation is making already stupid liberals even dumber, especially when they sound off about economics. In the wake of this pandemic, we’ve been subjected to a series of mind-numbing insights from the pinko blue check brain trust that reaffirms the clichéd but true observation that our elite is anything but elite. Leave it to our liberal betters to take a bad situation and seek to make it exponentially worse.

For example, Sally Kohn – oh, you know where this is going – offered an astonishing observation just as the Democrats were obstructing the vital relief our small businesses desperately need:

“I'm really tired of reading how business owners are "forced" to layoff workers. No one made them do that. They *chose* to do that. Not saying it isn't a hard choice, during a hard time, but to say they were *forced* obscures their agency AND casts owners/CEOs as the victims.”

If that hasn’t plunged your IQ to new depths, consider ever-dumb Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), who tweeted out this brainstorm:

“We need to cancel rent until this crisis is over.”

Wow. Her economics advice is even worse than her relationship advice.

Okay, it seems like you would not have to explain this to allegedly educated people, but apparently there are still some people who need a lesson in Economics 101. Since I actually own a business, perhaps I have a perspective that C Tier social media personalities and commie grifters could find illuminating.

Here goes.

Are you people stupid? What the unholy hell are you thinking? When there is no income, what do you expect a business owner to pay his employees with? IOUs? Monopoly money? Feelings?

Oh, maybe the boss of that local pizza restaurant that the cough police closed down should just go downstairs to the basement vault in his mansion, pop open the door and take out one of those dozens of big sacks with dollar signs on them that are stuffed with $100 bills and use them to meet payroll. And rent. And insurance. And supplies. And maintenance. And so on. And so on. And so on.

Because that whole thing about cash flow? No, it’s not a thing. It’s a myth! It’s just an illusion for those tuxedo n’ top hat-sporting fatcats who run the local pet stores and such use to fool the proles into believing that there’s not some bottomless well o’ cash these tycoons can draw upon forever.

Yeah, these bigwigs are claiming they are running out of money, but Sally sees through their web of deceit! But in a way she is right – it is kind of a choice. Of course, the choice is bankruptcy or layoffs. And either way, those employees are out of a job.

But the real tragedy would be if people might see “owners/CEOs as the victims” even though they are victims too.

You wonder if people can be this dumb and then you go on Twitter and yeah, people can absolutely be that dumb.

Or even dumber, if that’s even possible.

Really, Mrs. Brother? “Cancel rent?” I guess the president would just use that little-known “cancel rent” power buried behind all those penumbras and emanations in the Constitution. But let’s not get all wrapped up in talk of enumerated powers and stuff. Let’s look at this remarkable suggestion on its own feeble terms. “Cancel rent.” Okay, rent is canceled. Gone! No paying rent! Yah!

Wait, where did the lights go? Power’s out. Wait, you mean that miserable miser is not fronting cash for utilities anymore since you’re, you know, not paying rent? Hey, there’s a plumbing leak! You can just call…oh…awkward! Well, then you can just refuse to pay…oh, right. Well, then maybe you’ll sue your landlord for not doing the things landlords should do, though you are not doing things tenants should do. Oops. He’s bankrupt. Hear that? It’s a sad trombone.

But that’s only at the personal level. Our economy is interconnected. You don’t pay rent, so your landlord doesn’t pay his loan and all those people who used to manage the property. All those guys he used to pay, his bank, the gardener, the power company. Now, they can’t pay anyone anymore. And pretty soon no one can pay anyone anymore.

Congratulations! It’s a depression!

Now, we have focused on how these people are saying stupid things, and the underlying assumption is that they are stupid. But is that why they seem to be rooting for disaster? You’ve already seen progs looking on the bright side – at least this economic carnage will end up owning Drumpf!

Maybe they are simply bad people who want to impoverish you to increase their own power. Have you seen them do anything, anything at all inconsistent with that hypothesis? After all, if they can destroy capitalism by means of knocking out select pillars of the system – like by undermining selected contracts that obligate people to pay their debts – they can get to their desired endstate, and they can blame it on capitalism itself even though a system where you can’t collect rent isn’t capitalism.

