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Congress Can’t Enact a Chicken. Washington today ignores that saving and investing must precede consumption.
Wall Street Journal ^ | July 25, 2021 | Andy Kessler

Posted on 07/26/2021 5:41:31 AM PDT by karpov

Egg first. As legislators play a game of chicken with “infrastructure” bills, there is a huge misconception about how the economy actually works. Last week Moody’s economist Mark Zandi said more government spending on infrastructure and social programs like Medicaid “will lift productivity.” Does he even know what productivity is? He thinks you can give people money and they’ll spend it, prime the pump and boost the economy. That is backward. An economy has to produce first, then consume.

Reagan-era supply-side economics has been badmouthed for so long, and given monikers like voodoo and trickle-down, it has more or less been discarded. Why? Probably because it worked, taking power away from Keynesian big-government power mongers and their cheerleading economists. So let me suggest something else. Let’s call it Produce First or, if you insist, Supply First.

Here’s how capitalism works—pay attention if you took the social-justice version of Econ 101. SIPPC: Save. Invest. Produce. Profit. Consume. Save means postponing consumption, money and time. Only then you can invest, especially your human capital, in something productive. Usually this means doing more with less, being efficient and effective. This is when innovation happens.

Wealth comes only from productivity, not from giving away money. And despite the Federal Reserve’s dollar printing, profit is the only way real money is created. That dollar in your pocket is just something convenient to exchange that represents what you already produced profitably.

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: economics
full article
1 posted on 07/26/2021 5:41:31 AM PDT by karpov
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To: karpov

All of the CV-19 spending checks worked backwards. What the gov’t is doing will create demand-pull inflation.


2 posted on 07/26/2021 5:45:30 AM PDT by econjack
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To: karpov

Why can’t we Borrow, Print and Spend our way to prosperity? It worked in Zimbabwe and Venezuela


3 posted on 07/26/2021 5:55:56 AM PDT by eyeamok (founded in cynicism, wrapped in sarcasm)
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To: econjack

I always looked at my personal economics as trying to bring in a little more than what goes out. Spending more than I had never produced anything for me but debt. Our government has too many outgoing programs. They are spending the money long before they actually get it. I’m not a paid economist, but those who are had better start thinking instead of just printing more money.


4 posted on 07/26/2021 5:57:05 AM PDT by oldtech
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To: oldtech

I think we could stop this crap if any new spending bill had to be accompanied with a new tax to pay for it. As it stands now, they are free to pursue unchecked spending, usually of the type designed to get them re-elected. Someone please explain to me why welfare recipients should be given free cell phones?


5 posted on 07/26/2021 6:00:52 AM PDT by econjack
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To: karpov

We have a government that pretends consumption is the same as investing.


6 posted on 07/26/2021 8:01:27 AM PDT by ArcadeQuarters (Socialism requires slavery.)
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To: karpov

Good for Kessler making the word, but eff the WSJ for hoisting Biden upon us.

It was in the hands of the WSJ to put up a fight on THE FRAUD. But they’re a bunch of NeverTrumpers who now just blame Biden — whom they elected — for ruining what Trump gave us.

Eat it, Journal.


7 posted on 07/26/2021 6:13:53 PM PDT by nicollo (I said no!)
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