Quote: (04-19-2013 11:43 PM)Kabal Wrote:
Quote: (04-19-2013 11:25 PM)Quintus Flaminius Wrote:
Quote: (04-19-2013 11:12 PM)Kabal Wrote:
Quote: (04-19-2013 10:56 PM)More and more Wrote:
Quote: (04-19-2013 10:51 PM)Quintus Flaminius Wrote:
Those guys were endorsing Obama in 2008 and in 2012, look what happened.
What happened? The Keynesian policies Obama tried to pursue have been vindicated. Obama should have done more of what he tried to do.
In what way? The unemployment rate is still lackluster. Labor force participation has been trending linearly downwards since late 2008, with no sign of abatement. Food stamp usage keeps setting new records. The U.S. debt continues its clockwork parabolic march upward. The U.S. financial sector remains bloated, and in bed with government.
Equities are doing well, but that's propped up by permanent open market operations--as both retail and institutional investors are reaching for yield while interest rates are pressed low.
I believe Obama and Bernanke are faring quite poorly, but I also say the jury is still out on this one. We haven't reached the long run yet, so they very well could be vindicated. However, I doubt they will, and by then it may be too late.
I think, more than anything, spreading basic economic literacy should be the Mises institute's number 1 priority.
Most people still have a very binary view on economics, heck, even libertarians have different schools, the Neoclassical and the Austrians.
I think the electorate needs to know at least, the fundamentals differences.
The stimulus spending was an interventionist idea, quite distinct from what libertarians were advocating, and if it does fail, and when we do get into a depression, the Social Democrats should own up to their shit.
Unlike in Europe, where these retards are advocating a greater union.
If Obama fucks up, he should own up and let the economy restructure.
It's not an issue of education--for most people, politics and economics are more like Seinfeldian rooting for laundry than a venue for critical thought.
Economics requires some ability for abstract thought. Most people just don't have the aptitude or the inclination for it. Think about how dumb the average person is. Than recall that half the populace is even dumber.
For most people, the peak of intellectual thought is contemplating who will win American Idol, ruminating over Justin Bieber's latest tweet, or scrutinizing who Taylor Swift is dating.
They simply can't grasp and/or aren't interested in things like supply and demand curves, yield curves, or Phillips curves. That's boring, yucky stuff.
Kardashian curves? Oooohhh, now we're talking!
This is the reason why I detest democracy, I mean, really hate it.
The only way to find out who the best authority on economics, is simple, allow states to secede, and then compare economic performances for states with the same demographics.
I mean, heck, when the USAF held a competition for the Fifth Gen fighter, they didn't hold a debate, in front of a live audience, because the average viewer can't comprehend the engineering for each fighter, they test it out, and award contracts to the most suitable contender.
And you don't need an IQ above 132 to comprehend the basic differences.
Marxian economy-No private ownership of capital, centrally planned.
Keynesian Social democrat-Private ownership, Government interventionism, Central planning, fiat currency.
Libertarians- Private ownership, decentralized planning, Gold standard.