Stupid? Evil? A bit of both? It doesn’t matter. What matters is that no matter how much these half-wits pipe up on Twitter, they can never, ever be allowed anything like real power lest we go full Venezuela.

And you should never go full Venezuela.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: anticapitalist; economic; economiccrisis; economy; ilhanomr; progressiveagenhda; sallykohn; schlichter; wuhancoronavirus
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To: TTFlyer

I don’t BUY that 100%


41 posted on 04/10/2020 5:23:15 AM PDT by Leep (We can go to the grocery store but we can't go to work?)
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To: central_va

Number 1 it is non of your business. Number 2 the term “rich and wealthy” are subjective. Number 3 I am speaking of being rich from the operation of a business irregardless of ones wealth before the start of the business.

You are way beyond your depth here and really ought to go look up some stats on the relative wealth of business owners as compared to those not owning businesses.


42 posted on 04/10/2020 5:23:19 AM PDT by billyboy15
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To: central_va
So, you are demanding that "Wealthy small business owners" pay employees when there is no work to be done?

Will you enforce this at gunpoint?

Are you a Tin Pot Dictator or do you just play one on Free Republic?

43 posted on 04/10/2020 5:23:33 AM PDT by Aevery_Freeman (AOC has the perfect face for the 'Rat Party - Hee-Haw)
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To: central_va

It’s kind of muddleheaded thinking to conflate net worth with liquidity.

The business may have a net worth a lot but it’s all tied up in inventory, equipment, buildings, credit, vehicles etc.

My dad owned a pretty successful business that employed about 100 men. When times got tough, guess who took the first pay cut. I was a kid but from what I remember, it was a very significant pay cut, like 50% or something like that. But the company stayed afloat and most employees stayed employed.

We were not rich by any means.


44 posted on 04/10/2020 5:25:05 AM PDT by cyclotic (A vote for Democrats is a vote for lower traffic volumes)
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To: Kaslin

Of course they can’t do math, it was just a few weeks ago the biggest talking heads were proudly proclaiming on TV, how Bloomberg spent enough money on his campaign to give every person in the company $1,000,000 - that in a nutshell explains the liberal thought process and intellect.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2020/03/06/msnbcs_brian_williams_new_york_times_editorial_board_member_mara_gay_five_divided_by_three_equals_one_million.html


45 posted on 04/10/2020 5:28:24 AM PDT by qwerty1234
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To: qwerty1234

make that ‘country’, not ‘company’


46 posted on 04/10/2020 5:28:45 AM PDT by qwerty1234
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To: SMARTY

point in the direction of those who elected this commie morons...”

That would be Americans who voted liberal morons into office
...
Yes, thosr Americans, not these. What we have here is a failure to communicate. I choose to fight not be into self-loathing. I impress upon you again those who elected the Communist idiots are too blind and myopic see the ill fruits of their votes. They will do nothing but continue to blame us for it. They won’t even recognize it as a bad thing because the media will not let them. If you have trouble understanding that read it twice.


47 posted on 04/10/2020 5:32:43 AM PDT by CincyRichieRich (Be still, and know that I am God...Psalm 46:10)
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To: Kaslin

Bravo!


48 posted on 04/10/2020 5:33:23 AM PDT by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel.)
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To: LateBoomer

I don’t remember where i read it but the crux of it was..we can’t buy our way out of a recession / depression.
We MUST work our way out.
I think a one time stimulus package it fine..although, the one that past recently was about 3 or 4 times larger than it had to be.

FDR extended the recovery of the not so great depression by nearly a decade by using the government to buy our way out of it.


49 posted on 04/10/2020 5:33:42 AM PDT by Leep (We can go to the grocery store but we can't go to work?)
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To: Kaslin

I kind of think the term, “illiterate” means that they don’t know. I think it’s deeper than that- they actually don’t know what they don’t know. In addition they were miseducated by book-smart idiots who were Communists- and still are communist. That’s the problem. They believe in we vs. them. And those who are rich communists (e.g., AOC, et al) don’t even see themselves as rich communists they just believe they have a right to keep what they have because they are in charge and they think they are smarter when in fact again they are too ignorant to know that they are stupid.


