tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post7931035390907101022..comments2024-03-18T13:22:06.536-07:00Comments on Calafia Beach Pundit: A new direction for fiscal policyScott Grannishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-25048173292911860422010-11-20T10:59:28.597-08:002010-11-20T10:59:28.597-08:00Earmarks are indeed a very small part of total spe...Earmarks are indeed a very small part of total spending. But they subvert the political process and are a breeding ground for corruption (i.e., buying votes with earmarks). They also simplify the voting process: without earmarks, congresspeople will be free to vote on legislation based on the merits, not the spoils.Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-32229838227603487372010-11-20T05:41:29.202-08:002010-11-20T05:41:29.202-08:00The debate over earmarks is sound and fury without...The debate over earmarks is sound and fury without substance. Eliminating them, unfortunately, won't reduce government spending by one dollar. Instead of Congress earmarking spending for specific programs, the Executive branch bureaucrats will direct all spending. In my opinion, the kerfuffle over earmarking shows that R's are unserious about reducing spending and, even worse, trying to Peterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04453691463753177119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-44203342490364468602010-11-19T18:26:39.684-08:002010-11-19T18:26:39.684-08:00The Chinese are looking like fools to have entrust...The Chinese are looking like fools to have entrusted so much money to Bernanke & Co.Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-41624117583203438442010-11-19T17:41:43.135-08:002010-11-19T17:41:43.135-08:00Glad to contribute--I hope the Fed can put he geni...Glad to contribute--I hope the Fed can put he genie back in the bottle once it's out (and my guess is that it can). I'm a little surprised by the somewhat zany behavior that is sweeping through the Fed these days. The blame China idea seems like a potentially destabilizing game to be playing. It's like a multi-period prisoners dilemma.Steve Fultonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17201413605319579983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-19815338952291433422010-11-19T08:09:30.228-08:002010-11-19T08:09:30.228-08:00Steve: very good points, and thanks for the Buffet...Steve: very good points, and thanks for the Buffet line (return free risk), which I hadn't heard before.Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-74530135530911487772010-11-18T21:45:22.992-08:002010-11-18T21:45:22.992-08:00I can agree that gold is a probably a sale at curr...I can agree that gold is a probably a sale at current levels and that at 50/1 the gold/siver ratio (which has been between 10/1 and 20/1 for about 2000yrs) is also probably a sale. I also agree that the debt unwinding that has been ongoing in the US is deflationary, and for that matter I thought the first trillion or so in balance sheet expansion was about right. But when Japan was attempting to Steve Fultonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17201413605319579983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-20377006188760303042010-11-17T11:15:49.600-08:002010-11-17T11:15:49.600-08:00Steve Fulton-
We are right now facing deflation, ...Steve Fulton-<br /><br />We are right now facing deflation, and, as Milton Friedman would say, all deflations are monetary.<br /><br />Core CPI at 0.6 percent y-o-y, and heading lower. The real inflation rate is probably sub-zero, if you check out Boskin on Stanford. <br /><br />The Sarah Palinization of the the right-wing, including formerly "serious" thinkers, continues.<br /><br />Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-47429485946427488302010-11-17T06:10:02.461-08:002010-11-17T06:10:02.461-08:00First off for all the "Gold-bugs", Gold ...First off for all the "Gold-bugs", Gold is not and has never been considred a currency. Silver is the winner there. <br /><br />Funny enough until 1950, Canadian quarters were mostly made of pure silver. Go back to the romans, and the story is the same. <br /><br />Gold is not and has never been a currency, it has been a store of wealth, but mostly it has been decorative. <br /><brFrozen in the Northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04901959687094626879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-8707364442880765552010-11-16T20:26:54.737-08:002010-11-16T20:26:54.737-08:00Wow--you guys scare me a little. What exactly is a...Wow--you guys scare me a little. What exactly is a "monetary policy that results in no inflation but chokes off real growth"? I understand peoples lack of understanding of a how a "shiny yellow metal" serves as a medium of exchange--but the reality is the non convertible fiat money has only been around for a little while. While Ben and crew may have been asleep during this Steve Fultonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17201413605319579983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-3362403408792517972010-11-16T19:18:48.381-08:002010-11-16T19:18:48.381-08:00"I saw what happened in 2000-2006, when the R..."I saw what happened in 2000-2006, when the R-Party controlled the Senate, the House, the White House and the Supreme Court.....You want these guys back?"<br /><br />Sure, I'll take the deficits and overall economy of 2000-2006 over the Pelosi/Obama era anyday.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06843411100678811292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-56090106381633852222010-11-16T19:13:34.799-08:002010-11-16T19:13:34.799-08:00Benji,
"The last time an R-Party president e...Benji,<br /><br />"The last time an R-Party president even proposed a balanced budget was...when Eisenhower was in office. It has been a long wait."<br /><br />And once again you repeat the same tired falsehood. Bush proposed a balanced budget in 2001. This was obviously before the effects of the Clinton recession and 9/11 changed the revenue outlook.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06843411100678811292noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-42889036675358892592010-11-16T13:05:53.520-08:002010-11-16T13:05:53.520-08:00Scott:
Totally agree, that's what Ben said la...Scott:<br /><br />Totally agree, that's what Ben said last year. Maybe he takes the view that all other tools are off the table anyway. <br /><br />These are going to be two very difficult years for the U.S. Assuming that the Bush Tax cuts are renewed (not a done deal but probably 70%), it is more than likely that the states will have to dramatically increase their taxes to meet their Frozen in the Northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04901959687094626879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-41278360300706985912010-11-16T11:05:51.937-08:002010-11-16T11:05:51.937-08:00Scott:
What is a stable value of the dollar?
