GET THE FACTS BEHIND THE NEWS!
David Stockman, Budget Director for Pres.Ronald Reagan.
American capitalism is so corrupted that change is impossible without a megameltdown, and collapse. Stockman knows well the political process is manipulated by a wealthy elite that cares nothing of the people, nothing of Main Street, nothing of the future of America. They care only for themselves.
Money has corrupted our political system. We’ve lost our moral compass. “The Triumph of Politics Over Economics” is a self-destructing ideology. Money has driven all politicians into a bizarre conspiracy that’s destroying America from within. And nothing but a thundering crisis will shock America awake.
Stockman has 10 reasons WHY A THE LARGEST BUST YET IS INEVIABLE unless America wakes up.
1. Politicians are addicts, can’t stop spending America’s future
Reagan’s big government policies “led to the utter failure of spending control.” Today America is “living way beyond our means,” and yet politicians are incapable of thinking past the next election. … money has become such a massive force in the electoral process” making politicians “slaves” to big money and special-interest lobbyists.
2. Cutting taxes: a cruel joke. “In pure philosophy, lower tax rates would be better.” You’re kidding yourself if you think cutting taxes today is really cutting taxes. We’re simply deferring massive tax increases into the future, unfairly and immorally putting huge debt burdens on future generations.” Tax-cutting is a “massive Christmas tree of special-interest tax benefits and loopholes … reducing the revenue”.
3. Social Security is a myth: Forget 2036, there’s no money today
“The combination of Medicare and Social Security” is “the heart of the budget, and the top one-third of that goes to retirees who have private assets, private pensions, other sources of income. They shouldn’t be dependent on the government … that money wasn’t saved,it was spent on cotton subsidies and bribes to warlords in Afghanistan. This is simply an intergenerational transfer program. … social insurance is a myth,” that bank is empty.
4. ReaganomicS(Republicans) loves war: Military spending is off the table“Reagan was utterly uninterested in any detail of the defense budget, of any of the claims for dollars made by the Pentagon,”. “He gave them a blank check, without question, and that … ballooned spending as we were massively reducing the revenue”.… Spending increases were so huge in defense that it became almost impossible to get anybody to … go after the food-stamp program or school lunches, when you’re just showering tens of billions of dollars on ammunition accounts and spare parts replacements and a massive expansion of the Navy.” Or wasting another “hundred billion dollars on wars of occupation in places that are the ends of the earth.”
5. Gross leadership failure: clueless ex-Goldman CEO at Treasury
“[Henry] Paulson frankly WAS the most incompetent, reckless secretary of the Treasury that we’ve had in modern history. He had no schooling in public policy, he had no schooling in the longer-term issues of fiscal management, or even what sound money is all about.” When “the crisis metastasized in” 2008 Paulson got “panicked calls from his buddies on Wall Street who were seeing their pyramids of debt coming crashing down.” And when Goldman Sachs’ stock cratered, Paulson panicked. “There was no philosophy behind it; there was never an analysis done.” Driven by a clear conflict of interest, he wanted to protect the $600 million fortune he built at Goldman, while saving his Wall Street buddies from bankruptcy. So Paulson failed the American people.
6. Bank bailouts: Bad economics now accelerating America’s decline
Paulson’s panicky failure in September 2008, … Even the House Republicans knew in their better judgment that it was a terrible idea, and they voted initially against it.” In fact, “the only panic that occurred was in” Paulson’s panicky mind. “Big pyramids of debt on Wall Street were coming crashing down. Had we allowed nature to take its course, maybe Goldman Sachs stock would have gone down to $10. But that’s their problem and that’s the problem of speculators who owned the stock, not a systemic problem for the economy.” Paulson’s panic made matters worse.
7. In a “free market,” Wall Street banks must be free to fail
“The fundamental principle of free-market capitalism is that you have to be free to fail as well as succeed,”. Socialize losses and privatize gains, you will destroy” our system of capitalism. Why? Because moral hazard encourages new “reckless risk taking, misallocation of capital.”
