Posted on 07/22/2002 3:11:50 PM PDT by AdamSelene235
What's most depressing about this post is how little the campaign arguments and humbug have changed. The public apparently never learns anything.
Never met them, couldn't tell you. Their problems are institutional in nature. The Soviets had some brilliant economists: didn't help.
UNfortunately, the public is short-sighted and only wants what is best for them at the present time without regard to the consequences.
BTW, I have not had any luck with your problem. My medical friends said "They should not move out there," I know it is crass to say that but they did qualify it by saying that our resources need to be here in the urban area where they are needed most. You might be LiberalLarry but I LIVE in the stronghold of the left-wing. I am still trying.
Actually, I'm doing quite well in the markets, so, yes, things are rosy. I'm just a bit concerned about the long term.
Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that they are aware and concerned. There is only so much that they can do to avoid the same mistakes--given the prevalence of demagogues in Government, who will insist on "doing something," if things continue to deteriorate. It is when the politicians feel the need to "do something," that we get in trouble.
Remember that the natural tendency of the market is to correct itself. If there is a misallocation of resources, causing dislocations in employment, markets, whatever; the normal response--if the politicians just will stay out of it--is for all of the human factors in the economy to put their greatest effort into finding what is most beneficial to them--what they can legally do which will be most valued by others. That is how the rewards in a free economy are determined.
The way out of a depression is the same way we grew strong to begin with: Unleash the creative force of the whole people. No group of central planners on earth can ever be a match for that. Anyone who understands the actual dynamic knows how utterly ridiculous it is to expect planners to ever be a substitute for the power of a free economy. What Washington needs to be doing is to help remove the barriers to that free economy. Make sure the money is stable; that taxes are not burdensome; that red-tape to appease Leftwing bureaucrats does not impede rapid decision making--rapid adjustment to fluid conditions, etc..
As Reagan put it: Government is not the solution to the problem; often Government is the problem.
As for those Corporate Fiduciaries, who have betrayed the sacred Trust they owed the Shareholders they were supposed to be serving: If they deserve it, Prosecute the Hell out of them! That is a different principle, altogether. For a Fiduciary to milk a Trust for personal benefit is a crime. But the violation of a bureaucratically imposed duty, designed to accomplish some politician's social purpose, is something quite different.
William Flax Return Of The Gods Web Site
Or maybe they are doing the job they were set up to do.
The Federal Reserve must be destroyed and we must have a just money system.
They also claimed they would help keep unemployment low. Barron's recently had an article on the subject comparing pre-Fed vs. post-Fed US unemployment. Unsurprisingly, we have never reached pre-Fed levels.
True, especially at this stage when people are starting to panic. But at the other stages...grossly inflating the money supply as the boom builds, continuing to contract it during the bust. I wonder.
Remember that the natural tendency of the market is to correct itself.
I'm out of my depth here. But Soros, who isn't, doesn't seem to agree with you. While you may not like many of the things he's done or says, he's no idiot.
What Washington needs to be doing is to help remove the barriers to that free economy. Make sure the money is stable; that taxes are not burdensome; that red-tape to appease Leftwing bureaucrats does not impede rapid decision making--rapid adjustment to fluid conditions, etc..
Who can argue with this...or with your complaints about central planners. Whether it will be enough is for better men than I to say.
As for those Corporate Fiduciaries, who have betrayed the sacred Trust they owed the Shareholders they were supposed to be serving: If they deserve it, Prosecute the Hell out of them!
This is what I think must be done as fast as possible. No single step, in my mind, will restore faith and trust more than this...or, if not done, will do more to undermine them. But this is what I fear the Bush administration does not want to do.
That works out to an annual increase of 6%, which is fairly modest.
Also, it's hard to tell which is cause and effect between money supply and economic activity. For example, inceased economic activity generates more money and is reflected in an increased money supply.
You don't seem to realize that trade has two equal parties--the buyer and the seller. You can't beat up on one without giving the other a black eye as well. Let other governments beat up on their consumers, forcing artificially high prices and inflating the cost of living with high tarrifs. Free trade is almost always the economically and morally sensible policy, even if unilateral.
Remember Soros was the trader not the analyst. He has publicly admitted to having a God complex that drives his desire to reshape the international monetary system. He is waiting for something to destabilize the post-Bretton woods system so he can hawk his ideas.
Money loaned out by the fed has market-rational risk removed from it since it is "gauranteed" by the power of taxation. If a bank loans out its own money, it has its own solvency at stake not to mention the limitation of its own available funds. This greatly restricts the availability of money for loans compared to what is available with the fed res system. If a bank loans out the fed's money it would have to be altruistic to decide that the fed's policy is too loose and is putting the taxpayers at risk.
You're right. FDR was responsible for far more boondoggles than the author mentions. But the piece was already running a bit long, don't you think?
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