Posts
I'll go to bed tonight with a prayer that the faux-stimulus bill fails in the Senate tomorrow. There is still a slim chance it might happen. Ted Kennedy won't be voting tomorrow, which means that Snowe, Collins, or Specter (RINOs, Republicans in Name Only) will cast the deciding 60th vote. Presumably none of them wants to be the deciding vote. I can dream, can't I?
If by some miracle the bill fails tomorrow and the stock market falls as a result, that would be a fantastic buying opportunity. Without the bill the economy has a decent chance of recovering. With it, the road to recovery will be steeper.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
13 comments:
Scott,
I admire your optimism as I am cut from the same optimistic cloth; however, after watching the short 4 minute video of Harry Reid being interviewed and claiming that the American income tax is voluntary, I will have a more difficult time sleeping tonight knowing this brainless, irrational, non-producing idiot (excuse me, I error: he does produce.....uncertainty, waste and chaos) is a prime author of the 'stimulus' bill that may very well pass and become the vanguard for future legislation leading to the demise of the most productive country in history.
Watch the following and make sure your jaw does not hit the desk while viewing. He is truly like a character out of Atlas Shrugged.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7mRSI8yWwg
The only ones dumber than Reid are the voters who put him in office.
I don't know if God works that way or not, but I prayed this morning.
I would sure like to see this bill defeated as well. Unfortunately, neither prayer nor action will change the fundamental belief of Democrats in bigger government and more redistribution from those with ability to those with need. I believe that is what gold is telling us. Gold buried in the back yard may be the only place assets are safe.
Our government is in debt -- massive, destructive debt around $50 Trillion when including the actuarial cost of all currently promised entitlements -- and the majority of consumers (voters) still carrying massive, record levels of debt. In the meantime, the proportion of taxes being paid by the top 10% of income earners is at a record high. It's pretty easy to see where this political calculus leads.
When Obama complains about resistance to his Safety Net Bill (a.k.a. Stimulus Bill), he says we must immediately pass this "less than perfect" bill or face a "catastrophe," but when risk markets sell off dramatically when Obama (via Geithner) reveals he has no concrete financial stabilization plan, he announces Wall Street is just too impatient and wants a silver bullet when none exists. My take on this: markets don't matter, but redistribution does. If people don't buy gold on that declaration, when would they buy it?
Someone should refer Specter, Snowe and Collins to an article by Walter Williams two days ago:
http://townhall.com/columnists/WalterEWilliams/2009/02/11/the_hell_with_our_constitution
He thinks FDR and Congress put the "Great" in the Great Depression.
Or someone should refer them to these quotes:
“The government solution to any problem is usually at least as bad as the problem.” —Milton Friedman
“In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.” —Charles de Gaulle
“We may not imagine how our lives could be more frustrating and complex -— but Congress can.” —Cullen Hightower
CDLIC: I tried the video but I have very poor hearing and couldn't make out what he was saying. But it is clear to me that Pelosi and Reid are disgraceful examples of public servants.
"President Obama today called congressional passage of his stimulus plan "a major milestone" in efforts to turn around the nation's economy, and he said he would soon sign the massive legislation into law."
He doesn't know how close he was. But the word is MILLSTONE.
Excellent!
Given that we are now in a liquidity trap and that few of you understand the IS-LM model or AD-AS I know that there is at least now the remotest posibility of escaping a deflationary spiral.Thanks to the latest vote we might just have saved our "arses."
P.S. Scott that's my other half speaking. My mother was Scottish. She grew up in a fishing village less than two miles from Adam Smith's home town.
Mark: I'm not sure we're in a liquidity trap.
Meanwhile, you might be interested in this brief discussion of the problems inherent in standard Keynesian analysis:
http://www.cafehayek.com/hayek/2009/02/is-ycinxg-meaningful.html
Give me just one thoughtful reason why you think we are not in a liquidity trap.
Did you not notice that the Fed fund target was lowered to zero%? And did you not notice that the core PCE rose by only 0.15% last quarter?
Here are several reasons:
I think it's too early to say we are in a liquidity trap. Monetary policy has been relaxed to an extreme such as we've never before seen, and it's only been a few months since that happened. I don't see any shortage of money in the world whatsoever. I don't see fundamental signs of inflation, like a strengthening dollar or declining gold prices. I see commodity prices starting to rise. I see signs of the global economy improving. Core inflation is far from hitting zero; core PPI is running at over 3%.
True, core PPI is the last shoe to drop but, look at the other indicators. The dollar is trending upwards, and despite the panic gold is still below its peak value in March. The GDP deflator fell last quarter for the first time since 1954 (that would of course be nearly 55 years). Only a fool would try to deny the obvious.
In retrospect, what I said previously was clearly offensive. I beg your pardon.
Post a Comment