8. Today’s “crony capitalism” is destroying our faith in America
Wall Street is killing trust in the economy: “Once the broader public sees that the cronies of capitalism are bailed out by their friends in Washington or the Fed, why should they believe that the system we have is fair or is working in their interest?
9. Derivatives speculation: Wall Street gambles in shady casinos
Gold was “at the heart of it a fixed exchange rate system” before 1971 obligating “each country to settle its accounts at the end of every year … Chronic payments deficits and you were going to… lose your monetary reserves.” But when we “went to pure fiat money … financial volatility and instability” created a “massive speculative casino … Today probably 99% of currency futures are for speculation and 1% might be for legitimate trade hedging. That’s the problem we have in the whole financial system today.”
10. Too-greedy-to-fail banks are creating another bigger meltdown.
Before the crisis hit in 2007, “the top four banks in this country had $5 trillion of assets combined. After the whole crisis of too-big-to-fail and all of the bailouts, today the top four banks have $7 trillion of asset footings.” Simultaneously, fear has “been generated on Main Street, and the appropriate antipathy that’s developed towards the crony-capitalist policy of bailing out anybody that’s big and strong like GM and Goldman Sachs” has created a new “generation of workers that’s going to be turned into tax slaves … That will have to change … but it will only change when the crisis comes … .
Posted by diogenes at 12:45 PM 0 comments
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
DEBT REDUCTION NOT OUR NO 1 PROBLEM
DEBT REDUCTION IS NOT US PROBLEM!
GET THE FACTS BEHIND THE NEWS
Both political parties have their economic priorities mixed up. The mere cutting back of large parts of the federal gov’t will not help the economy or increase employment. The reason is that the economic problems are not caused by the size of gov’t or by the size of the debt.
The size of the debt has to be watched but the debt now is not an imminent danger. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that public debt levels become dangerous when they reach 90% of GDP. At the present time(2010 figures) the US debt level is 63% of GDP according to the CIA World Factbook.
Recent figures for other countries are Japan, 192%, France 80%, Israel 75%, Canada 72%, UK 69%, India 60%, Saudi Arabia 20% China 18%.
Furthermore the gov’t is not having any trouble selling its financial bonds and other financial instruments. In fact during the recent stock meltdown capital from all over the world came to this country to buy our bonds as the safest investment they could find. There is also no indication that gov’t borrowing is crowding out the private sector. Money is plentiful. Interest rates are low. 10 yr Treasuries are selling for less than 2%. Mortgage rates have dropped below 4%. This is the lowest mortgage rates have been since the 1950’s.This is the exact opposite of what would happen if the deficit was seriously impacting the economy.
Our primary economic problem is a poor economy. In a recession DEMAND is the problem. We must create an environment that encourages innovation and demand SO THAT INVESTORS AND BUSINESSES SEE PROFIT OPPORTUNITIES,
GET THE FACTS BEHIND THE NEWS
Both political parties have their economic priorities mixed up. The mere cutting back of large parts of the federal gov’t will not help the economy or increase employment. The reason is that the economic problems are not caused by the size of gov’t or by the size of the debt.
The size of the debt has to be watched but the debt now is not an imminent danger. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that public debt levels become dangerous when they reach 90% of GDP. At the present time(2010 figures) the US debt level is 63% of GDP according to the CIA World Factbook.
Recent figures for other countries are Japan, 192%, France 80%, Israel 75%, Canada 72%, UK 69%, India 60%, Saudi Arabia 20% China 18%.
Furthermore the gov’t is not having any trouble selling its financial bonds and other financial instruments. In fact during the recent stock meltdown capital from all over the world came to this country to buy our bonds as the safest investment they could find. There is also no indication that gov’t borrowing is crowding out the private sector. Money is plentiful. Interest rates are low. 10 yr Treasuries are selling for less than 2%. Mortgage rates have dropped below 4%. This is the lowest mortgage rates have been since the 1950’s.This is the exact opposite of what would happen if the deficit was seriously impacting the economy.