Aga...Scott:<br /><br />What is a stable value of the dollar?<br /><br />Against other currencies? Against a market basket of goods and services (that becomes out of date rapidly)?<br /><br />Against a basket of rare metals? Against one shiny yellow metal?<br /><br />If the goal is solid economic growth (and that is my goal), then should not all federal policies be devoted to that? <br /><br />Would Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-85540098479264571822010-11-16T10:09:27.862-08:002010-11-16T10:09:27.862-08:00Since monetary policy is terribly ineffective as a...Since monetary policy is terribly ineffective as a tool for micro-managing growth, the Fed should not even attempt it. But their dual mandate forces them to attempt to fine-tune growth. This is what has led the Fed to commit a series of errors in the past decade or two. We should simplify their mandate, making it clear that the only thing the Fed should do is target a stable value for the dollar.Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-1510985086493888672010-11-16T10:05:35.203-08:002010-11-16T10:05:35.203-08:00Scott:
For what its worth, monetary policy is not...Scott:<br /><br />For what its worth, monetary policy is not very good at all to stimulate the economy to create jobs. That is driven by fiscal policy. <br /><br />At any rate with the current level of unemployment we can take it as a given that the Feds are unable to do anything about job creation.Frozen in the Northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04901959687094626879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-80965833328444928152010-11-16T09:07:49.915-08:002010-11-16T09:07:49.915-08:00John-
Another chance for the R-Party?
The last t...John-<br /><br />Another chance for the R-Party?<br /><br />The last time an R-Party president even proposed a balanced budget was...when Eisenhower was in office. It has been a long wait.Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-54384192487452244592010-11-16T09:04:35.721-08:002010-11-16T09:04:35.721-08:00Ending the Fed's dual mandate would indeed be ...Ending the Fed's dual mandate would indeed be highly positive.Scott Grannishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14028519647946868684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-6259936929884885812010-11-16T08:10:26.422-08:002010-11-16T08:10:26.422-08:00More importantly lets hope there is a real push to...More importantly lets hope there is a real push to end the Fed's dual mandate. This is a potentially HUGE positive for the US economy.Public Libraryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00017383928897945054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-45014508424241988322010-11-16T06:45:27.938-08:002010-11-16T06:45:27.938-08:00Lets wait and see how the votes come in on real po...Lets wait and see how the votes come in on real policy. THe REpublicans are notorious for big announcements and playbooks with little follow through.<br /><br />Ask Nute...Public Libraryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00017383928897945054noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-80979642419827584302010-11-16T06:06:47.224-08:002010-11-16T06:06:47.224-08:0050plus finance:
Last two years are you joking. ...50plus finance: <br /><br />Last two years are you joking. You really believe that the Dems are the worse offenders? Lets not forget the "Bridge to Nowhere". In fact, this represents a small percentage of the overall federal budget, but the question is what is left to "convince" recalcitrant Congressmen from voting on legislation? <br /><br />Of course if your objective Frozen in the Northhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04901959687094626879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-80068287251151875312010-11-16T05:10:34.796-08:002010-11-16T05:10:34.796-08:00Benj,
I'm giving the repubs one more chance.....Benj,<br /><br />I'm giving the repubs one more chance...they either get it right this time or I'm with you looking for an alternative. It CANNOT BE the usual partisan food fight. They better deliver.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11652253509768573561noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-55099839650112879542010-11-16T04:20:57.869-08:002010-11-16T04:20:57.869-08:00If McConnell is true to his word this would be a s...If McConnell is true to his word this would be a serious change.<br />I have always felt that for someone<br />to make a sacrifice it was important to see the individual demanding it making a sacrifice. This is why the red state senators<br />who recieve a large excess of federal money to what their states<br />pay in must cut back. Otherwise all<br />of this hollow. We now need to hear<br />frombroderohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12296214283216386700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-67034959866035119272010-11-15T22:10:46.466-08:002010-11-15T22:10:46.466-08:00Oh, and I forgot: The R-Party added the War on Ter...Oh, and I forgot: The R-Party added the War on Terror to the War on Poverty and the War on Drugs to unwinnable but fantastically expensive and eternal federal agency ventures, that will suck hundreds of billions, then tens of trillions of dollars out of the private jobs- and wealth-creating sector.<br /><br />Does anyone really think in 10 years we will hear a federal agency say, "Oh, we Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-27318473268183844292010-11-15T22:04:30.811-08:002010-11-15T22:04:30.811-08:00Nice grandstanding. I saw what happened in 2000-2...Nice grandstanding. I saw what happened in 2000-2006, when the R-Party controlled the Senate, the House, the White House and the Supreme Court.<br /><br />We were awash in federal red ink, in a growing economy. The R-Party era ended with a financial collapse, two unfinished wars (including one we were losing, Afghanistan), and an economy that some thought would enter a Great Depression. The Benjamin Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14001038338873263877noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6616959642391988608.post-14499810269578673262010-11-15T18:20:28.572-08:002010-11-15T18:20:28.572-08:00B,
Ya know, that's the conventional viewpoint...B,<br /><br />Ya know, that's the conventional viewpoint. But this time just might be different.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11652253509768573561noreply@blogger.com