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Work for a Government and Rake in Bucks
They have guns, we have money. Think about those guns. Look South.— March 7, 2010 1:10 p.m.
Work for a Government and Rake in Bucks
Police and firefighters need better performance and credentials to deserve the same pay as doctors and lawyers, but they have won this pay through the same means, effective lobbying and negotiating through powerful professional organizations. The scandalous disparity between public and private pay has two sources; lawless collusion between the government and union creates the high pay, lawless private employers and the resulting lack of unions create the low pay. The working poor need the same effective lobbying that police and firefighters have. For the poor, bashing the high pay of unionized public employees is a fools errand, meant to distract from the task at hand, organizing and lobbying for better pay and conditions. The real scandal, the one destroying our economy, is low pay.— March 7, 2010 12:07 p.m.
News Mixed in Unemployment Report
I try not to get weepy driving past the General Dynamics plants that built the B24 and the Atlas missile, it's not safe. Sad to see the aerospace dreams of sixties school children done in by the usual culprits, leveraged buyouts to restrict competition, sponsored by a corrupt federal government. California didn't forget the jobs sent to Georgia, we haven't voted republican since. If we built better planes and rockets than we did then, there might be some consolation, but the B2 has been awol in every war, the B52 did the job instead. And the Atlas missile is plainly superior to the Space Shuttle when figuring the cost in dollars and lives. The Space Shuttle, two roman candles strapped to tanks of liquid explosives, might be the monument to the glory and idiocy of our age. Great engineers enslaved by a stupid design cobbled together to meet political needs. I won't weep for the Space Shuttle's end, it's not safe.— March 6, 2010 12:40 p.m.
"Healthy" Expansion? For Whom?
To 115 One person's religious ritual is another''s phony, staged event. I interpret the balanced budget amendment part of the liturgy to mean: 'I will maintain the vigorous taxing power of the US government to defend the dollar, to pay for the grand promises I just made.'. Literally the balanced budget amendment proposal made no sense, and was a fraud, but it was so essential to the ritual, that it was repeated year after year. That ritual dance number has gone out of style, the new hit JOBS JOBS JOBS has replaced it in the order of service. Once we get those jobs we'll start talking about balanced budgets again. Who knows we might start filling up the social security lock box again if we could just find it. Henry Paulson said he left it at Goldman Sachs because they needed petty cash one day. Now the lock box can't be found under the mountain of government paper he delivered the next week.— March 4, 2010 1:12 a.m.
"Healthy" Expansion? For Whom?
to 111 Remember when the President year after year, would propose a balanced budget amendment to the combined houses of congress to wild, if ritualized, cheers. Of course the budget simultaneously presented was not balanced. I used to think that this was the double talk of a snake oil salesman, how wrong I was. It was actually magic incantation from the high voodoo priest of greed. The magic worked, so I was the psycho. Did I dream this? or see this in the theater of the absurd? Somehow this crazy nation survives, thrives even.— March 3, 2010 2:03 a.m.
"Healthy" Expansion? For Whom?
to 109 Economics and Medicine are hampered by the same limitations, true experimentation is unethical, and no one listens until things go bad. I give both sciences full credit for pursuing the dismal duty of counting the liver failures and the unemployed. Right now the economy is in the shakes, and in this pink elephant phase, more juice is needed, or the snakes will follow. The patient will pursue this treatment, no matter what his arguing doctors say. The trouble is persuading the patient not to take another swig of the hard stuff after he believes it cures everything. Fortunately, monetarist and Keynesian and the public agree that deficits matter. If the public ignored deficits we would see a combination of the two parties' platforms, no taxes and a government job for everyone. Germany 1920.— March 2, 2010 11:07 a.m.
"Healthy" Expansion? For Whom?
to 107 Economists know Economics, Dick Cheney knows the raving sadistic lunatics of the republican base. George W. is the greatest republican mind of his generation, dense perhaps, but not a raving sadistic lunatic, because he was quiet for a public man. The deficits should and are starting overseas with China, we should match them to prevent hoarding of the dollar. So long as foreigners continue to hold the dollar near gratis we should print more. Spending wisely of course.— March 1, 2010 11:16 p.m.
"Healthy" Expansion? For Whom?
to 105 From memory Dick Cheney said "Ronald Reagan proved that deficits don't matter.". A sad joke that leaves monetarist and keynesian LOL. But as a matter of political cunning I agree with the Master Dick. Politics laughs last.— March 1, 2010 2:43 p.m.
"Healthy" Expansion? For Whom?
to 99 101 Economic theory starts as simplification, when reduced to sound bites it becomes idiotic. Our elected representatives talk a terrible game, if the game is explaining to their constituents economic theory. In the non game of keeping their constituents employed and fed, Republican and Democrat, despite setbacks, have fought and won for seventy years, World producing power has expanded faster than the money power needed to buy the goods, thats why factories are closing here and overseas. The fed made a short sighted attempt to bridge the gap by encouraging consumer loans, when the loans came due this made the problem worse. Now we need money both to pay the consumer debt and buy the goods. Only high deficits here and overseas can solve the failure of demand. Since most governments hate taxes and love spending, I expect high deficits. The only issue is how much and where. The amount must match the trillions of consumer liquidity pumped by the Fed with little inflation over the last few years, plus more to pay down the consumer debt. We need worldwide moderate wage inflation, to match the spending power lost by the liquidity collapse. When inventories empty and prices rise, our problem will be replaced with another, less dangerous one, inflation. Where to spend and tax cut is highly partisan, I endorse every idea as better than doing nothing, except war.— February 28, 2010 12:39 p.m.
"Healthy" Expansion? For Whom?
to 97 I oversimplified of course, poor monetary policy is important, but not the only cause of the mess, which is international and very complex. Blame aside, the monetarist lending pedal has been pushed to the floor, the wheels are spinning but get no traction, it's time to call the high deficit tow truck to put money in the economy and get us moving again. The stimulus of a year ago was a start, and is working now somewhat, but more is needed. I expect a consumer focused tax cut, not because it's the best policy, but because the Republicans won't stop it. As for the gloom and doomers for whom the daily bell tolls, this nation is too active to sit still for grim decades. I hope we can fix unemployment through unprecedented peacetime deficits, or some other peaceful way. I fear a rising anger that will lead to war. We won't sit still.— February 27, 2010 1:31 a.m.