Our primary economic problem is a poor economy. In a recession DEMAND is the problem. We must create an environment that encourages innovation and demand SO THAT INVESTORS AND BUSINESSES SEE PROFIT OPPORTUNITIES,
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Is REAGANOMICS destroying America from within?
David Stockman, Budget Director for Pres. Reagan in a recent interview had 10 reasons
WHY A THE LARGEST BUST YET IS INEVIABLE unless America wakes up.
1. Politicians are addicts, can’t stop spending America’s future
Reagan’s big government policies “led to the utter failure of spending control.” Today America is “living way beyond our means,” and yet politicians are incapable of thinking past the next election. … money has become such a massive force in the electoral process” making politicians “slaves” to big money and special-interest lobbyists.
2. Cutting taxes: a cruel joke. “In pure philosophy, lower tax rates would be better.” But when we got a “Republican government in the Bush era … nothing was cut. Everything was ratified. In fact, they added to Medicare through the drug benefit.” Our “welfare state that seems immutable politically … you’re kidding yourself if you think cutting taxes today is really cutting taxes. We’re simply deferring massive tax increases into the future, unfairly and immorally putting huge debt burdens on future generations.” Tax-cutting is a “massive Christmas tree of special-interest tax benefits and loopholes … reducing the revenue” while the defense budget soared out of control.”
3. Social Security is a myth: Forget 2036, there’s no money today
“The combination of Medicare and Social Security” is “the heart of the budget, and the top one-third of that goes to retirees who have private assets, private pensions, other sources of income. They shouldn’t be dependent on the government … and there really is no trust fund there — that’s all fiscal mythology … that money wasn’t saved.it was spent on cotton subsidies and bribes to warlords in Afghanistan. The fact is, this is simply an intergenerational transfer program. … social insurance is a myth,” that bank is empty.
4. Reaganomics loves war: Military spending is off the table“Reagan was utterly uninterested in any detail of the defense budget, of any of the claims for dollars made by the Pentagon,”. “He gave them a blank check, without question, and that … ballooned spending just as we were massively reducing the revenue”.… Spending increases were so huge in defense that it became almost impossible to get anybody to … go after the food-stamp program or school lunches, when you’re just showering tens of billions of dollars on ammunition accounts and spare parts replacements and a massive expansion of the Navy.” Or wasting another “hundred billion dollars on wars of occupation in places that are the ends of the earth.”
5. Gross leadership failure: clueless ex-Goldman CEO at Treasury
“[Henry] Paulson frankly is the most incompetent, reckless secretary of the Treasury that we’ve had in modern history, if ever. He had no schooling in public policy, he had no schooling in the longer-term issues of fiscal management, or even what sound money is all about.” When “the crisis metastasized in” 2008 Paulson got “panicked calls from his buddies on Wall Street who were seeing their pyramids of debt coming crashing down.” And when Goldman Sachs’ stock cratered, Paulson really panicked. “There was no philosophy behind it; there was never an analysis done.” Driven by a clear conflict of interest, he wanted to protect the $600 million fortune he built at Goldman, while saving his Wall Street buddies from bankruptcy. So Paulson failed the American people.
6. Bank bailouts: Bad economics now accelerating America’s decline
Paulson’s panicky failure “was a profound moment in political history in September 2008, … Even the House Republicans knew in their better judgment that it was a terrible idea, and they voted initially against it.” In fact, “the only panic that occurred was in” Paulson’s panicky mind. “Big pyramids of debt on Wall Street were coming crashing down. Had we allowed nature to take its course, maybe Goldman Sachs stock would have gone down to $10. But that’s their problem and that’s the problem of speculators who owned the stock, not a systemic problem for the economy.” Instead, Paulson’s panic made matters worse.
7. In a “free market,” Wall Street banks must be free to fail
“The fundamental principle of free-market capitalism is that you have to be free to fail as well as succeed,” but “when you go in the opposite direction and socialize losses and privatize gains, you will destroy” our system of capitalism. Why? Because moral hazard encourages new “reckless risk taking, misallocation of capital.”
