Teaching Economics to Liberals - Class is in Session

[Xerographica]

When someone shoots someone else you blame the shooter - they guy that actually broke the law. In our most recent example of economic disaster the blame falls on your Gods that have been fined for illegal behavior. The blame falls on your Gods who have been thrown in jail for their illegal acts. The guilt of your Gods has either been proved in a court of law or has been confessed by your Gods, themselves. I pity you that you would worship such Gods as these.

LOL if you think I personally make sacrifices to ALL the Gods of Capital. That's a ridiculous notion. It's also a ridiculous notion if anybody thinks that the Gods of Capital are infallible. Of course they're fallible. But congress is fallible as well. And what's the difference between congress and the Gods of Capital? The Gods of Capital earned your money while Congress did not. Congress violates the rules of economics by spending money that they did not earn.

The Gods of Capital earned your money by producing things you value. Congress, on the other hand, did not earn your money on the basis of producing things that you value. How could 538 congresspeople know what 300 million people need, want or value? Spending 1/4 of our nation's resources on things we do not need, want or value is what causes recessions and depressions. Wasting resources is what causes recessions and depressions. Wasting resources diminishes productivity. Who can waste enough resources to diminish the productivity of an entire nation?

The God's of Capital do not waste resources. If they do waste resources then people stop making sacrifices to them. They stop giving them their money. You know why? Because nobody wants their limited time/money to be wasted. Which is exactly why we should allow 150 million taxpayers to decide which government organizations they make their sacrifices to in the public sector.

 

[Xerographica]

Of course...if I need someone to fix my car I go to a mechanic. If I need brain surgery and go to a brain surgeon. That does not mean the brain surgeon can fix my car or the mechanic can perform surgery on me. I would go to a Wall Street guy for advice on how to calm the markets but I'd also realize he lives in a world where markets are king not workers, not long term economic growth and prosperity of the country as a whole.

You give your money to the people that produce the things that you value. Taxpayers are the people who have produced the things that we all value. Taxpayers should be allowed to give their taxes to the government organizations that produce the things that they value. That will lead to far greater economic growth and prosperity for the country as a whole than giving our taxes to 538 congresspeople that did not produce the things that we value.

I blame a false ideology that government only hinders growth when we have actual history that shows this country was riddled with banking and financial disasters. After the Great Depression government created an environment of highly regulated markets and it was by far the smoothest period of history. Democrats and Republicans bought into the anti-government rhetoric. Greenspan an acolyte of Ayn Rand was at the helm of the Fed and helped lead this country to virtually the edge of the abyss.

Gamble your home on a business idea so that you can learn about what causes economic disasters. If your business was not successful then you would lose your home. That is an economic disaster. As a result of misallocating all your resources you suffered an economic disaster. Economic disasters are a result of misallocated resources. What determines the size of an economic disaster? The amount of resources that were misallocated. Congress controls 1/4 of our nation's resources. One committee controls $3 trillion dollars. Name one company that controls $3 trillion dollars. Name one company that controls 1/4 of our nation's resources. Only congress can misallocate enough resources to cause widespread economic disasters. The solution is simple. You simply allow 150 million taxpayers to determine how their resources should be allocated in the public sector. This is called hedging our bets...it's the opposite of putting too many eggs in one basket.

He made a great product that meets a demand (portability of music). That's what he did and he did it great. He was also well compensated for it. That doesn't mean he's the end all be all, that Steve Jobs knows what's best for the country. Let me turn it around....to you agree with the Buffett rule? Do you agree that taxes should be raised on the rich just because Warren Buffet the richest man in the world says it?

If there's one thing I want you to learn about economics...it's that economics is based on actions...not words. Philosophy is the study of what people say while economics is the study of what people do. Actions speak louder than words. What you spend your time/money on reveals your true values. What you, and I and 300 million other people truly value forms the basis of economics.

Economists don't care what Buffett says...they care about what he does. Does he put his money where his mouth is? Does he give more of his money to the government? No, he does not.

Once you understand that economics is based on people's actions...then you'll understand that the problem has absolutely nothing to do with the taxing...and everything to do with the spending. No matter what the tax rate is...we need to incorporate people's true values into the distribution of public funds. This can be accomplished simply by allowing Buffett and millions and millions of other taxpayers to directly spend their taxes in the public sector. Their actions will reveal their true values and we will experience far greater economic prosperity as a direct result of it.

It's not a system I can get behind honestly. I think the modern world is it too complex, the bureacracy is too large....due to the fact running a large modern economy is requires a large bureacracy. Congressmen and women have dropped the ball but a large part of that is the influence of voters not in spite of. It's the voters that want lower taxes, while having their 800 billion dollar a year war machine, while still receiving their Medicare and Social Security.

