tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post7211327269174492015..comments2024-03-19T02:45:37.685-07:00Comments on Calafia Beach Pundit: Federal finances are still in awful shapeScott Grannishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-45083088520841935102011-05-17T19:13:21.383-07:002011-05-17T19:13:21.383-07:00Todd,
It isn't possible to graph the unseen. ...Todd,<br /><br />It isn't possible to graph the unseen. Taxation hurts us by reducing both the total amount of wealth created, and also the efficiency of that wealth creation.<br /><br />For example, imagine a simple island situation where there is no money, but the government simply takes some of the wealth produced. If a man is a home builder, and he builds ten homes per year and the Stone Glasgowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00545401735030232324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-10900750260269665202011-05-17T13:42:21.587-07:002011-05-17T13:42:21.587-07:00To follow up, Hauser's Law is impressive and c...To follow up, Hauser's Law is impressive and compelling and simple to understand. I'm looking for a similar graph to illustrate the fact that government spending does not stimulate the economy as a whole in the long term.Toddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09427325914333815764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-6667304596246921592011-05-17T13:39:10.665-07:002011-05-17T13:39:10.665-07:00Thanks for that comment (Stone Glasgow) as I was c...Thanks for that comment (Stone Glasgow) as I was concerned about the fact the correlation does not prove cause and effect. In the graph you refer to (Wesbury's original) changes in unemployment and government spending seem to happen almost simultaneoulsy. But I would think that if the increase in unemployment in this graph was due to misallocation of resources from higher government Toddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09427325914333815764noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-36733195010301085742011-05-15T19:40:32.957-07:002011-05-15T19:40:32.957-07:00"The more money the government spends, the hi..."The more money the government spends, the higher the unemployment rate goes."<br /><br />During a recession, GDP falls and unemployment rises. In order to create a graph like this, all that is required is that government spending be relatively unaffected by the changes in GDP<br /><br />If gov't spending remains constant as GDP falls, the "spending as % GDP" number rises Stone Glasgowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00545401735030232324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-29063584247729451652011-05-12T08:16:39.421-07:002011-05-12T08:16:39.421-07:00And we are told it would be 'irresponsible'...And we are told it would be 'irresponsible' if we didn't let them spent even more!TradingStrategyLetter - Weekly Summaryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06430136667577107255noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-34147749127103982932011-05-11T18:25:05.487-07:002011-05-11T18:25:05.487-07:00Given that austerity measures are unlikely to even...Given that austerity measures are unlikely to even scratch the surface of the Federal budget crisis, and accepting that a national default would be catastrophic, that leaves only "printing" money to close the gap between government spending and tax revenues -- those are the facts laid bare...McKibbinUSAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10545798495680527622noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-50487755353116028842011-05-11T17:23:19.416-07:002011-05-11T17:23:19.416-07:00Re EPA: Milton Friedman advocated taxing pollution...Re EPA: Milton Friedman advocated taxing pollution, not regulating it. I always like that idea.Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-83829031871422130522011-05-11T17:01:26.772-07:002011-05-11T17:01:26.772-07:00Bengamin is right on his program eliminations. The...Bengamin is right on his program eliminations. There is also way too much duplication of programs between states and the feds. <br /><br />The EPA should be eliminated too. Why not eliminate any program that came into existence after 1964? <br /><br />My business falls under three regulatory agencies that perform duplicative tasks. Two of them should be eliminated. <br /><br />Don't we have ammanagedaccountshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08188469703346980431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-20228463121307754382011-05-11T16:52:55.507-07:002011-05-11T16:52:55.507-07:00Look at that revenue growth from 2004 to 2008. Had...Look at that revenue growth from 2004 to 2008. Had it not been for the financial crisis we might be close to another balanced budget by now. Look at the acceleration of government spending post-2007. <br /><br />There's no question we need more revenue as government reduces its spending, but the way to increase revenue is not to increase taxes but to implement pro-growth, smaller government mmanagedaccountshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08188469703346980431noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-80427713494441827172011-05-11T16:10:20.201-07:002011-05-11T16:10:20.201-07:00I concur wholeheartedly with the sentiments of thi...I concur wholeheartedly with the sentiments of this post--even more that that. I contend we could get federal spending down to 18 percent of GDP. <br /><br />There would be some changes to get to 18 percent. Delay Social Security. Reduce federal defense spending (including the odious Homeland Security department). Voucherize the VA. Eliminate all subsidies to rural areas, and the USDA, and the Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.com