8. Today’s “crony capitalism” is destroying our faith in America
Wall Street is killing trust in the economy: “Once the broader public sees that the cronies of capitalism are bailed out by their friends in Washington or the Fed, why should they believe that the system we have is fair or is working in their interest? It’s just politicizing even further the economy and suffocating the only hope that we have for real prosperity.”
9. Derivatives speculation: Wall Street gambles in shady casinos
Gold was “at the heart of it a fixed exchange rate system” before 1971 obligating “each country to settle its accounts at the end of every year … Chronic payments deficits and you were going to… lose your monetary reserves.” But when we “went to pure fiat money … financial volatility and instability” created a “massive speculative casino … Today probably 99% of currency futures are for speculation and 1% might be for legitimate trade hedging. That’s the problem we have in the whole financial system today.”
10. Too-greedy-to-fail banks are creating another bigger meltdown
Before the crisis hit in 2007, “the top four banks in this country had $5 trillion of assets combined. After the whole crisis of too-big-to-fail and all of the bailouts, today the top four banks have $7 trillion of asset footings.” Simultaneously, fear has “been generated on Main Street, and the appropriate antipathy that’s developed towards the crony-capitalist policy of bailing out anybody that’s big and strong like GM and Goldman Sachs” has created a new “generation of workers that’s going to be turned into tax slaves … That will have to change … but it will only change when the crisis comes … it’s unavoidable.”
Yes unavoidable: American capitalism is so corrupted that change is impossible without a megameltdown, a historic paradigm shift with an inevitable collapse. Stockman knows well the political process is manipulated by a wealthy elite that cares nothing of the people, nothing of Main Street, nothing of the future of America. They care only for themselves.
Money has corrupted our political system. We’ve lost our moral compass. “The Triumph of Politics Over Economics” is a self-destructing ideology. Money has driven all politicians into a bizarre conspiracy that’s destroying America from within. And nothing can stop this overarching historical cycle …nothing but a thundering crisis will shock America awake. Do You believe Stockman is right?
WHY A THE LARGEST BUST YET IS INEVIABLE unless America wakes up.
1. Politicians are addicts, can’t stop spending America’s future
Reagan’s big government policies “led to the utter failure of spending control.” Today America is “living way beyond our means,” and yet politicians are incapable of thinking past the next election. … money has become such a massive force in the electoral process” making politicians “slaves” to big money and special-interest lobbyists.
2. Cutting taxes: a cruel joke. “In pure philosophy, lower tax rates would be better.” But when we got a “Republican government in the Bush era … nothing was cut. Everything was ratified. In fact, they added to Medicare through the drug benefit.” Our “welfare state that seems immutable politically … you’re kidding yourself if you think cutting taxes today is really cutting taxes. We’re simply deferring massive tax increases into the future, unfairly and immorally putting huge debt burdens on future generations.” Tax-cutting is a “massive Christmas tree of special-interest tax benefits and loopholes … reducing the revenue” while the defense budget soared out of control.”
3. Social Security is a myth: Forget 2036, there’s no money today
“The combination of Medicare and Social Security” is “the heart of the budget, and the top one-third of that goes to retirees who have private assets, private pensions, other sources of income. They shouldn’t be dependent on the government … and there really is no trust fund there — that’s all fiscal mythology … that money wasn’t saved.it was spent on cotton subsidies and bribes to warlords in Afghanistan. The fact is, this is simply an intergenerational transfer program. … social insurance is a myth,” that bank is empty.
4. Reaganomics loves war: Military spending is off the table“Reagan was utterly uninterested in any detail of the defense budget, of any of the claims for dollars made by the Pentagon,”. “He gave them a blank check, without question, and that … ballooned spending just as we were massively reducing the revenue”.… Spending increases were so huge in defense that it became almost impossible to get anybody to … go after the food-stamp program or school lunches, when you’re just showering tens of billions of dollars on ammunition accounts and spare parts replacements and a massive expansion of the Navy.” Or wasting another “hundred billion dollars on wars of occupation in places that are the ends of the earth.”
