PearlWatson
Well-Known Member
OSLER (LOUGHNER'S friend): He did not watch TV. He disliked the news. He didn't listen to political radio. He didn't take sides. He wasn't on the left; he wasn't on the right.
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...I don't think right-leaning or left-leaning political beliefs really were that strong of an influence in the actions of the shooter.
...I don't think right-leaning or left-leaning political beliefs really were that strong of an influence in the actions of the shooter.
It's this kind of attitude that will prevent me from taking advantage of the tragedy in getting elected to a public office. Thank goodness not everyone is as well reasoned.
????
I'm not sure to what degree you're critiquing my post, or whether you're commenting on my attitude or Loughner's. At any rate, your potential constituents should probably be grateful that you're planning to give others the opportunity to serve! ;-)
OSLER (LOUGHNER'S friend): He did not watch TV. He disliked the news. He didn't listen to political radio. He didn't take sides. He wasn't on the left; he wasn't on the right.
/thread
I've frankly acknowledged my views on the issue are squishy and sort of unfocused.
https://jazzfanz.com/showthread.php?3841-Congresswoman-shot.&p=94862&viewfull=1#post94862
I can't control how others interpret what I'm trying to say. I'm positive if I think about it for another week or so I'll be able to state in more concisely, concretely, and eloquently. Message boards being what they are, you're seeing me digitally cogitate in the moment. In reality, I think it's a prickly nest with a lot of different issues woven together. Both sides want an exceedingly clean kill and it just doesn't exist.
Well, I'm not totally out in the woods on the economics topics, simply since that was my major in college and at one point I was seriously considering going to grad school in the subject. Most people haven't a clue.
I think it is clear that you want a higher level of specificity in terms of modelling than I do. Part of this is simply time constraints on my end (I don't have the resources to create or locate and analyze models on the fly) and some of it is that I've seen "how the sausage is made" enough to know that any complex model is just going to get picked apart on the assumptions and that the worldview of how perceive economics inevitably shapes the model you put together.
So around here I generally stick to ideas out of the Keynes and Friedman toolbox and try not to wander off too far down the dark side roads unless absolutely necessary (like if underlying data just flatly denies someone's descriptive views of how things are operating).
I think the post you're referring to I wrote specifically with respect to their disagreement regarding the causes of the 1937 downturn; but I don't think the idea that they would agree on a lot of present issues is all that controversial. The controversy now is with the Austrians.
Sure. At some point the spectrums loop around the back end and touch. That's part of the reason the 9/11 conspiracy crowd is so scary.
So if I may, as someone who has read maybe five books on economics aside from Econ 101, just ask: Did Keynes believe the gov could run deficits for say 78 of 83 years with impunity? Did Milton Friedman believe that the gov could do anything good to help run an economy? And why are the Austrians to be feared?
Offhand, even the Brit gov is taking care to keep their debt within a margin they consider manageable, meaning I think their debt is less than one years GNP. If that were my debt I'd think I was doing well, but a house costs three years' income more or less. . . . The Germans are doing very well remembering the lessons of the Post WWI era, while all of the countries with more relaxed attitudes for some decades are on the ropes now because of it.
What would be your major policy if it were in your hands to set the priorities?
i'd really like it if people would stop putting hitler and marx in the same sentence all the time but whatever.
Imma stick my neck out as I'm not sure you sincere.
1. Keynes. No. See Paul Krugman's "Wonkish" post against the heterodox MMT/Chartalist notions of our govt. printing whatever they want. That'll represent Keynes good enough. https://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2...hing-for-stimulus-but-i-wont-do-that-wonkish/
2. Friedman. No. He is largely responsible for the modern system (open money flows). According to Friedman, Fed interest rate are meant to do the job when necessary. The floating rate system was supposed to work as a feedback mechanism that smooths the cycle, but that has failed. To name names, see China, Germany, and Japan. Friedman had some deficit spending ideas, but they required an entirely new banking system. He threw around ideas but never completed many. He promoted full-reserve banking at one time to avoid the problem Vinylone will tell you about. Friedman, like any sane person who understands a basic theory of money, also would have gone for counter-cyclical govt. spending within the proper system. He realized it wasn't practical with popular opinion and congress' philandering ways.
3. I'll let Kicky answer your incorrect inference re Austrians. He said that's where the current intellectual argument is centered and nothing about fearing them (although I'm sure he could give you reasons why you should).
4. All debt is not created equal. There's no comparison between your debt and debt of an entity that is paid in a currency they print. When you borrow money in the currency your Lexmark spits out then you'll have a starting point.
5. Germans. Mercantilism policies create huge problems. While the right praises Germany for their tax policy, it creates huge imbalances, both inside the Eurozone and out, that will have to be equalized sooner or later. Ask low powered Greece what they think about Germany's tax policy that effectively subsidized exports. You're not a fan of subsidizing business production are you? Huge trade imbalances end in world wars and great depressions. Careful what you praise.