50 posted on 04/10/2020 5:46:23 AM PDT by CincyRichieRich (Be still, and know that I am God...Psalm 46:10)
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To: billyboy15

“Have you ever heard the expression, “We will get the government we deserve”?”

Yes, I am familiar with that expression, as well as many other well worn expressions. Just because a sentiment is repeatedly stated, does NOT make it true. Perhaps a bit of thinking and not repeating “expressions” might be in order!


51 posted on 04/10/2020 5:51:09 AM PDT by Shane (When Injustice Becomes Law, RESISTANCE Becomes DUTY.----T.Jefferson)
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To: wny

A depression brought on by people this stupid in power as well as an orgy of stupidity and debt by consumers and corporations.


It is because they don’t like the concept of the Invisible Hand as discussed by Adam Smith.

We must be in control.........................


52 posted on 04/10/2020 5:56:05 AM PDT by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: Leep

Completely agree.

The first round hasn’t even kicked in and they’re already talking about another round. Instead we need to be focusing on opening up where we can (which is most of the country) with an eye to tamping down hotspots as they occur.

Everyone wear a mask and have their temperature taken before entering a building. COVID-19 cannot be completely eliminated but it can be managed with likely better results than the seasonal flu.


53 posted on 04/10/2020 6:02:31 AM PDT by LateBoomer
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To: Kaslin

They are in government and money just appears like magic so cut them some slack Kurt. /s


54 posted on 04/10/2020 6:22:18 AM PDT by pas
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To: LateBoomer
Everyone wear a mask and have their temperature taken before entering a building.

No offense, but this idea is a non-starter. If this is what is required for people to enter work places and business establishments then we may as well keep everything shut down. Because a lot of people simply aren’t going to show up at work anyway under these conditions, and I can’t imagine any business opening tomorrow and getting many customers willing to subject themselves to this.

55 posted on 04/10/2020 7:08:46 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("And somewhere in the darkness ... the gambler, he broke even.")
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To: Alberta's Child

Wait until they require vaccination records...or antibody records.

If I worked in a cubicle farm I would expect them to do that until the organization was over 85% imminently.


56 posted on 04/10/2020 7:10:43 AM PDT by Vermont Lt
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To: Shane

Despite your objection I would like to know why you think the phrase “we get the government we deserve” is not accurate?

After all it is the very people we install in office who put in place the policies which have brought us to where we are today and have been in the past. That is not to say government is all bad all the time, it certainly is not but good or bad it is a government “by the people”. The problem is it is not always a government “for the people.


57 posted on 04/10/2020 7:11:14 AM PDT by billyboy15
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To: Vermont Lt

Any business — if there are any — that can legitimately require immunization or antibody records of its employees — is already doing that. Maybe there are companies involved in medical research in sterilized environments that can justify this. Anyone else who tries this is quickly going to be out of business.


58 posted on 04/10/2020 7:16:22 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("And somewhere in the darkness ... the gambler, he broke even.")
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To: TTFlyer
I’ll repeat for the third time: “America is getting what it deserves.”

I’ll have to go with Ron White on this one: “You can’t fix stupid.”

All you can do is try to find a way to be successful in a society whose government is always going to play to the whims of the stupid.

Successful small business owners are people with the ability to see a little further then the herd. One of the critical success factors is to develop an immunity to the resentments that will inevitably be flung at you by politicians and the employee caste, alike. Don’t waste time seeking public approval or sympathy - as many failed business owners do - just adapt and execute.

They need you - and because of that, they will never like you.

59 posted on 04/10/2020 7:19:50 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ([CTRL]-[GALT]-[DELETE])
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To: cyclotic
We were not rich by any means.

Umm, still didn't really answer the question.

60 posted on 04/10/2020 7:21:13 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn....)
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