5. Gross leadership failure: clueless ex-Goldman CEO at Treasury
“[Henry] Paulson frankly is the most incompetent, reckless secretary of the Treasury that we’ve had in modern history, if ever. He had no schooling in public policy, he had no schooling in the longer-term issues of fiscal management, or even what sound money is all about.” When “the crisis metastasized in” 2008 Paulson got “panicked calls from his buddies on Wall Street who were seeing their pyramids of debt coming crashing down.” And when Goldman Sachs’ stock cratered, Paulson really panicked. “There was no philosophy behind it; there was never an analysis done.” Driven by a clear conflict of interest, he wanted to protect the $600 million fortune he built at Goldman, while saving his Wall Street buddies from bankruptcy. So Paulson failed the American people.
6. Bank bailouts: Bad economics now accelerating America’s decline
Paulson’s panicky failure “was a profound moment in political history in September 2008, … Even the House Republicans knew in their better judgment that it was a terrible idea, and they voted initially against it.” In fact, “the only panic that occurred was in” Paulson’s panicky mind. “Big pyramids of debt on Wall Street were coming crashing down. Had we allowed nature to take its course, maybe Goldman Sachs stock would have gone down to $10. But that’s their problem and that’s the problem of speculators who owned the stock, not a systemic problem for the economy.” Instead, Paulson’s panic made matters worse.
7. In a “free market,” Wall Street banks must be free to fail
“The fundamental principle of free-market capitalism is that you have to be free to fail as well as succeed,” but “when you go in the opposite direction and socialize losses and privatize gains, you will destroy” our system of capitalism. Why? Because moral hazard encourages new “reckless risk taking, misallocation of capital.”
8. Today’s “crony capitalism” is destroying our faith in America
Wall Street is killing trust in the economy: “Once the broader public sees that the cronies of capitalism are bailed out by their friends in Washington or the Fed, why should they believe that the system we have is fair or is working in their interest? It’s just politicizing even further the economy and suffocating the only hope that we have for real prosperity.”
9. Derivatives speculation: Wall Street gambles in shady casinos
Gold was “at the heart of it a fixed exchange rate system” before 1971 obligating “each country to settle its accounts at the end of every year … Chronic payments deficits and you were going to… lose your monetary reserves.” But when we “went to pure fiat money … financial volatility and instability” created a “massive speculative casino … Today probably 99% of currency futures are for speculation and 1% might be for legitimate trade hedging. That’s the problem we have in the whole financial system today.”
10. Too-greedy-to-fail banks are creating another bigger meltdown
Before the crisis hit in 2007, “the top four banks in this country had $5 trillion of assets combined. After the whole crisis of too-big-to-fail and all of the bailouts, today the top four banks have $7 trillion of asset footings.” Simultaneously, fear has “been generated on Main Street, and the appropriate antipathy that’s developed towards the crony-capitalist policy of bailing out anybody that’s big and strong like GM and Goldman Sachs” has created a new “generation of workers that’s going to be turned into tax slaves … That will have to change … but it will only change when the crisis comes … it’s unavoidable.”
Yes unavoidable: American capitalism is so corrupted that change is impossible without a megameltdown, a historic paradigm shift with an inevitable collapse. Stockman knows well the political process is manipulated by a wealthy elite that cares nothing of the people, nothing of Main Street, nothing of the future of America. They care only for themselves.
Money has corrupted our political system. We’ve lost our moral compass. “The Triumph of Politics Over Economics” is a self-destructing ideology. Money has driven all politicians into a bizarre conspiracy that’s destroying America from within. And nothing can stop this overarching historical cycle …nothing but a thundering crisis will shock America awake. Do You believe Stockman is right?
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
DEBT REDUCTION IS NOT PROBLEM ONE
DEBT REDUCTION IS NOT Problem ONE!
GET THE FACTS BEHIND THE NEWS
I believe that both political parties have their economic priorities mixed up. The mere cutting back of large parts of the federal gov’t will not help the economy or increase employment. The reason is that the economic problems are not caused by the size of gov’t or by the size of the debt.
