Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
refriedgringo's avatar

David Dodd

David Dodd is a Reader contributor. See staff page for published articles.

The Stock Market Roller Coaster

"1. Religion is a simple human invention. (Sure contradicts what you wrote yesterday.)" It doesn't contradict what I said yesterday. You don't understand the statement? Do you think God invented religion? Religion is a human invention, Fred. Regardless of our argument over the existence of some higher power, I though we could at least find some common ground here. -------------------- "2. Economic activities are always conducted in an honorable fashion because of the desire for the admiration of peers and underlings. (Any proof of that assertion?)" I didn't say they were "always" conducted in any particular way. It is a basic explanation of Adam Smith's "invisible hand". I'm getting the feeling that Smith's philosophies are difficult for you to grasp. In essence, you can't have wealth and not share it, otherwise the wealth does you no good to have. You can sleep on a mattress stuffed with money and live in poverty if you don't spend it. That would be pointless. Even if you are Scrooge, Tiny Tim still eats, regardless whether or not the ghosts scare you into some convoluted idea about charity. I have no idea how much more clear I can make this. ---------------------- "3. So therefore, the "Invisible Hand" is nonsense to neo-Keynesians. (Huh?)" Neo-Keynesians (you and Don are apparently both neo-Keynesians, from an economically philosophical standpoint) abhor any part of economic theory that isn't tangible enough to be rolled into some equation. For example, Adam Smith believed that automatically goods would always be better off manufactured and services would be better off rendered on a local level. He believed this BECAUSE of the "invisible hand" ideal. Neo-Keynesians think that's utter nonsense, because it doesn't work in their equations. You are witnessing the results of neo-Keynesian economics right now. Tax the hell out of local businesses, force them to manufacture elsewhere (because PROFIT is WHY people own businesses and they WILL do what is in their best interests), regulate the hell out of them, and the invisible hand will not serve its purpose. San Diego is your example, my friend. Nothing is built here anymore. By your standards, based on what you have to say about Jeff, San Diego is killing babies. It contributes nothing.
— January 8, 2012 7:14 a.m.

The Stock Market Roller Coaster

It's going to be difficult to keep the discussion rational if we view a very simple invention like religion on such a polar scale. We will need to get back to that at some point here, you will see the value in how it weighs into the discussion later. The most important part of this discussion centers on the nature of humankind, economics in general strives to predict human behavior. A seemingly simple word, for example, that Don uses a lot is "greed". Understanding greed as a concept means that one must understand charity as a concept. Charity and greed are not inherited through genetics. They are learned behavior, gained through social interaction. Which is a good link to Adam Smith's philosophies. The "invisible hand" has been hijacked, conceptually, as Smith never actually used the phrase much in his writings. The idea is that all social transactions will eventually seek their own level (much like one could pour water into a ditch in order to reckon building a level retaining wall). It isn't an intentional idea in terms of some moral obligation. It is more simple than that. If I have an apple grove, then were I some greedy bastard I would be rich in apples, to whatever end I wanted to be rich in apples. But I can't possibly pick all of them myself. Thus, others will benefit, regardless of whether I find any moral satisfaction in that or not; because my neighbors will be given the opportunity to harvest the apples in exchange for keeping some, or by whatever other contract I care to offer. And that contract, by necessity, must be worthwhile for my neighbors lest the fruit rot on the tree or on the ground. And now that I'm a rich apple-farmer, my inter circle includes other people of similar means. We all have reputations to uphold, we are expected to behave in a manner that society mandates. It isn't enough to simply grow apple trees, it is to grow them in a manner that is not only respectful and admirable to my peers, but also to those looking up at me from a less advantageous position. However, it would do little or no good to be charitable for the sake of being charitable. Because if I give away my apples and my trees, then whatever good has come from being an apple farmer (in terms of how I have contributed to the betterment of society in general) is now gone from society. The "invisible hand" is simply that act of contributing to society unintentionally by doing what is in my best interest. Take away my orchard, or worse, regulate it, and you diminish or eliminate that contribution. It isn't something to "believe in", there's no magic there. The invisible hand is simply not tangible enough to be put into some big eff-off macroeconomic equation. So obviously, neo-Keynesians think it's nonsense.
— January 8, 2012 5:15 a.m.

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Close to Home — What it’s like on the street where you live Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.