Economics is a system that you can't get behind? Everyday you spend your money/time on the things that you value. That's economics. You're already behind it. You're already an integral part it. The challenge for you is to understand why something that you take for granted shouldn't be disregarded in the public sector. Stop taking economics for granted and you'll understand the negative economic consequences we face by allowing 538 congresspeople to spend 150 million taxpayer's money in the public sector.

 

[MoSurveyor]

Spending 1/4 of our nation's resources on things we do not need, want or value is what causes recessions and depressions. Wasting resources is what causes recessions and depressions.

LOL! Still trying to blame government for the innate and obvious flaws your Gods of Capitalism have? What a hoot! With gods like that, who needs devils? :lol:

You told me that your Gods are Einstein, Heisenberg, Feynman, Sagan, Witten, Greene, etc but then you told me that you don't make any sacrifices to them. So who do you make sacrifices to? Why do you voluntarily sacrifice your money to in exchange for the things that you value? What did you spend your money on last year?

I didn't call them gods, especially not with a 'G'. In fact, I specifically stated I would not do that but conceded they were the closest I had to gods because I admired them.

If your sacrifices are all monetary then you have never made a real sacrifice in your life.


So, let's review the revelations of your Church of Capitalistic Gods:

1. You have disenfranchised the elderly by reducing their influence in government.
2. You have disenfranchised the Catholics by requiring their tithe reduce their political power.
3. You have disenfranchised philanthropists, anyone donating to charities, for the same reason you've disenfranchised the Catholics.
4. You have disenfranchised the non-rich - in this case roughly everyone at or below ~$125k/household - by reducing their relative input into government.

5. You have made it neigh impossible to ever build another long-term project, which ranges from everything starting at large naval vessels going right up to major projects like Apollo that have hurtled us forward in the world in both status & technology and the Interstate system that vastly improved our infrastructure.

6. You have handed most political power over to what you call the Gods of Capitalism. Big Bu$iness, MegaCorp, and the Money Men (yeah, those guys who recently screwed the pooch and threw the rest of us under the bus to make more $$$) already have too much influence in Wa$hington but you would give them the Keys to the City with a Golden Idol key fob.


Yes, I think we're done here.



One person, one vote NOT one dollar, one vote

 

[Misterveritis]

I didn't say it would go away completely but anything non-zero would satisfy that stipulation. We both know AARP, in fact everyone wanting to retire, would be forced to give up a huge portion of their input in the country under the one dollar, one vote system.

So retirees are also on your list of people who shouldn't be allowed to vote? Good to know.
If a person is willing to injure his own parents then you should question his sanity.

One person, one vote NOT one dollar, one vote

I don't follow you. I don't believe even you can follow you.

 

[Xerographica]

LOL! Still trying to blame government for the innate and obvious flaws your Gods of Capitalism have? What a hoot! With gods like that, who needs devils? :lol:

Do you honestly think that people see you as a monk sitting on a mountain top with nothing but a laptop? Or do they see you as they see themselves...surrounded with all the things that OUR Gods of Capital have produced for us?

I didn't call them gods, especially not with a 'G'. In fact, I specifically stated I would not do that but conceded they were the closest I had to gods because I admired them.

You admired them...yet you didn't give them anything of value. Did you miss the part where economics is all about actions being louder than words?

If your sacrifices are all monetary then you have never made a real sacrifice in your life.

What's your definition of a real sacrifice?

So, let's review the revelations of your Church of Capitalistic Gods:

1. You have disenfranchised the elderly by reducing their influence in government.
2. You have disenfranchised the Catholics by requiring their tithe reduce their political power.
3. You have disenfranchised philanthropists, anyone donating to charities, for the same reason you've disenfranchised the Catholics.
4. You have disenfranchised the non-rich - in this case roughly everyone at or below ~$125k/household - by reducing their relative input into government.

How they spend their money reveals their true values...which is what would be inputted into the government if we implemented a pragmatarian system.

5. You have made it neigh impossible to ever build another long-term project, which ranges from everything starting at large naval vessels going right up to major projects like Apollo that have hurtled us forward in the world in both status & technology and the Interstate system that vastly improved our infrastructure.

So...you say we wouldn't spend our taxes on those things. Do you know what that means? It means that obviously we had other priorities. Maybe people are more concerned with public healthcare than they are with more aircraft carries and more space ships. If you disagree with their priorities then it's on you to share your partial knowledge with them.

6. You have handed most political power over to what you call the Gods of Capitalism. Big Bu$iness, MegaCorp, and the Money Men (yeah, those guys who recently screwed the pooch and threw the rest of us under the bus to make more $$$) already have too much influence in Wa$hington but you would give them the Keys to the City with a Golden Idol key fob.

We, the consumers, created our Gods of Capital. If we aren't happy with our Gods then...well...he who can create a thing can destroy a thing. It's called ethical consumerism.