The size of the debt has to be watched but the debt now is not an imminent danger. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that public debt levels become dangerous when they reach 90% of GDP. At the present time(2010 figures) the US debt level is 63% of GDP according to the CIA World Factboo
Recent figures for other countries are Japan, 192%, France 80%, Canada 72%, UK 69%, India 60%, Saudi Arabia 20% China 18%.
Furthermore the gov’t is not having any trouble selling its financial bonds and other financial instruments. In fact during the recent stock meltdown capital from all over the world came to this country to buy our bonds as the safest investment they could find. There is also no indication that gov’t borrowing is crowding out the private sector. Money is plentiful. Interest rates are low.
My reading of economics and prominent economists indicate that our primary economic problem is a poor economy. The problem in a recession is demand. We must create an environment that encourages innovation and demand.
MY suggestion is concentrate on improving the economy so that business improves and more people have jobs. Then healthy debt reduction that does not cut needed services can follow.
GET THE FACTS BEHIND THE NEWS
I believe that both political parties have their economic priorities mixed up. The mere cutting back of large parts of the federal gov’t will not help the economy or increase employment. The reason is that the economic problems are not caused by the size of gov’t or by the size of the debt.
The size of the debt has to be watched but the debt now is not an imminent danger. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that public debt levels become dangerous when they reach 90% of GDP. At the present time(2010 figures) the US debt level is 63% of GDP according to the CIA World Factboo
Recent figures for other countries are Japan, 192%, France 80%, Canada 72%, UK 69%, India 60%, Saudi Arabia 20% China 18%.
Furthermore the gov’t is not having any trouble selling its financial bonds and other financial instruments. In fact during the recent stock meltdown capital from all over the world came to this country to buy our bonds as the safest investment they could find. There is also no indication that gov’t borrowing is crowding out the private sector. Money is plentiful. Interest rates are low.
My reading of economics and prominent economists indicate that our primary economic problem is a poor economy. The problem in a recession is demand. We must create an environment that encourages innovation and demand.
MY suggestion is concentrate on improving the economy so that business improves and more people have jobs. Then healthy debt reduction that does not cut needed services can follow.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Republican demands WII NOT HELP THE ECONOMY
Republican demands for the debt extension
WILL NOT HELP THE ECONOMY!
Get the facts behind the news!
The mere cutting back of large parts of the federal gov’t will not help the economy. The reason is that the economic problems are not caused by the size of gov’t or by the size of the debt. Dr. John Rutledge adviser to Pres. Ronald Reagan estimates the US total assets over $200 trillion compared to a debt of $14 trillion. There is no indication that gov’t borrowing is crowding out the private sector. Money is plentiful. Interest rates are low.
Low interest rates and large amounts of money in banks and large co’s do not necessarily add up to good economic times as we are finding out. This approach to stimulate the economy is like trying to push a wet noodle. A problem is these remedies are all supply side. The problem in a depression is the DEMAND SIDE. MAKING MONEY AVAILABLE AT LOW INTEREST RATES is helpful but not sufficient. The Republican program does nothing for the demand side. Lower tax rates for business will only have a small marginal effect on the economy. Note in the 1950’s. 60’s and into the 70’s the corporate Federal Income tax rate varied from 90% to 70%. TAX Rates ARE A FACTOR BUT DO NOT DETERMINE INVESTMENT. PROFIT OPPORTUNITIES DETERMINE INVESTMENT. The 40'S, 50'S AND 60'S were some of the best years this country ever had. In fact a case can be made out that high corporate tax rates stimulate investment more than low tax rates. WHAT CAN WE DO TO STIMULATE DEMAND? We must create an environment that encourages innovation and demand. Then the public can have confidence in the economy.
To understand the Republican position we have to go back to the basic Republican position. The foundation of Republican economic policy is that RICH PEOPLE SHOULD NOT PAY TAXES. This dressed and camouflaged many different ways, But this is the basis of Republican thinking.
This Republican position is not really an economic policy. It is not based on economics. THE REPUBLICAN POSITION IS REALLY A POLITICAL STATEMENT MASQUERADING AS AN ECONOMIC POLICY.
This is not surprising as it is being presented by politicians who appear to have political knowledge but very little knowledge of economics.
However there is a problem. Politics and economics while effecting each other are two different spheres of activity. The Republican position maybe very good politics but it very poor economics. More later.
WILL NOT HELP THE ECONOMY!
Get the facts behind the news!
The mere cutting back of large parts of the federal gov’t will not help the economy. The reason is that the economic problems are not caused by the size of gov’t or by the size of the debt. Dr. John Rutledge adviser to Pres. Ronald Reagan estimates the US total assets over $200 trillion compared to a debt of $14 trillion. There is no indication that gov’t borrowing is crowding out the private sector. Money is plentiful. Interest rates are low.
Low interest rates and large amounts of money in banks and large co’s do not necessarily add up to good economic times as we are finding out. This approach to stimulate the economy is like trying to push a wet noodle. A problem is these remedies are all supply side. The problem in a depression is the DEMAND SIDE. MAKING MONEY AVAILABLE AT LOW INTEREST RATES is helpful but not sufficient. The Republican program does nothing for the demand side. Lower tax rates for business will only have a small marginal effect on the economy. Note in the 1950’s. 60’s and into the 70’s the corporate Federal Income tax rate varied from 90% to 70%. TAX Rates ARE A FACTOR BUT DO NOT DETERMINE INVESTMENT. PROFIT OPPORTUNITIES DETERMINE INVESTMENT. The 40'S, 50'S AND 60'S were some of the best years this country ever had. In fact a case can be made out that high corporate tax rates stimulate investment more than low tax rates. WHAT CAN WE DO TO STIMULATE DEMAND? We must create an environment that encourages innovation and demand. Then the public can have confidence in the economy.
To understand the Republican position we have to go back to the basic Republican position. The foundation of Republican economic policy is that RICH PEOPLE SHOULD NOT PAY TAXES. This dressed and camouflaged many different ways, But this is the basis of Republican thinking.
This Republican position is not really an economic policy. It is not based on economics. THE REPUBLICAN POSITION IS REALLY A POLITICAL STATEMENT MASQUERADING AS AN ECONOMIC POLICY.
This is not surprising as it is being presented by politicians who appear to have political knowledge but very little knowledge of economics.
However there is a problem. Politics and economics while effecting each other are two different spheres of activity. The Republican position maybe very good politics but it very poor economics. More later.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
NOW is the Time to help Libya!
GET THE FACTS BEHIND THE NEWS. Efforts to help Libya are not sufficient to rid the country of Maommar Gadhafi. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told a Senate Panel that the Gadhafi regime will probably prevail due to superior fire power and logistics. Much more needs to be done. Embargo’s, freezes, travel bans, speeches take time, months and years to be effective. The rebels need help NOW. They may all be dead or captured before these measures take effect
The first priority is sending military supplies and equipment IMMEEDIATLY! Other measures might be missiles such as were used in Bosnia, air strikes, etc.
The administration is strangely timid and hesitant, maybe in a state of denial. Its foreign policies seem to be based on several faulty assumptions. Let’s consider.
1) We are being asked to help. This is different than our invasion of Iraq and our second invasion of Afghanistan, and Viet Nam.
2) Ground forces are not needed. A large number of Libyans are ready to fight. In fact they are fighting and dying while the world is talking.
3) The Obrama administration foreign poicy is based on the faulty assumption that we can not do anything unless everyone agrees. This approach leaves the US and the world leaderless. It is a recipe for doing nothing for Libya and anybody or anything. By the time you get the UN, NATO, the Arab League, the African group, Australia, and the city council of St. Louis to agree the Libyans will certainly be captured of killed.
4)In 1950 if Pres. Harry Truman had followed this advice S. Korea would now be part of N. Korea. Pres. Truman saw a need for action. He acted and invited the other nations to join us, which they did. This is leadership.
5) It is important to note the Arab League of 22 nations has asked the UN to take action against Maommar Gadhafi.
6) What are the implications for the US if we continue on our present path of speeches and long range actions? The world, good and bad, will see the US as a nation not interested in furthering democracy and helping others no matter what the justice of their situation.
7) What are the implications for the UN if we continue on our present path? The world will see the UN as an organization that can not maintain the peace and solve the worlds problems. This will be another large step in making the UN another League of Nations, where people give fine speeches and nothing happens.
The first priority is sending military supplies and equipment IMMEEDIATLY! Other measures might be missiles such as were used in Bosnia, air strikes, etc.
The administration is strangely timid and hesitant, maybe in a state of denial. Its foreign policies seem to be based on several faulty assumptions. Let’s consider.
1) We are being asked to help. This is different than our invasion of Iraq and our second invasion of Afghanistan, and Viet Nam.
2) Ground forces are not needed. A large number of Libyans are ready to fight. In fact they are fighting and dying while the world is talking.
3) The Obrama administration foreign poicy is based on the faulty assumption that we can not do anything unless everyone agrees. This approach leaves the US and the world leaderless. It is a recipe for doing nothing for Libya and anybody or anything. By the time you get the UN, NATO, the Arab League, the African group, Australia, and the city council of St. Louis to agree the Libyans will certainly be captured of killed.
4)In 1950 if Pres. Harry Truman had followed this advice S. Korea would now be part of N. Korea. Pres. Truman saw a need for action. He acted and invited the other nations to join us, which they did. This is leadership.
5) It is important to note the Arab League of 22 nations has asked the UN to take action against Maommar Gadhafi.
6) What are the implications for the US if we continue on our present path of speeches and long range actions? The world, good and bad, will see the US as a nation not interested in furthering democracy and helping others no matter what the justice of their situation.
7) What are the implications for the UN if we continue on our present path? The world will see the UN as an organization that can not maintain the peace and solve the worlds problems. This will be another large step in making the UN another League of Nations, where people give fine speeches and nothing happens.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
IS AN UNREGULATED ECONOMY BEST?
GET THE FACTS BEHIND THE NEWS!
In the 1880's to 1920's the US was a nation of individual farmers and shopkeepers. Since that time the nation has changed. The US has become a group of large social and business organizations. People work for large co's, join large organizations. This necessitates a realignment of gov'ts role. The individual is frequently powerless against these large organizations. This is why people join labor unions, buy from coops--Costco, political parties etc.
Now one of the main purposes of gov't is to protect the public against the excessive greed, and power seeking of these large organizations. Some examples--the raliroads in the 1880's, the sub-prime mortgagor people in the 2000-2008, the pharmaceutical co's, the banks and wall street, 2000-2008, teachers unions etc Lastly we need protection against the protectors
The tea party financed primarily by Rupert Murdoch, Beck is on his payroll, and the Koch brothers and others do not want to be regulated Can we leave our future in the hands of these large organization and very wealthy people?. This was the George Bush program of gov’t without oversight, or unregulated. Judging by the results the answer is NO.
In the 1880's to 1920's the US was a nation of individual farmers and shopkeepers. Since that time the nation has changed. The US has become a group of large social and business organizations. People work for large co's, join large organizations. This necessitates a realignment of gov'ts role. The individual is frequently powerless against these large organizations. This is why people join labor unions, buy from coops--Costco, political parties etc.
Now one of the main purposes of gov't is to protect the public against the excessive greed, and power seeking of these large organizations. Some examples--the raliroads in the 1880's, the sub-prime mortgagor people in the 2000-2008, the pharmaceutical co's, the banks and wall street, 2000-2008, teachers unions etc Lastly we need protection against the protectors
The tea party financed primarily by Rupert Murdoch, Beck is on his payroll, and the Koch brothers and others do not want to be regulated Can we leave our future in the hands of these large organization and very wealthy people?. This was the George Bush program of gov’t without oversight, or unregulated. Judging by the results the answer is NO.
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